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Ronco knives

B

Barkely

Guest
Does anyone own a set of the Ronco knives they advertise in the infomercials, if so what do you think of them? I have thought about ordering them, but I didn't know if they were really as good as they say, or if it was just a scam.

What is a good brand of knives for someone who enjoys cooking, but is on a budget?
 
Ronco

Hi there... I am curious to see how others respond to your post. I, too, was impressed by the Ronco knife commercial and ordered it right away.

First warning - when you call to order - you are told that when you buy one set, you get a second set free. HOWEVER, they charge you an extra $22 for shipping on the free item! They WOULD NOT allow me to "waive" my second free set. I didn't need it, and its not really free if they make me pay ANOTHER $22 to ship it. Well, you can't order it at all unless you pay the $22 shipping on the SECOND "FREE SET", so I had no choice. I bought it.

Second, they then try to sell you the knife block, which really... unless you buy it, where are you going to store these knives? I kind of thought they would come in a case or something, but they do not. The block was another $30 I think.... I first said no thanks cuz they wanted to charge yte another $11 to ship THAT. So they "waived" the shipping cost if I agreed to order the block, which I did. (SO DO NOT AGREE TO BUY THE BLOCK UNTIL THEY OFFER FREE SHIPPING ON IT)

The knives just came, but I bought this as a B-day gift, so I cannot use the knives to test them yet. However, for some reason, they packed one lone steak knife on top of the merchandise, so I opened the steak knife and cut a piece of summer sausage just to test it out.

1) I really didn't think it cut the sausage any better than any knife I ever used. It didnt exactly "cut like butter" or anything...

2) I will say you can tell the knife is solidly made. The handle is thick, as it the blade. I assume this would probably last awhile

I can't say the one steaknife I could use was better or worse than any other knife I've tried. All I can say is it is solidly made, but really doesn't seem any SHARPER. I am still debating whether to send it back.

HOWEVER - the website advertised by the infomercial would not work. I had to call to order. Now I can't find the website at all, and cannot even find a way to send this back if I want to. I am sure if I do, they will charge me yet another $43 to ship. I am still debating what to do.

BY THE WAY - THE WORST PART IS AFTER I BOUGHT THEM BY PHONE, I FOUND OUT YOU CAN BUY THIS STUFF AT TARGET!!! No shipping costs. So try Target first.

I hope that helps you a little bit.
 
I bought these same knives months ago at Wal Mart on clearance for $10. I ended up throwing them out later and ordering a good set of chefs knives from JCPenneys. Good knives are a must have investment for the kitchen.
 
These info-mercials they make me mad! I never order from them, but reading this reminds me of Mom ordering the Ginsu Knives, what a rip-off that was.

I learned alot from watching my Mom, mainly how not to be a sucker for the darned TV!!! Poor trusting Mom!!! At least when you purchase something from a store you don't like you just take it back and get a refund, no paying postage and waiting for the refund for weeks on end.
 
For all the gadget collectors

:D I happened across this MSNBC report today. I laughed so hard I had tears coming out my eyes and I just wanted to share a laugh with all you gadget collectors as well, the thing that caught my funny bone was the video of the "Hula Chair" demonstration. Now we are not allowed to have sound on our computers at work, so I watched it with-out sound so I recommend you watching it that way. I hope you will have as great a belly laugh form watching this as I did. Not one to be easily amused I found watching this to be hysterically funny!

Go here to view: Does It Work? - msnbc.com

Plus the article really does give us a little insight into some of these things we see advertised here & there.

Let me know what you think of the hula chair, Cathy
 
Geeze, Cathy. You need to get out more. ;)

A word on knives---and other kitchenware. It is never a good idea to buy a set of anything---knives, cookware, even glassware. Most of the time these sets contain pieces you'll never use.

Far better is to determine your actual needs and buy the items you want from open stock. That way you get exactly the tool for the job, and don't have unused ones laying around.

Example: My youngest recieved an 11-piece set of stainless cookware as a wedding present. Now, two years later, they have yet to touch four of the pieces.

Same with knives. If I were looking to first build a knife collection, I would save up and get the best chef's knife or santuko I could afford. That is, spend about 10-15% more than you think. That will be your go-to knife for 80%+ of what you do.

Pick the knife by handling it the store just the way you would use it at home. All the motions: the cutting, slicing, chopping movements. Is the knife comfortable? Does it balance well? Is the blade a configuration you are happy with? Maybe the grip of one design is perfect, but the blade too heavy for you? Or another doesn't feel right in your hand. Whatever. Eventually, by handling enough of them, you'll find the design that's right for you.

Then do the same thing, a little at a time, with other knivess. After the chef's knife perhaps you need a good paring knife? Or a boning knife? Or a carving knife?

Chances are, each of these are available in the same make as your big knife. But that doesn't always mean you'll buy matching pieces. Maybe you like the Wustoff classic icon Chef's Knife. But Henkels makes a paring knife more your comfort level.

Another good reason to have not bought a set in the first place.

Personally, unless it was a specific make and model I was already familiar with, I would never buy a knife I hadn't handled. If it's not comfortable in your hand, if the fit isn't there, you'll be unhappy with it. And an unhappy knife is a dangerous knife. The only thing more dangerous is a dull one.

Comfort and fit have nothing to do with cost, btw. Every maker of quality knives has it's own design criteria. So, what is, objectively, a high quality knife may, in your hands, be junk. The fact you paid 130 bucks for it is irrelevent. It's still junk. Whereas I might think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
 
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Ronco knives are an absolute joke!

A friend of mine is so sorry she ordered them - paid all that shipping, got suckered into the knife block, etc.

I do not buy any knife from anywhere until I've had a chance to see it and feel it.

I bought a very expensive set of knives years ago - wouldn't trade them for anything.

Want a sharp knife - look in your yellow pages for a knife sharpening company if you can't do it yourself. And there is a way to do it properly.

Ronco can keep their knives - I wouldn't buy that set at the dollar store for a buck - block included!
 
Geeze, Cathy. You need to get out more. ;)

You may have a point there KYH:D

But this lady, and then the Chairman of the Board meeting both gyrating around on this chair was hilarious, she couldn't even take a drink of water! It was a HOOT!
I can not imagine anyone getting any work done sitting in one of those, you might wind up with "Shaken Baby Syndrome" at the end of the so-called work-out!
Did you read the article on the foot pads? That was pretty funny too! The point is DO NOT FALL FOR INFOMERCIALS!!!
 
Hey - now - hold on!

There is one infomercial that I did "fall" for - and it was like someone heard what I was wishing for.

The Xpress 101 machine.

I do a lot with my sandwich maker - but the "wells" are small and I was wishing for a machine with bigger wells ---- along came the Xpress 101.

Made Mama happy!

: )
 
Mama, could you explain that a bit. What is an Xpress 101 machine? Sounds like a drag racer.
 
KYHeirloomer is absolutely right. I made the unfortunate mistake of buying a set of Cutco knives about 25 years ago. I thought they were such good knives as I paid a lot for them. However, they never held an edge for long. After years of cooking for my family I realized that I only used four of the knives on a regular basis: the chef's knife (80%), paring knife (15%), the serrated and boning knives (5%). All the other knives pretty much sit in the drawer. I don't know why the butcher knife even exists. Don't buy a set.

Last year I bought four Shun knives: the 8" Granton Chef's knife, 3 1/2" paring (I wish I had gotten the 4"), 6" boning knife, and the 9" Classic bread knife. I want to get the new 4 1/4" mini chef's knife. I think that one will be nice for dicing and chopping most of my veggies and smaller things like a single clove of garlic, etc. I have to say that good quality knives are a real treat. Unlike Cutco, which uses a cheap stamped 440A stainless steel, quality knives will use at least 440C, or other good knife steel, that has a higher carbon content. 440C has between 80% to 95% carbon while 440A and 440B have between 60% to 75% carbon. Shun uses VG-10 stainless steel. VG-10 contains other metals like chromium, vanadium, and cobalt which makes the steel substantially harder than 440C without making it brittle. There are other great metals for making knives but please stay away from anything that does not at least have the hardness of 440C. The higher the carbon content the the harder the steel and thus the better it will hold an edge. I sold my 15 piece Cutco set at a garage sale for $100. I figure I got my Shun paring knife for free.

First, make sure the knife feels great, not just good but great, in your hand. It should feel wonderful. The Shun knives are designed for right-handed people. I don't know if they make a left-handed version, but the feel is extraordinary. Second, get forged steel. It doesn't matter if it is 440C or 1060 or 1080 or 1090, (1090 is best) or VG-10, or whatever. Just get a good high quality steel that will hold the edge for a long time. 440A steel is just crap for holding an edge. Sure you can sharpen it easy, but it will not hold the edge at all. Stamped 440A or B steel is the cheapest steel on the market that is being used for kitchen cutlery - the cheapest. It is my guess that the increased cost of manufacturing imposed by union benefits and high taxes make it impossible to use higher quality steel. Third, make sure the knife is well balanced. This really helps reduce fatigue, as does sharpness. Third, get a knife that has a bolster. Not all knife designs use a bolster between the blade and the handle, but I like it. After experiencing the difference I am sold on it. I don't really understand how or why, but the whole knife design seems stronger with a bolster. Fourth, don't EVER put your knives in the dishwasher. Wash them by hand and dry them immediately and put them back in the block - hopefully your block holds the knives in a horizontal postion. A dishwasher will dull your knives faster than any other process, except for abuse. As the water from the jests goes around it causes other tinsels to move and slap into the knife, resulting in a dull knife.

I am not promoting Shun at all. There are other great knives out there. I just loved how well they felt in my hand when I was comparing them to the other brands. When comparing the cost of Cutco to other knives I realized that going from a Corolla to a Rolls Royce is was not that big of a deal. Even if I could only buy one piece a year it would be worth it.

Getting 30 knives for $30 tells me that the deal is too good to be true. Quality is never cheap, but paying a little more for it will pay dividends - not just over time, but from the very first time you use them. Nowhere in the kitchen is quality more important than your knives. Leave the infomercial knives alone. There is a reason why you get so many knives so cheap. It is not rocket science, it is common sense.

Tom
 
I tend to be on a tighter budget so the higher dollar knives aren't in the picture. Strangely enough, I got a Chicago Cutlery Chefs Knife from WalMart (yeah, I know, the evil empire) that sharpens fairly easily and holds an edge pretty well and is comfortable in my hand. Cost? a bit over $20. Infomercial knives? I agree, no way.
 
Bubba, you are so right about the Chicago Citlery quality for the price. They were my only knives for years, may not hold an edge long with constant use, but take one really well.
I upgraded my chef's knife to a Wusthof about 8-9 years ago and loved it. Lost all my tools 3 years ago and when I went to replace them (thank goodness for insurance), found they had changed the Wusthof chef's to make it more ergonomicaly correct? Well it didn't feel right and was too light.
So wandered into a kitchenware store I wasn't familiar with and wow, a gorgeous Shun display called out to me.
Picked up a 10" Classic Chef's and it was part of my arm and hand. They do have a left and right handed style, but although left handed, the rightie felt better. Seemed that's not uncommon?
So with that Super Star, my butcher, fillet, and bread knives are Chicago Cutlery, slicer and paring knives are Wusthof.
enjoy,
Nan
 
RE: " Lost all my tools 3 years ago and when I went to replace them (thank goodness for insurance), found they had changed the Wusthof chef's to make it more ergonomicaly correct?"

Nan- I too lost many knives when working at the Kenai Princess Lodge in Cooper Landing back in the early 90's. Guess where I replaced them? Wandered in the Pawn Shop in l'il ol downtown Seward one day and low and behold a cook on one of the crusieships had pawned his bag of knives & gadgets, and I picked the whole bag up for a song! Seems the pawn shop owner had no idea of the real value of a simple bag of Henckels and Trident Wusthofs!
 
I think those adverts are a joke. I have not seen those knives advertised over here yet, but no doubt they will make their way over the Atlantic.

I like Kitchen Devil knives, they are fine for every day household kitchen use. They seem to last for years.

How they would fare in an industrial kitchen, I wouldn't like to hazzard a guess.
 
Well I went to Kmart today to pick up a new dog bed for the pooch and they had tons of kitchen items on clearance. I normally do not buy anything by Martha Stewart except my cutting board. They had a nice set of rosewood handle triple riveted knives by Martha Stewart that had been marked down several times. The set had started out priced over $98 then marked down to $38. I opened the box and checked them out. One large nice chefs knife, a large bread knife, kitchen shears, big butcher knife, sharpening steel, 2 paring knives and 6 steak knives. They came with a rosewood storage block. All in all I am very happy with it. It is a nice set and well worth $38.

I found a 3 1/2 quart enamel coated cast iron pot with lid for $17 on the clearance isle. You could see where it had been marked down time and again. I get to the checkout and it rings up for $25 and she calls in the back and they tell her it is $29 lol. Now if it is marked a price they have to give it to you for that so they call up the manager who grumbles but gives it to me for $17.

Now I got the dog a bed for arthritic dogs that was $69 and the tag said it was $32.99 on clearance. She had to call in the back and they bring her up a upc number to punch in and it comes up for $29 lol. It was so funny :rolleyes:
 
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I'm pretty happy with them. I gave them a good run through last night chopping some different items. They did well with tomato, potato, onion and butternut squash. Comfortable to the hand with good balance.
 
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