Hampton Forge Tomodachi 14pc Knife Set Review

I was in a really bad need of knives. Mine were dulling. On some the handle was starting to crack. They were starting to suck as far as knives go. I was on the hunt for new cutlery. Then I remembered at a Pampered Chef party my sister-in-law, Carrie, put together, the Pampered Chef representative had a knife that came in a sheath. The cool part about the knife? The sheath also sharpened the knife as you took it out!

I whipped out my laptop and was all ready to buy. I went to Pampered Chef only to find they had one self-sharpening knife available. All they have now are normal knives. I clicked through them, but I had my heart set on sheathed knives. I didn't want knives in a wooden block. I have small children that could possibly cut themselves trying to help me, by handing me a knife or something like that. I wanted knives in a drawer that I put a child safety lock on, for extra protection. The sheaths would protect the knives from any bumps and dings that can occur to a drawered knife.

One day I went to Kohl's. I told myself I was just looking, but honestly, if you're me, you can't walk into a store without coming out with something (I mean I can. But it's REALLY hard). Made my way down to the kitchen untensils and spotted something. A covered knife. It was red (my FAVORITE color) around five or six inches long and I think cost around $15 or $20. The name on the side said, 'Kuhn Rikon.' It wasn't a brand I was familiar with, but I took a chance on it. It had everything I wanted. I noticed a red on white Swiss cross. I thought if they make good watches, I'm sure they can sharpen a good blade. Why not?

Wonderful. You can see how dirty the cover is.

My favorite knife!

When I got home, I literally pulled out the knife and started slicing up chicken breasts. It was like a hot knife through butter! The blade cut the chicken so easily! I actually forgot how a sharp knife is supposed to cut. For a little while, that blade was the only one I would use. For everything. From cutting up meat to fruits and vegetables. I knew I had to buy more, but I didn't want to spend too much. I went to Amazon and found a colorful set of Hampton Forge Tomodachi knives that had colored cases to match! All 7 knives came with blade guards and had great reviews. I bought them and several days later, I received them. They set me back $40.23 (I paid no shipping. We have Amazon Prime).

Not self sharpening, but they would do!

Now honestly, these knives weren't as tack sharp as my Kuhn Rikon, but that's nitpicking. They cut, slice and dice wonderfully for the price! The handles are better than the Kuhn Rikon because they have a non-slip grip (I can tell from the current picture on Amazon that the handle has changed. I don't know if it still has a non-slip grip). I don't have to force down the blade to cut through something. I move the blade, lightly press and it cuts easily.

On the package the blades come in, it says they are dishwasher safe. But I've learned to baby my kitchen knives. I no longer put them in the dishwasher as the constant hot water can dull the blade. I don't even do the ol' let-the-knife-soak-in-a-dish-of-soapy-water. That can also dull the blade.

Yes, this is my real sink. By the way, this knife is one of three that needed replacing,
because I did things like this to it.

As soon as I'm done using them, immediately I take it over to the sink. I run hot water over the blade and scrub with a soapy brush or sponge, with the blade pointed away from the hand that's scrubbing it. I dry it on a towel and it goes back into its protective covering

I can already tell that this way of taking care of my kitchen blades is a lot better than what I was doing. I changed the way I clean them after I put my Kuhn Rikon knife in the dishwasher. After that it was never as sharp as it first was, but it still works just fine.

Another difference between the set I have and the set currently on Amazon (as of 2-16-14) are the two smaller knives. I received two serrated fruit knives and the current package has two different styles of cheese knives.

As for the color and pictures that are labeled as a non-stick coating on Amazon, I find that I have no problem with it chipping or peeling away. One bad review said the paint started to chip off his knives, but many others said the color never came off. Maybe it's because I've never put them through the dishwasher, I'm not sure though. Personally, I really like the color on the knives. Makes my kitchen just a little more cheerful!

 

 Santoku knife

  

8" Chef knife

8" bread knife

5" tomato/bagel knife

 3" paring knife

I've only used the Chef's knife, Santoku and the paring knife. I'm waiting for my oven to be fixed so I can get to slicin' some homemade banana bread! Over all, I am very happy with my $40 set of kitchen blades and the reviews on them are great too.