Cooking Reviews

This is a fantasic set! Excellent weight, forged stainless steel. This is the perfect set for yourself, the experienced chef, or as a gift. The etched ends provide easy identification of tools in the knife block. It would have been great for Calphalon to provide the other 3 knives that would best complete fill the knife block as 3 slots are empty since the 6 bonus steak knives do not fit within. Perhaps they were giving the buyer an opportunity to select the completer knives. My suggestion: the tomato/bagel knife, the bird's beak, and a boning knife.

These knives live up to their description. They are first rate, high quality knives with a substantial casting and good sharpness out of box. I really like the contemporary handles with the knife description on the end of the handle. They are quite comfortable and have an excellent balance. They seem like they'll last a lifetime despite the lack of rivets on this style handle.
Only the steak knives are a bit of a disappointment- thus the four stars. Although they are also full tang construction they lack the bolster and just feel a bit lighter duty than the rest of the set. Nevertheless, even your toughest steaks will still cut like butter with these knives. I guess this is what really counts anyway.

I just bought my first set of Calphalon Contemporary cutlery and wow what a difference between this set and some other sets I've owned. The edges are incredibly sharp and the labeling concept is truly an ingenious idea. Not to mention the overall design of the product is fantastic. Design, balance, comfort, and a lifetime warranty for half the cost, how can you go wrong? I've owned lesser sets of cutlery before that have cost me far more money. I'm sold on Calphalon's latest line of cutlery and I know I'll never buy any other brand again.

First, I will admit to being a Calphalon snob - I have over 20 pieces of their cookware, both from Toledo (Go Mudhens!)and from China, and am aware of their value and quality.
So, with that knowledge, I must write my first dissapointing review for a Calphalon item.
These knives are not worth carrying the Calphalon name, or are worth the high price charged. They are poorly balanced, the balance point is approx 1" behind thew bolster, making the knife "handle heavy", so you must keep a good grip on the knife to keep it in your hand. The blade, though forged, will be impossible to sharpen, as the tip is serrated, and is hollow ground on only one side, producing a "chisel" sharpened blade = great for scraping a surface, as with a chisel, but not the best cutting edge - and nearly impossible to sharpen. The knife holder, though nicely machined, is made out of soft pine, rather than a hard wood that will stand up to normal wear and tear - and it has a decidedly sour, sappy smell which permiates the knives, making you wash them before each use. The best feature, in my estmation, is the handle, which is comforable in larger hands vs the skinny handles on many steak knives.
At approx fifty dollars for a set of four knives, I cannot recommend this set - it is worth about half that more suitable for sale at a discount or closeout.

Unlike all the other Chinese produced Calphalon products which carry very attractive prices, this is not the case with these knives, and do not compare favorably to Calpholon's other knives. Though forged, the knife blanks are considerably thinner in thickness, producing a very flexable blade more akin to a fillet knife than a meat cutter / slicer and are hollow ground on only one side of the cutting surface due to a serrated tip, making the blade impossible to sharpen. The balance point for the knives is approx an inch behind the bolster, making the knife a bit handle heavy, rather than balanced. The wood knife tray, though nicely machined, is made out of soft pine or aspen with no finish - it has a distinct pitch odor and is already serverely dinged and gouged from having to remove four rather large pieces of tape which afixed the plastic cover to the tray. Not very attractive - I suspect a short life for the tray. Had it not been for the fact that these knives were purchased as a package with a bunch more Calphalon, and received a fifty dollar off a future purchase certificate, thereby, in effect rendering these knives as "free", I would return these sub par Calpalon offerings. The form of the knives is good in concept, but the function / execution of the form leaves alot to be desired. If I had seen these during a late nite infomercial, I would understand, but these are supposed to be top shelf items. My first dissapointment from Calphalon.