As Seen On TV Knives

[Jenyfari]

Has anyone had any experience with those knives they advertise in those informercials which cut through anything (even tin cans)? They look good but I am always sceptical of anything they advertise on those infomercials.

[phatch]

Originally Posted by Jenyfari

Has anyone had any experience with those knives they advertise in those informercials which cut through anything (even tin cans)? They look good but I am always sceptical of anything they advertise on those infomercials.

They're saws, not knives. To complete a cut, you have to draw the blade across the surface to sever the bits of connection where the serrations are. So chopping is out. Blades are not stiff enough either. They do go dull, and quickly as its the design of the blade not the edge of the steel doing the work.

http://www.urateit.com/writtenreviews.asp?id=83 has reviews. They're not happy with them in general.

[Jenyfari]

Thanks for that. I will take a look at the reviews.

[lordofthefish]

Jenny,

Serated knives are best for bread, crusted meats, pineapple skin, tough stuff like that. If you are interested in a serrated knife my advice is to go to Target and buy a spanish made Henkel and a small diamond rod sharpener for you to keep it sharp. Both are reasonably priced It is very difficult to mess them up.

However, if you want a solid chef's knife that has outstanding performance then I recommend a silver bullet. A Japanese man named Tatsuo Kobayashi has offered MAC knives for years and they have pretty much only been known to chefs. They are resaonably priced and are some of the sharpest knives in the world. Truly razor sharp so dont be chatter boxing (like my wife) when using them or you could cut yourself badly. Sharp knives are the safest as long as you pay attention. I will tell you where to get these knives but I want you to remember one more thing. If you get a Mac knife make sure that you buy the FISKARS MAC approved sharpener. Its easy to use you just rip the blade back and forth and it will put the razor edge right back on.

Knifemerchant.com has both blades and sharpner as does knifeoutlet.com
I have ordered from both numerous times and have always been happy with their service. Never a problem.

Good luck and I love MAC knives so I promote them whenever I get the chance.

[crimsonmist308]

i concur with lordofthefish and his love for MAC knives. i love them too!!

but just for your info, my sister (as a joke!) gave me a set of GINZU knives for christmas one year and i decided ... what the heck ... i would "abuse" the blades like they do on tv and cut through whatever i could get my hands on!

i then learned something VERY interesting ... i could NOT cut a straight line with these knives!! i watched the infomercial again and again (i recorded it on my VCR!!) and i could not understand how the guy on tv could cut such straight lines with the knives and i couldn't!!

then .... i noticed he was LEFT-HANDED!! what happens is this ... serrated knives are cut either on the left or right side of the blade (holding your knife in your hand and sighting down the blade pointing away from you) for you to cut straight lines with a serrated knife, the cut on the serrations have to be on the same side as you are "handed". i am right-handed, but the GINZU is cut on the left side of the blade, so every time i push down to cut, the blade is sliding away from me so i cannot cut straight!

just thot you would want to know.

[foodpump]

What all the others have said....

A hacksaw can cut through a copper pipe an a tomato too, but a hacksaw's blade is held in tension by the saw's frame. A p.o.s. (piece of, well, you get the idea...) Infomercial knife is nothing more than a chrome plated hacksaw blade imbedded in a hunk of plastic. The blades on 99% of these knives are flexible, so when you cut through hard vegetables like a potoato or carrot the blade squirms and shimmies all over the place, when cutting through soft moist meats and cheeses the serrations leave scars and scratches over the cut surface, and when the knives get dull you can't sharpen them, the only thing you can do with them is use them to scrape off the crusted up grass from the lawn mower....

[foodpump]

What all the others have said....

A hacksaw can cut through a copper pipe an a tomato too, but a hacksaw's blade is held in tension by the saw's frame. A p.o.s. (piece of, well, you get the idea...) Infomercial knife is nothing more than a chrome plated hacksaw blade imbedded in a hunk of plastic. The blades on 99% of these knives are flexible, so when you cut through hard vegetables like a potoato or carrot the blade squirms and shimmies all over the place, when cutting through soft moist meats and cheeses the serrations leave scars and scratches over the cut surface, and when the knives get dull you can't sharpen them, the only thing you can do with them is use them to scrape off the crusted up grass from the lawn mower....

[buzzard767]

Originally Posted by Jenyfari

Has anyone had any experience with those knives they advertise in those informercials which cut through anything (even tin cans)? They look good but I am always sceptical of anything they advertise on those infomercials.

They're crap Jen. It's all marketing bunk of junk knives with serrations. Don't waste your time.

In all of history, the only kitchen knives even remotely capable of cutting metal and remaining sharp were made by Frank J. Richtig from the 1930's until his death in 1977. See him in Ripley's "Believe It Or Not". His knives were made of simple 1095 carbon steel and the secret was in his heat treatment process. He and his wife used to go to county fairs in the midwest where he would pound his knives through steel buggy axles with a hammer and then slice paper. Unfortunately his secret died with him and so far no one has been able to duplicate the process. I have five of them but I don't believe I'll be splitting any axles. LOL

Do yourself a favor and get yourself some German knives and a Chef's Choice electric sharpener. If you ever get the urge for some truly great kitchen knives, go Japanese. I'm not talking Shuns or Globals as there are much better brands available. Of course, if you buy them you have to learn how to sharpen them, but that's another story.

In any case, don't suck for the infomercial BS.

Buzz

[bbay]

LOL!
my parents got me one for christmas last year!
actually, they bought themselves the complete 'miracle blade' set, and gave me the extra 'miracle blade slicer' with offset handle. COMPLETE garbage! it's already showing some rust and i HARDLY EVER USE IT! (not that i would ever tell my parents that)

now whenever i visit my parents house i have to dig out their old forschner set (yes, it's a stamped blade, but it's still pretty decent). i won't use their 'miracle blade' set. the 'rock and chop' (santoku blade) weighs about as much as a leaf of paper. the 'chop and scoop' (cleaver) weighs even less. i kept feeling like i was going to lop off a digit.

so, if someone told me that i could either have the 'miracle blade' set or a pair of dull scissors as my kitchen set for the rest of my life, i would have to go with the dull scissors. seriously. that bad.

EDIT: trying to be helpful, spend $60-$80 on one decent chef's knife. get it sharpened professionally for $10-$15 a year. that should easily last you 5 years of heavy home use. that math equals $26ish a year for a decent blade. divide that by 12... way less than $3.00 a month. THAT is a good deal; 'ginsu' knives ARE NOT a good deal. buyer beware...