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Domenico’s Reviews
March 12, 2022
I love these knives
I first purchased one of these knives several years ago from a vendor at a wine festival in New York’s Hudson valley. I was captivated by their beauty and good reviews.I’ve purchased other knives that were good but none were as belatedly or impressive as the Hammer Stahl knife. I finally decided to purchase two more of them years later when, of course, I found that they were available on Amazon and came in a week or so after ordering. I only wish that they offered the option of having them sharpened even more, but they are fairly sharp right out of the box, can naturally be honed to your taste at home, are made of quality German steel with a beautiful blade and handle, and my first knife looks every bit as beautiful as it did when I first purchased it back in 2015. Buy with confidence as they are an excellent value, and great as a gift. I appreciate the larger knives even more.
✔ Verified Purchase
Buy this knife, and the entire set, and their pots and pans, too!
I love this knife so much that I bought the entire set. High quality steel. Beautiful and comfortable tang design with pakka wood handles that are true works of art. Do not be so crass as to toss this beauty in the dish washer. The wood will dry out and look sad.In fact, I loved the entire set so much that I bought a new set of pots and pans from the same manufacturer. Called Heritage Steel, it is another fantastic product by Hammer Stahl.Added again- this knife is such an excellent price that I bought two more for my kitchen to avoid cross contamination while preparing and one more for my gentleman’s house because he needs a great knife there. Terrific value! And it holds a blade beautifully. I am a real snob about my knives. I keep my set perfectly sharpened at all times. This brand gets six stars from me for its beauty and strength.
✔ Verified Purchase
S
Say it like it is
November 10, 2018
Lovely knife but don't like the storage box
This knife is beautiful and sharp! My only issue is with the box it came in. It's a lovely knife but don't like the storage box. I couldn't figure out how to open it. It looked like you should push on one end and the inner box will slide out of the sheath/outer box). Apparently that's not right as that loosened the glue and I now have a box that doesn't close back up (since I then slit the sticker on the side thinking that's how) so I'm unsure how I'm going to store the knife. I suppose I could simply hold it together with a rubber band but somehow a knife as beautiful as this, and what started out a nice looking box, will just look tacky with a rubber band holding it together. Love the knife (a LOT!), not so happy with the storage box. :(
✔ Verified Purchase
Not impressed
The cons:The criticisms are valid. I was going to gift this knife to a couple people if I liked it, but everything about the handle is not good.The rivets are noticeably raised, not just a smooth bump, but 8 little weird bumps that are just annoying. I might get used to it, but it ruins the feel of the knife. There is an edge between the wood and the steel on the handle that you can feel also. This all should have been ground down and buffed smooth, as is, it greatly cheapens the entire feel of the knife and this is such a simple fix, it’s inexcusable.Additionally, the balance is off. The balance of the weight should be equal or close between the handle and the blade. If you balance the knife on your finger (see picture) you have to go a fair ways back before the blade balances. If you do this with a Henckle (the German made ones, not the garbage Chinese made) the balance is almost always right about where the tang meets the handle.As a relatively small human, this handle feels too small in my hand, and needs a bit more curve to it. The handle is also uncomfortably short, and hits the palm awkwardly, and again, small hands here— I can’t imagine anyone with average to large hands using this knife comfortably.The blade is a bit short on the width also, definitely a knuckle buster of you are chiffoning rapidly, so be careful.This knife is made in China, the Hammer Stahl cookware is made in America, but the knives are made in China, and it *really* shows.Pros:Presentation is good. Nice box, good for storage if you don’t have a block or magnet/drawer.The steel is German steel, the same kind Wustof Trident uses, not sure about the hammering and tempering/hardening, I assume the process in China is not as thorough/well done as in Germany, but you are starting with a better quality steel than most at this price point.The design is attractive, I just wish it reflected some actual experience with making quality knives.Blade is fairly sharp, steel appears to be good. I did some slicing and the blade did well, very smooth, which makes the handle being so poorly designed all the more upsetting. I haven’t had it long enough to comment more, but I would expect it to hold its edge decently.Overall— for what I paid, it’s a decent value. The faults could easily be corrected, but presumably would increase the price? Not sure how smart design costs a ton more and an extra 30 seconds on a buffer. I have an old $7 Emeril knife that is honestly trash as far as the blade, but the blade is wide enough, the handle is comfortable and a good feel, while it’s briefly sharp (usually about 3 carrots worth), it’s a great little knife— for $7! The HS knife is inexcusably poorly conceived and designed by comparison. If Emeril had bothered to use even a semi decent steel on his knives, I would have gotten another one or not even needed one bc I would still be happy with it.I won’t be gifting this knife as planned, nor will I be purchasing additional knives from this company, but I will be keeping this one as its adequate as an alternate to my larger Zwilling Santoku when I prefer something smaller.As an aside, Scan Pan Classic knives also use the same steel as Hammer Stahl (and Trident), are priced more attractively and are much more comfortable in the hand. They have excellent pans that I love, and I will be adding to my “lower end” /inexpensive knife collection with the Scan Pan brand as their knives reflect much greater pride in craftsmanship, and is also smaller and family owned, overall more worthy of, and working to earn my dollars. Skip the Hammer Stahl, if looks good and they did well on the steel, but it’s not worth the price.
✔ Verified Purchase
