The price of a knife set will vary greatly depending on the number of knives and their production costs. You can buy a good knife set for just under $100 dollars, to even over $2000. But if you choose to go for some exclusive, layered Damascus steel knives your price might increase even more. Some of these knives are priced even upwards of $1000 for one. Depending on the number of knives you want to buy you can let your imagination go wild on the sets price. But the cost of a good knife set should be at an average level.
We consider the sweet spot price of an average 7 piece knife set to be between $300 and $400 for either a great knife block set or the best chef knife set. Of course, you could also go for a $1200, 7 piece Miyabi Birchwood knife set if the price is right for you. But the most you get out of a 7 piece set, that is made to last you a lifetime, is just under $500.
There are many factors that influence the price of a knife sebut lets just explore a few.
Factors That Influence the Cost of a Good Knife Set.
The Number of Knives in a Good Knife Set
This first one is pretty obvious. Of course having more than less knives will cost more or less. Of course a 36 piece set will be much more expensive than a 2 piece set. But what you should ask yourself is, what is the best number of knives for you?
- It is not hard to get to a general number of knives you need. First you should be getting the most important knives you will use everyday. Thus you will add a chopping knife, a paring knife, a bread knife, a slicing knife and maybe even a utility knife. These are the basic knives you will use more than 90% of your cooking time.
- Are you Going to do any butchering? Then adding a boning and/or fillet knife might be very useful. Usually 7 piece sets or higher contain one, the other or both.
- Third, think if you need steak knives or not? The number of these knives can vary between 4 to 8 / set. And, in many cases this will add a few hundred dollars extra on your price tag.
- How many will be cooking at one time? Large sets tend to usually give you a multiple number of knives which are meant for the same job. Thus there are sets with even 5 types of chopping knives, 4 types of paring knives and 4 types of utility knives included. Do you need the extras or not?
The Knives Production Costs
Another factor that greatly influences the price of a knife set is normally the knives production cost. How a knife is made and what it is made out of will obviously influence the end products price. Obviously from stamped blade knives to forged blades and from carbon steel to layered damascus there is a long way. But what do you need to know in order to get the best version for you?
- The Knives Production Type
When you decide on buying a knife set you should know one of the major factors that influence the price of the knives is how they are made. The more labour intensive it is to make a product, the more expensive the product gets. Thus if you choose to go for a stamped blade (cut from a sheet of metal) it will be much cheaper than a forged blade. Which in turn a forged blade will mostly be cheaper than a laminated damascus steel blade. - The Blade’s Material
Of course, the material from which your knife’s blade is made of will take the tools price up or down. Some of the lower priced knives will generally be made out of carbon steel or stainless steel. And thus of lower quality than the high-carbon stainless steel knives. Mostly high end german knife making brands like Wusthof and Zwilling J.A. Henckels have exclusively made alloys just for them. - The Handle material
From functionality to beauty, a knife’s handle can greatly modify its price. Kitchen knives have handles ranging from a type of plastic (POM), to types of wood, steel and even exotic materials. Probably as a professional chef you will choose a POM type handle while as for home you might want a wood handle or even something more special.
The accessories featured in the set
Most sets come with a number of accessories which might include, scissors, sharpening steel or even oil for wood handle protection. But you might already have kitchen shears and a proper sharpening steel at home in which case getting extras is not worth it. Just keep in mind that there is a sharpening steel for every type of blade. So if you don’t know the hardness of your steels material you should also get the one included in the set.
Storage or not?
Do you have storage for your knives? If you do then probably a chef knife set will be best for you. But if you don’t you have to choose one of the remaining options. You can choose from big wooden knife block sets to smaller studio sets, knife rolls and even magnetic knife strips.
If you choose to get a wooden knife block then your price will vary by the type of wood used. A mahogany knife block will surely set you off more than a pine wood block. While, knife rolls and magnetic strips come from a great range of brands with different prices and qualities. But one way or the other you need one type of storage.
The Brand’s cost
The cost of a knife and thus the knife set is also determined by the brand that is making it. A company that has been making knives for almost 300 years will surely charge more for their knives than a just founded startup. Same goes if the knives come from a famous blacksmith or from a production line. The big brand products have been tested over time and thus come at a higher cost. But that doesn’t mean a new company will surely have a lower quality product. You have to research and use the knives to get a real opinion on what is out there.
