if you want a decent quality knife set for very little money, i can highly recommend these:

http://uk.knivesandtools.com/en/ct/eden-quality-classic-vg10.htm?filter=P|producttype|kitchen-knives|O;P|brand|brand-eden|O;&sortorder=2

decent steel, hold an edge really well, and they're just generally fantastic kitchen tools. rather than waste money on a 'sabatier' set like this, just buy an 8" cooks' knife and a parer instead, and get a decent sharpening stone and a ceramic stele to keep them in decent condition. they'll do 95% of what you want in the kitchen, and you can add the bread knife, carving knife and utility knife later if you'll use them enough to warrant it. i've got the damast set myself, but the only difference between them and the classic vg10 series is the look of them - i paid extra for the pretty damast finish.

as an entry to point to high-end knives, these can't be beaten on value for money, in my opinion.

Hmmm.....I bought a Sabatier set from Sainsburys and was very disappointed with them. They just didn't cut brilliantly and weren't very sharp. After reading up afterwards the Sabatier name isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Don't mean to moan, I bought some cheapest from Argos recently and am thrilled with them.

​it is a word which is not protected so any Tom dick or harry could make a blade and stick Sabatier on it. it should indicate a high quality knife which has been produced through a fully forged process but there are no guarantees that it's not just a cheap blade.

Agreed,

Sabatier is the maker's mark used by several kitchen knife manufacturers—by itself it is not a registered brand name. The name Sabatier is considered to imply a high-quality knife produced by one of a number of manufacturers in the Thiers region of France using a fully forged process; the knives of some of these manufacturers are highly regarded. However, the name "Sabatier" came into use before intellectual property laws and is not protected; knives legally bearing the name range from high-quality knives made in France to cheap mass-produced products of poor quality from France and other countries; a registered logo or full name, or both, such as "65 Sabatier Perrier", is necessary to establish origin and quality.

if you want a decent quality knife set for very little money, i can highly recommend these:

http://uk.knivesandtools.com/en/ct/eden-quality-classic-vg10.htm?filter=P|producttype|kitchen-knives|O;P|brand|brand-eden|O;&sortorder=2

decent steel, hold an edge really well, and they're just generally fantastic kitchen tools. rather than waste money on a 'sabatier' set like this, just buy an 8" cooks' knife and a parer instead, and get a decent sharpening stone and a ceramic stele to keep them in decent condition. they'll do 95% of what you want in the kitchen, and you can add the bread knife, carving knife and utility knife later if you'll use them enough to warrant it. i've got the damast set myself, but the only difference between them and the classic vg10 series is the look of them - i paid extra for the pretty damast finish.

as an entry to point to high-end knives, these can't be beaten on value for money, in my opinion.

I bought these a couple of years back, exactly the same set. Very poor quality metal, 2 snapped while I was using, 1 of them pretty dangerously, and the large knife had started to crack where the 'handle' blends into the blade. Cheap enough at the money, but don't think you're getting the best, you aren't.

look ok to me...heat

Any knife is only as good as the person who sharpens it. You can spend hundreds but if they're not looked after then they'll blunt. I use a ceramic water sharpener. Used to have a Japanese shinkansen one, but after that broke have replaced with one that cost about 4 quid from Morrison's, then latterly one from asda for about 6 quid. Fill it with water and just roll the knife through 5-10 times about once a week.

Please buy me one..

The V Sabatier ones are the ones you are looking for if you want a quality knife, most come with a 30 year warranty and are amazing knives. albeit normally 4-5x this price.

Thanks for the pointer on the knives, they good a good price for the lower end range.

I picked up my set of these from Argos today and they are actually very good for less than a tenner
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/colourmatch-4-piece-knife-block-aqua-coral-7-99-argos-free-click-collect-2397592

Stick to good old Sheffield steel I say!

This, so much this. You don't need a block of 8 knives which seem to hold their edge well because you never actually use half of them. I use a Victorinox Fibrox and it's been as good as a Global knife I had a while ago.

Bought from the range 4 years ago for 25 quid so dont kid yourself youre saving a packet with the yoyo pricing. Good knives for the money. They sharpen pretty easy aswell when you need it.

still fifty quid in Wolverhampton :disappointed:

I absolutely love this comment haha. After a few years, I'm thinking of looking around for a new chef's knife but the choices are endless, got any other good suggestions? :smiley:

depends on what you're looking for, and what your budget is. the eden stuff is superb value for money, so if it's just for home use you'll struggle to find something better for the money. the wusthof ikon was nice, but it's a lot more expensive, and i actually preferred the eden stuff. eden also have some gorgeous hand-forged high-carbon knives (kanso aogami), but you'll need to look after them a lot more. the sakai takayuki damask is very pretty, but the profile is more traditional japanese than european, so might take some getting used to.

personally, i love japanese knives - the thinness is lovely (which is why i rate the eden classic so much - it's relatively thin compared to the german knives) and the workmanship is usually top drawer. what i would say is avoid 'santoku' blades - they're basically a chef's knife with the tip cut off, making them less versatile knives overall, and removing some of the cutting techniques as a result. the 'gyuto' is essentially a japanese copy of a european chef's knife, so works pretty much the same way, and is a much better choice. of course, i do actually own a santoku and a nakiri among the collection - byt the chef's knife does everything they can do and more, so i basically stick to the chef's knife.

having said all of that: a knife has got to suit you and your cutting style. i'm lusting after the eden takara gyuto at the moment, but as i'm still building up my collection of eden classic damast blades, it'll be a while before i can justify the expense on a single knife no matter how much i want to! will it be the right knife for everyone else? hell no. it won't even be the right one for me most of the time - blue paper steel is *very* fragile.

Wait for John Lewis to have clearance sale on their Sheffield knives. £9 bread knife and £11 utility.

Going ok so far, maybe they won't last long but pretty cheap.

the main problem with cheap knives is that they don't stay sharp for any length of time. the sharper your knife, the safer you are using it - provided that you cut properly and keep your fingers away from the blade. a dull blade will skip off whatever you're cutting, or you'll have to use far more force to cut - either one means more risk of injury. a knife that doesn't stay sharp means that either you're not aware of how much at risk you are, or you have to spend a lot longer sharpening it.

you shouldn't have to force a knife through food - the weight of the blade should be enough. if you're sawing at your food or using force, it's not sharp enough.

Haha absolutely, between the japanese and european blades i feel japanese blades have such a nice feel. god.. we're like orgasming over knives hahahaha indeed. Ill definitely look into your suggestions, maybe im just being spendthrifty.

@yournameisveryapt: have you seen these Misen Knives (not commercially available)? Read a few good reviews not too long ago about them http://josh-moses-ot7e.squarespace.com/

they're slightly more expensive than the eden blades for an inferior quality steel; that said, they offer lifetime sharpening (for people who don't want to do that themselves) and they look like a good, solid workhorse of a knife.