I didn't see anywhere that said "Rachael Ray not included", so I'm in for one.

Will these cut meat?

mm20 wrote:I didn't see anywhere that said "Rachael Ray not included", so I'm in for one.

Plus Furi-an knives are supposed to be pretty good.

Reviews at Amazon are excellent:

http://www.amazon.com/Furi-Rachael-Gusto-Basics-3-Knife/dp/B001NABGL8

(Amazon price is $23.67.)

Looks like cheap plastic handles. Any comments?

behappi wrote:Looks like cheap plastic handles. Any comments?

It looks like plastic to me, too, but one of the Amazon reviews said they have a rubber grip.

I have some Rachael Ray bakeware, and the handles are silicone, so maybe these handles are some sort of silicone-covered plastic? (Just guessing!)

Good name, and associated 'star' power. But sometimes that is just 'star' wash to sell cheap junk, and these appear to have cheap plasticy handles, and I don't see any mention of full tang.

Did I just miss it?

If they are not full tang, they aren't worth using, and could be unsafe to use.

I'll pass.

Tried these once at a friend's place. Looked and felt cheap. If I remember correctly, the lightweight handle was plasticky with a rubbery coating. The blades were thin and light, which generally means 99 cent store knives. But the description tries to make it seem like an advantage. Generally speaking, thicker forged blades are better, with the only exception being a fileting knife which may be flexible.

If you want some highly-rated inexpensive knives, consider Victorinox (maker of the iconic Swiss knives). Cooks Illustrated gave their cutlery glowing reviews, as do Amazon reviewers. The Fibrinox handles are also highly rated. Amazingly, their knives can be found for as little as $10, with most around $20. Do a search on Amazon.

Here is Cooks Illustrated's guide to buying knives, with their comparison of various brands.

Despite my previous comment, at this price, it makes a nice gift for college students or someone starting out.

1) It has the recognizable Rachael Ray name. While not respected by foodies, her casual approach to cooking does have mass appeal.

2) Storage box is nice albeit not practical and space-consuming. Boxes are always good for gifting even if the box is never used again.

3) Has a festive casual look.

4) Basically maintenance-free. A typical user probably won't even know what a sharpening steel is. These will probably last a few years for the young causal user, and then be discarded when they become dull. Not bad for the price tag.

I own a few of the Rachael Ray Furi knives, and they are quite good for the money. Moderate edge retention, the grip on the knive feels good for prolonged use (albeit cheap feeling). However, these knives are NOT full tang, and are not very well glued into the handles, but a little gorilla glue can remedy that.
I am a professional chef btw, and these perform their duty adequately, but don't expect Wusthof quality and I don't think you will be disappointed, especially if you only use them a couple of times a week (I recommend using a steel before each use; you will be amazed at the difference it can make in softer steel).

I can only site 3-4 weeks of nearly daily use, but I have these as part of a larger Rachael Ray set thanks to the largely good reviews, and have had great experiences with them so far. I really like the handles, they're super grippy... Almost too much so (they grip my grippy paper a bit when I reach into the drawer to get one out), but if your hands are a little wet, it still grips like a pro.

I was a little concerned about rust, as some reviews mention it, but I haven't had any issues. I've let them sit with a few drops of water on them (accidentally), but when I noticed the next morning, the water spots rubbed right off. They've also sat in the damp sink a few times for a night when the husband uses them, and again, no problems.

sdc100 wrote:If you want some highly-rated inexpensive knives, consider Victorinox (maker of the iconic Swiss knives). Cooks Illustrated gave their cutlery glowing reviews, as do Amazon reviewers. The Fibrinox handles are also highly rated. Amazingly, their knives can be found for as little as $10, with most around $20. Do a search on Amazon.

Here is Cooks Illustrated's guide to buying knives, with their comparison of various brands.

I can second this recommendation. I have a couple of the Victorinox knives and for the price they can't be beat. My favorite is a six-inch chef's knife which is more like a utility knife with a broader blade. It was around $20 and is a great small all-purpose kind of knife.

sdc100 wrote:If you want some highly-rated inexpensive knives, consider Victorinox (maker of the iconic Swiss knives). Cooks Illustrated gave their cutlery glowing reviews, as do Amazon reviewers. The Fibrinox handles are also highly rated. Amazingly, their knives can be found for as little as $10, with most around $20. Do a search on Amazon.

Here is Cooks Illustrated's guide to buying knives, with their comparison of various brands.

I have a Victorinox chef knife, as well as a Rachel Ray (Furi) 7-Inch Sharp-and-Store. The sharp-and-store sits on the counter and gets a lot of use. The Victorinox generally sits in a drawer. The Furi gets used more because it is sharper and is already out (thanks to the sharpening stand), but the Victorinox is a better knife, I think.

It looks to me, like this set isn't the same quality as most of the single Furi knives in the Rachel Ray line. The others have metal ends on the handles, which probably indicates full-tang, and these don't.

If you have no knives, and have just moved into your first apartment, these might be a good starter set. If not, I can recommend both the "sharp-and-store" and the Victorinox.

(As an aside, my wife has a small set of Global knives which are incredible... Super high quality with impeccable balance. They are a tad on the lightweight side, which is perfect for her, but I prefer something a tiny bit heavier. If you have the money, and are looking to keep your knives for a long time, I'd skip both options I suggested and go with a higher quality brand... Find a place that sells them and try them out, though. What's great for one person might not be good for another.)

These might be OK for stabbing your ears and eyes out so you don't have to hear or see Rachael Ray again.

I have Rachael Ray knives, a set of 12 actually, with the metal ends and love them, but these knives just look cheap to me.

http://www.givinggallery.com/products/Rachael-Ray-Furi-5-Lil-Edgy-Santoku-Knife-p804/?source=amazonPF

I have the larger knife in this set. The handle is rubber. We have had this knife for about 4 years now and it is just now in need of some sharpening (after near daily use).

I think I paid about $15 for just the one knife, so this is a decent deal.

Although not about these knives, I wholeheartedly agree. I picked up my victorinox 8" knife three years ago for about $20 and love it.

Might get these as a backup, though.

I have the large and small knives of this set. I have used them for about 4 years with no problems. The large knife works well, but I have better paring knives than the small Rachael Ray knife so it doesn't get much use. Over all, I don't think these knives are very sharp, but for the price, a nice gift for someone starting out. The case is a nice touch.

I was given the Gusto Grip Chef's knife 2 Christmases ago when a friend bought it for me on a whim because it was orange (my favorite color). I cook daily and make all of my food from scratch. This knife has held strong for 2 years with daily use and still continues to be my favorite knife. It stays sharp, is perfectly straight and cuts like a dream. This is an excellent knife and it can withstand a lot. I couldn't find them for the longest time. I'm getting 3 and keeping to give as gifts (Or just use myself :P). AMAZING knives.

Looking on the bright side, they're orange!

No, these are not the quality of knives you'll find on the Chopped TV show....but I've had these knives for over a year and have LOVED how well they cut, keep an edge, plus the goofy orange grippy handles keep the knife steady in my hand even when wet. I have very expensive knives, but these RR knives have become my everyday use knives....Super easy to work with.
For the price you can't beat these...I'm in for 3 sets as Christmas gifts for friends that envy my RR knives.

Quite possibly decent, I have the 8" chef's knife and 6" utility. I like the 8" a lot, sharp and nimble and better than the Victorinox. I cook a lot and I'm a big guy so I find the handle a bit small and cheesy. One of these days I'll get a truly great knife, but this works well now.

I own 2 of these 3 knives (the santoku and utility knives). Had them for about 4 years and both me and my husband like them, and mind you the remaining knives in our set are Wusthof brand. The santoku is excellent for chopping potatoes and my go to knife for anything you would normally use a chef's knife for. For the price, they would make a great gift. And yes, the handles have a silicon coat to them. Comfortable on the hand and your grip definitely doesn't slide.

esgipson wrote:I own a few of the Rachael Ray Furi knives, and they are quite good for the money. Moderate edge retention, the grip on the knive feels good for prolonged use (albeit cheap feeling). However, these knives are NOT full tang, and are not very well glued into the handles, but a little gorilla glue can remedy that.
I am a professional chef btw, and these perform their duty adequately, but don't expect Wusthof quality and I don't think you will be disappointed, especially if you only use them a couple of times a week (I recommend using a steel before each use; you will be amazed at the difference it can make in softer steel).

Not full tang = no sale for me. I broke a short-tang knife/handle just sharpening it.

These knives are made from some type of CrMoV steel. This steel has only moderate corrosion resistance (fruits will rust the blade if you don't clean them immediately, but a drop of water wont generally be a problem). The steel has moderate hardness for decent edge retention and will take quite a fine edge if you work at it.

It is good steel FOR THE MONEY and many of the popular brand name knives use this type of steel in their cheaper knives. Keep in mind, the vaugness of manufacturer in specifying which CrMoV probably means it's of the least desirable CrMov's as there are a few high-ish quality ones.

sdc100 wrote:If you want some highly-rated inexpensive knives, consider Victorinox (maker of the iconic Swiss knives). Cooks Illustrated gave their cutlery glowing reviews, as do Amazon reviewers. The Fibrinox handles are also highly rated. Amazingly, their knives can be found for as little as $10, with most around $20. Do a search on Amazon.

Here is Cooks Illustrated's guide to buying knives, with their comparison of various brands.

You are right on. We have several Victorinox Kitchen knives, including the 8" chief's knife (The one you really should have) and they work better than the fancy expensive ones because they are thinner, and are easy to sharpen. And they are made in Switzerland

PocketBrain wrote:Not full tang = no sale for me. I broke a short-tang knife/handle just sharpening it.

Then no Global or Shun knives, I guess.

It's not whether it's full tang or forged or whatever that matters; it's the quality of the knife. You can buy really crappy full tang knives for under twenty bucks. That doesn't make them good.

craigthom wrote:Then no Global or Shun knives, I guess.

It's not whether it's full tang or forged or whatever that matters; it's the quality of the knife. You can buy really crappy full tang knives for under twenty bucks. That doesn't make them good.

Of course, you are absolutely right. You can stamp out a blade and tang from nothing and once handles are on it and a quick machine sharpening, you still have nothing.

Knives, as it seems you already know, are tools. Tools can be found at the drugstore and tools can be found at the hardware store. Tools can be found in the specialty shops. They may look somewhat the same but they are certainly not the same. Anybody that purchased that $9.95 screwdriver set at the five and dime just to find out the blade of the screwdriver bent rather than turn the screw has found this out. So, folks, if you are looking for a five and dime set of knives then this is it and may not be a bad deal for what they are. However, I think five and dime tools are just that and are not worth the money at any price.

I ordered these on Woot this go round, and thought, especially for the price, that I got a fantastic deal. They're actually the best knives I've ever owned.