NANFANG BROTHERS Damascus Knife Set with Block,Japanese

This “NANFANG BROTHERS Knife Set,7 Piece Damascus Kitchen Knife Set with Block,VG10 Steel Core with HRC 60 2 Hardness, with Cooking Shears, Perfect Knife Set Gift” offers knives to suit just about any food preparation role for a domestic cook from the peeling, slicing and other preparation of vegetables, preparation of raw meat and poultry and slicing or portioning them once cooked. The bread knife will also cut cakes, pies, pizzas etc and the shears can cut fine herbs, trim fins etc from fish and also open several types of bottles and jars. The set all fits within the included block that will need counter-top space.

There are features that appear to have passed unnoticed and not commented upon by previous reviewers; there are several differing descriptions of the included knives that have VG10 steel cores suggesting that the outers are of a different, probably lesser quality of steel. ‘Damascus’ describes a method used in production and their final appearance not the steel’s quality; a quality Japanese Damascus knife can cost more than this boxed set.

True Damascus blades etc have a very random appearance with no obvious lines and certainly never almost parallel as they are here. Pricing of the complete set may seem high but is not.

The provided knife block is apparently identical, other than for its labelling, to one previously used and included with a famous French-branded knife set. It was subsequently found to be made of compressed paper when it became badly affected by steam and moisture within the kitchen, no longer safe to use once it began to disintegrate into several sections and was replaced by one of different design.

The knives are presently very sharp and that is to be expected. However, using any of the larger knives to cut through large chicken bones (thigh, leg bone or backbone) is best reserved for a butchers’ cleaver. The small shears within the set also feature a bottle opener tool and serrated grips between the handles to help open screw tops but their 3.5-inch blades are very limiting other than for fine herbs etc.

The knife handles which appear to be triple-riveted, not wood but a wood-plastic composite, but the ‘rivets’ are probably fake, exist on one side only, but surface decoration and lacking function. How safe they may be is uncertain and requires caution. The blades should be carefully and thoroughly dried after use.

With proper care and appropriate use, the set could last for years although previous experience with several Chinese-made kitchen knives was very poor especially in relation to rusting and edge retention, although more recent examples have proven to be considerably better. This may prove to be a recent exception for several different reasons.