Anybody ever used Kiwi brand knives from Thailand? I've heard they're pretty good for the home cook, and they can be picked up for about $10 bucks each. Just wondering if anybody had used them or heard anything about them and could give me their insight
Yes i have used kiwi brand knives. they are great. i use the same cleaver for the past 5 years. you can sharpen them forever. which is the biggest plus with them, they are also light, strong and comfortable to work. you can use one for hours with no problem.
i have actually found your post since i was looking for this brand now to get a set for my friends.
I love these little knives, i pick one up every 3 or 4 weeks for about $4 and run it into the ground. if you take care of it at home it would last as long as you want and because they're so thin, you can literally shave with them. Even when they're ready for the garbage, you can run them over a steel and they'll take a good 15 mins of abuse after that.
however i would only get the santoku style knife, the larger one has absolutely no balance. There is an image of the one you want in the thread i linked.
Spam or not, better than you might think for the price (really, they are priced as disposables). Nothing to go out of your way for, but if you need a reasonably sharp knife in a hurry for dirt cheap and you happen to be in an Asian market, they will do just fine. I have a couple kicking around in the bottom of a drawer acquired while traveling before I put together a good travel knife set. They are better than what you get in most time share units. I think this is called damning with faint praise./img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
I have never used them but know people that do and they love them and they are dedicated home cooks. I've heard the steel seems to sharpen well and holds up better than many European steels.
I use Kiwi Brand knifes for probably 15 years. I bought about 12, it was about 2$ in China Town. I have major brand expensive knifes to, mostly got it as a gift. 99.9% I use Kiwi Brand. It is lite, thin, easy to sharpen, very ergonomic. I need to buy more as I gifted away to felow cooking enthusiasts and I lost one. I just have one now, will buy 20, I'm sure I can make many people happy with them.
I've used Kiwi brand knives, and I really like them. They have a super thin blade that is insanely sharp when you first use it. However, I haven't had much luck getting it that sharp again despite using a sharpening stone. What I like about them is that they are lightweight and have smaller knives (7 inch) that fit my small hand and short fingers. The price (anywhere from 4-10 dollars) is really affordable as well.
One thing though...the wood handle ones get sort of slimy after a while, and I don't like how moisture gets trapped up where the blade joins the handle. I have the plastic handle one and prefer it over the wood, but they're not as easy to find. I purchased mine 5 or so years ago from an ebay seller stationed in Thailand and got the set with the paring knife, 7 inch knife, a longer 8 or 9 inch knife, and a huge cleaver looking blade. The cleaver is really great for cutting meats. I've used it to cut through chicken legbones without leaving a dent in the blade. The 7 inch is my favorite, but the longer knife doesn't get much use. The balance is a bit wonky, and I don't find it comfortable to hold.
Despite 5 years of being my primary knife, the little blade is holding up well, though I did knick the blade while hacking away at some chicken thigh joints (my fault...I should have used shears or the cleaver). They're still sharp enough to use on most items, but I am noticing that it's not as good slicing through meats...had a horrible time trying to cut a pocket in a chicken breast a while back...or delicate skinned items like tomatoes. Trying to decide now whether to get another one (they're easier to find in the States now and several online stores...usually Thai grocers...carry them) or invest in something more pricey like a Global knife to see if the more expensive blades have more to offer. I've never used "gourmet" kitchen knives before, so I unfortunately can't tell you how they compare. Though if I do get the Global, I suppose I could update in a few months and let you know.
They actually are pretty great for a special purpose. Over the past decades I've catered many events that were kosher. Of necessity, I have not been able to use my own cutlery, because they have been used on foods that aren't kosher. If the facility has kosher cutlery, such as at a synagogue kitchen, the knives are often aged, dull, and extremely uncomfortable to use. The Kiwi knives are plenty sharp and so cheap that when you're done with the event, you can just leave the knives at the facility, for your next engagement there. I have a set at home that I use when my hands are particularly tired or sensitive. Kiwi knives are very light weight. This one is my favorite and under 9-bucks:
I am seriously thinking about getting rid of all other knives because when I reach for a knife it is one of the kiwis, easy to keep sharp, sharp enough to shave with. The other knives are wasting space in my drawer.
Yes. I have many varieties of these knives. They are affordable, very thin, easy to sharpen. I have the cleaver too. Useful for fowl carcasses, and cutting pizza.
I have the Kom Kom #21 chefs/cleaver, the big brother to the Kiwi line. Very light, thin and flexible; comes with a surprisingly sharp edge. In comparison, my Dexter cleaver is a hulk.
I'm not entirely sold on the Kiwi. Maybe if another handful of people registered just so they could use their first and only post to tell me how it's the best knife in the world...
I'm not going to say that Kiwi knives are amazing, but I have noticed that my Chef de Cuisine uses several Kiwi knives at work all the time. I've not used them, but I'm considering getting one just to have...might be useful at home (since my good knives go to work with me). Besides, it's kind-of impressive to have one of the MASSIVE chef knives made by Kiwi like what my chef uses, lol...if I want to refer to his knife I usually call it a "broadsword", lol.
I'm not entirely sold on the Kiwi. Maybe if another handful of people registered just so they could use their first and only post to tell me how it's the best knife in the world...
Kiwi knives have changed my life. My teeth are whiter, my clothes brighter , my car runs faster, girls throw themselves at me and I just won a lottery.
When I used just my MACs and Wusthofs my wife left me , my dog would bite me whilst I slept and my house caught on fire..
No more now that I own a light as air sharper than sharp Kiwi .
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