Tom Douglas by Pinzon Kai 5-Inch Stainless-Steel Boning Knife Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an every day use boning knife. There are a things I like and dislike about this product, but overall, it performed well.

I have researched knives thoroughly throughout the years because I cook a lot and prefer good quality - long lasting knives. I have also attended info sessions, classes and seminars about knives. Currently, I own a set of Cutco knives.

I was pleasantly surprised with the out-of-the-box sharpness of the blade. Though, it remains to be seen how long it retains its sharpness. Although this is a boning knife, I also used it to cut tomatoes and it performed very well. It sliced through cleanly and perfectly and did not squish down the tomatoes. I compared this knife with its Cutco equivalent, the trimmer, which is has similar uses as this boning knife. In this instance, it even performed a bit better than my Cutco knife that is used for cutting tomatoes.It may have been because the Kai knife was out-of-the-box sharp and I have used the Cutco knife for 6 years (it still doesn't need sharpening). As a boning knife, it performed well. It was easy to trim the chicken, but mostly due to the sharpness of the knife.

The handle is made out of rubber, or rather a 'Nonslip black polymer', and has ridges to prevent your hands from slipping. In my opinion, the handle feels a bit flimsy and is very light. Further, it is not ergonomic, so I felt it did not fit the contours of my hand. The entire knife is very lightweight and I prefer some weight on knives as, for me, makes for easier handling. Frankly, you need some weight in your knives, especially the Chef's knife. The extra weight gives the knife extra stability. I worry that the knife is merely relying in sharpness, rather than also utilizing its weight to cut through stuff.

The blade is secured in a brown piece which is attached to the 'rubber', sorry, 'polymer' handle.There is also no tang showing. This means thatit seems that the steel blade does not run through the length of the handle. Also, the blade is not riveted throughout the handle. The rivets are metal pins, usually 3, that secure the blade to the handle. (There is a rivet, of sorts, though it is made out of plastic and seems to be purely for aesthetics.) This is a problem because it the blade can separate from the handle through use and force. Hence, I question its durability. Other high quality knives (Henckles, Wustof) secure the blade throughout the handle. I tried to researched this a bit, and no where did I read that this knife was riveted through, so I can only go by what I see as I examine the knife.

Better knives with the same or similar price are the VictorinoxBoning Knife or a Henckels Boning Knife.

Overall, this is a good every day use knife and good for tomatoes and deboning. It is flexible and easy to use.

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Tom Douglas by Pinzon Epicurean 20-Inch Chef Magnetic Knife Holder, Slate Review

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(More customer reviews)I had a problem storing all of my knives.I could not find a block that had enough slots to hold all of them and an in-drawer knife block did not work for me because, occasionally, a knife would shift inside, and I could not open the drawer.Therefore, I decided to look for a magnetic knife holder.

This Epicurean 20-Inch magnetic knife holder is long enough to hold all eight of my KAI knives.The surface is soft and will not scratch blades, magnets are strong but taking a knife off the holder is not difficult.The holder consists of two parts: one mounts to the wall and houses a small bubble level to ensure leveled installation and magnets; another part slides on top and serves as the surface that holds knives.

The installation was quite easy; however, a couple of issues turned a 10-minute job into a 30-minute one:

1. The mounting hardware was attached to the back of the back plate by sticky clear plastic similar to packaging tape.When I tried to remove it, the plastic was breaking into pieces and left glue residue.

2. There was a white sticker attached to the top plate indicating the direction in which to slide the top plate to remove it and to re-attach.This was one of those frustrating paper stickers that break into pieces when you remove them and leave glue residue behind.

I was going to take away one star because of these two issues, but, in all honesty, the holder is well made and solved my knife storage problem just fine.I would recommend this holder to anyone looking for a magnetic knife holder.

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Tom Douglas by Pinzon Kai 7-Inch Stainless-Steel Santoku Knife Review

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(More customer reviews)In Japanese, "Santoku" means, roughly, "three benefits". And the Santoku blade is designed to provide just that: a long flat belly and wide blade, like the cleaver-shaped Nakiri, for coarse-chopping vegetables; a rounded tip, like the European chef's knife (or its Japanese Gyuto equivalent), so you can rock the blade on the tip for fine mincing; and a deep bolster-less base, like the Japanese Deba, for dealing with the small bones of chicken and fish.

Most Santoku knives made for the American market get the blade shape right, but not the handle or the balance - for a Nakiri-style chopping motion, where you push the blade down and forward, you want to choke up on the blade, with your first finger and thumb gripping the spine of the blade itself, and have the balance point of the knife in front of the handle (easy with a Japanese-style stick handle, but not with typical full-tanged European molded grip). This knife actually gets it right.

Kai is a Japenese company, and, admirably, it has avoided the trap of most Santoku knives sold in the US - this is not just a funny-shaped chef's knife. The knife really works as a Nakiri, and is pretty decent for mincing and slicing as well. The balance (forward) and heft (not too much) are appropriate.

Out of the box, the blade really is sharp enough to shave with. The handle, though softer than I anticipate from a knife (not quite Oxo soft, but close), will work well in slippery and wet situations. (I don't know how well the blade will resharpen - I'll update this review when I get to it).

I have a few other Kai knives, ranging from a $hun-series Santoku and prep knife, to a middle-range 3000-series Nakiri, to a petty knife I bought off a supermarket peg in Kyoto (affectionately known in the household as "razor-on-a-stick"). It would be unfair to compare this knife to the Shun, which is a work of art. However, I consider it superior in its price range, and would recommend it to anyone who is starting to explore Japanese culinary techniques.

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Tom Douglas by Pinzon Kai 8-Inch Stainless-Steel Chef's Knife Review

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(More customer reviews)The product is a good Chef's knife however, it's not professional grade and could use some improvements.

The knife is dishwasher safe and the blade does not collect permanent water spots. If you leave it wet or wash it in the dishwasher the blade will retain it's clean looks. The overall balance of the knife is great and makes it easier to use with dry hands.

The biggest two draw backs are the sharpness of the blade and the handle grip pattern.

The knife was not as sharp as I had expected it to be. Based on owning other Tom Douglas items I expected it to be much better. The knife did well with celery, green peppers, and other semi-soft vegetables. However, on firmer vegetables such as onions, I had to force the blade through the vegetables.

The grip pattern should be changed to a rougher texture to help with the slickness. The handle was difficult to hold with wet hands and very difficult with slightly greasy hands that developed from deboning a chicken.

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Tom Douglas by Pinzon Kai 3-1/2-Inch Stainless-Steel Paring Knife Review

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(More customer reviews)We use our 3-1/2" paring knife far more than any other knife (though that may be our cooking style).The short blade makes easy and quick work of light chopping and slicing.

This Pinzon 3-1/2" paring knife is a reasonable option if you're looking for an inexpensive knife, and appreciate the convenience of shopping with Amazon.But there are a lot of knives to choose from, and if it's something you use often, you may want to look at some alternatives to find the best match for your needs.

BLADE:The blade arrived sharp and cut easily.Care has clearly been taken in making the blade - it tapers both to the sharp edge and to the tip.It's hard to tell if it has a tang (that is, if the steel of the knife blade extends into the handle).Knives with tangs are stronger and last a lot longer.The rivet hole detail at the base of the handle suggests it does, and you'd expect a knife from KAI would have a tang.

HANDLE:The handle feels secure, with the slip-resistant finish and design.The sides are somewhat flat, so if you're looking for a fully rounded design consider something else.By the way, the handle has some brown color accents, see the photos for a better look at the design.

BALANCE:The knife feels reasonably balanced, though it's a light knife so there isn't the same sort of balance and weight in your hand that a heavier knife would have.

TIP:One tip (pun sort of intended) about knives like this - never use the tip of a knife like this for anything but the lightest work, if that.Steel that's best at holding a sharp edge isn't flexible, and it's easy to break the tip.

OTHER KNIVES TO CONSIDER:There are a lot of options for knives, to suit various budgets, preferences for handles, and so on:

- For an inexpensive knife, the Wusthof Gourmet 3-Inch Paring Knife is from their budget line.

- The Oxo line of products emphasize the handles and grips, if that's a top priority for you; one example is the Oxo Good Grips Professional 4-Inch Paring Knife.

- The Calphalon Contemporary knives are a little more expensive, but to me they feel better made and have more comfortable handles.

- And if you enjoy a quality knife, consider the Wusthof Classic 3-1/2-Inch Paring Knife.The flat-sided handles don't work well for everyone, but many enjoy using them.From time to time you can find knife sets with special pricing.

Many people would say that it isn't necessary to get a high quality forged knife for the small sizes like a paring knife.And there's some advantage to having a knife that isn't so precious that you have to worry about it.So the less expensive knives will be fine for lots of people.

But you may still enjoy the quality and feel of a knife.So think about what suits your tastes and budget, you'll be using this knife a lot!

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Tom Douglas by Pinzon Wenger 5-Inch Paring Utility Knife Review

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(More customer reviews)This has to be the best knife I have ever purchased. Very sharp when it arrived and still razor sharp. A good size for most kitchen task. I love it for peeling tomatos, apples, potatos etc. I bought another one two weeks ago plus the smaller sized Tom Douglas knife. Love them all .Great value.

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