Calphalon LX knives

Calphalon LX are made with X50CrMo15V same as top of the line Wusthof.  It's not without its virtues, but all in all it's a mediocre knife alloy.

Knife tips are easily bent or broken.  Tips can't really be straigthened without severe weakening.  If you can't return the knife to the retailer, some other retailer, or the factory, you should just go ahead and profile a new tip.  Otherwise, it will break off into something your cutting and you'll end up serving it.

Decent?  Depends what you mean by the term.  Considering their levels of materials and fit and finish, they represent a lot of value -- which is typical of Calphalon in general.  Whether or not you'll like them is an altogether different story.     

BDL

I've used Calphalon in the past.  Always belonged to other people though.  Only in home kitchens.

Overall review, meh...  too much chrome and shiny crap. 

I have a Calphalon peeler in my knife roll.  Use it all the time, but I hate it.  I call it the C.O.P - chromed out peeler.

Value Village.  $1.00   haha

Spend the money if you want a good knife.  I'm sure all these guys will say the same thing.

Cheese,

I don't get your review.  If you only tried them in other people's homes, you've most probably used them dull.  How can you evaluate a dull knife?

You also didn't say which models you tried, whether Contemporarly Cuisine, LX or Katana; or whether some or all.  It certainly can't have been Katanas because they aren't chromed at all. 

Regarding the chrome, I think the Contemporary Cuisine knives have chrome butt caps, but otherwise don't recall Calphalon knives as particularly shiny. 

You're entitled to your opinion of the knife of course, and I hope you're basing it on something besides what you wrote.  Considering edge characteristics, F&F, blade profile and general ergonomics, in my opinion the LX is pretty darn close to Wusthof Ikon.  You either find them comfortable or not.

I'll leave the aesthetics to other people.

It's true an LX isn't a good knife in the sense that a MAC Pro or a Masamoto is, but I don't get the sense that's where the OP is heading.  It's a high value German type in the same league as Forschner Forged, perhaps a step better than Mundial and Henckels International.  Perhaps not made quite as well as an F. Dick 1904 or a Zwillings -- but not a bad knife compared to Lamson and the Euros. 

Perhaps I should add the usual blather about sharpness and sharpening.  No knife is better than its edge.  The Calphalons come reasonably sharp but will dull as fast any knife of similar alloy and similar design.  When resharpened they can be made reasonably sharp, but their edge taking capability isn't anywhere close to a high-end Japanese made knife.

In other words, LX edge taking and holding fits squarely in the spectra of other German and American knives made with X50CrMoV15 with midling hardening, like Lamson, F. Dick, Wusthof, etc. 

If you steel the knives frequently and properly, and sharpen them frequently and properly they should give good service for a long time.  If you don't, when they get dull they'll be no better or worse than any dull knife.

Sorry to chime in again,

BDL