Budget Cutlery: A Functional Set of Kitchen Knives for less than Two Dollars

Quality kitchen cutlery is expensive and I believe that you get what you pay for. Three piece starter sets including a either a chef's or santoku knife, utility knife, and paring knife from quality manufacturers such as Shun, Wusthof, Global, Zwilling JA Henkels and Victorinox will range from $179 to $269 at Williams-Sonoma and Swiss Knife Shop. These knives are forged in Japan and Germany, crafted to take an edge, and provide years of service in professional kitchens.

In contrast cutlery sets with five to more than twenty pieces are available at discount stores at prices ranging from $20 to a little more than $100. Some are out and out junk, a few are not terribly bad considering their cost, most will not be handed down to the next generation with love and care, and none will meet the standards of professional chefs. In essence, most discount store cutlery, though pricey for its quality, is disposable: it will be used until it is dull, bent, broken, or misplaced and then replaced with more junk.

While I appreciate good cutlery, it is not currently in the budget and I do not care to throw money away on discount store items that are not made to last. However, functional cutlery is a necessity and the local thrift store and a good knife sharpener provided a viable option. The knives pictured were recently purchased "on sale" at a thrift store for $.25 each or $1.25 for the "set" which includes a paring knife, a slicer, a carving knife, a butcher knife, and a small butcher knife suitable for use as a utility knife. This is 1/16 the price of the cheapest discount store sets.

All needed to be sharpened and cleaned, some were scratched and blemished, and most had wooden handles. Outside the realm of television commercials and carnival demonstrations, there is no such thing as a knife that never needs sharpening. Scratches and blemishes do not impede function and wooden handles are easily sanitized with bleach. Within a couple of hours, my $1.25 set of knives was ready for service with better edges than found on new discount store cutlery. While they may not be impressive, they offer far greater value than discount store junk.