Side by Side Comparison of: Chicago Cutlery vs AmazonBasics

These knives are really good for the price. Very sharp out of the packaging. I was amazed with the ease they go through chicken. Partially frozen meat gets cut super well with these too. Not to mention the whole setup looks really classy.

I absolutely love this knife set...great quality for a great price. The color of the wood matches great with my cabinets could not get it any closer if I tried. Definitely would recommend this.

Very nice set! Purchased as a gift for my daughter. This set contains a great variety of knives for multiple purposes, paring, bread, butcher, utility and steak, as well as scissors. The dark wood tone of the block is very nice and happened to match the stain on my daughters wood floor. She loves it.

Came razor sharp. I cannot understand for the life of me the reviewers that complain about rust. These are NOT stainproof, they are stainLESS. They will stain if not properly cared for. Hard sharp knives have Carbon in them which will cause rusting. You can't take these awesome knives and throw them in a dishwasher. Like anything of quality you must care for them. Wash and dry by hand immediately after eating. It isn't hard or complicated. The sharpener it came with is also great and if you follow the enclosed suggestion you will be able to self sharpen. I never realized what a hassle trimming meat had been until I used the utility knife. Cuts raw beef like butter. Suddenly all food prep became less of a chore with these. Good knives like these are a must have for anyone who loves to cook at home.

Been using them for a few weeks, great set. Don't listen to the other reviews, for the price you can't do better than these. The knives are great, they cut effortlessly and look great, the steak knives are just ok, handle seems to be made from a different material, but I don't use them as often. The block is ok, scratches easily but looks its part. Definitely recommended.

I purchased this knife to complete my knife set. I accidentally threw this knife away in a pizza box and was extremely disappointed I no longer had it. I cannot say enough good things about this entire knife set. The knives appear to be well made and aesthetically look very nice and expensive, without the expensive price tag. I would highly recommend these knives as an addition to your kitchen ware collection!Pros:1. Aesthetically appealing2. Well made knives- sharp and make a clean cutCons:1. None!

Very surprised at the quality of these knives with a price under $25! There is nothing flimsy about the blades...thick, sturdy and they seem to hold an edge. The full tang adds strength and balance, a bonus not usually found when purchasing inexpensive knives. The black handles are plastic but I consider that a positive feature as I've found wood handles crack and discolor over time. I would absolutely recommend this knife and block set.

Great starter knife set. Full tang, very sharp. Only issue that might make some people upset that these are stamped knives, not forged ones. If you don't know the difference, these are very good knives.

Bought for my daughter when she moved into her first place. Didn't have high expectations but was pleasantly surprised. These utensils seem to be of good quality.

Like every other Amazon basic product this product is awesome! Great price and great quality!

the knives are of good qulity and we like them alot.

Beautiful set of knives, they are sturdy, feel quality made, and they come with a sharpening rod! We love these and feel like they will last us a long time.

Great knives easy to sharpen and keeps an edege. Do not wash them in your diswasher. Hand wash. Dry..Sharpen..then rinse the metal files off again.

The middle knife was not up to standards with the other two. The metal was not smooth but it still cuts pretty well.

I bought these as a gift for a friend, but in all honesty, they were also for me, since I cook over there often and they had terrible ikea knives before.These are really well made and sturdy knives. They hold an edge well and for a long time. The set has everything you could want, the block holds it all and very attractive. We use them all the time and find them to be an affordable but well made set! I wouldn't hesitate to give these as a gift to anyone.

Nice set. Not the highest quality, but fine for use in our vacation home. Nice block the blends with the kitchen cabinets. Recommend hand washing.

I purchased these knives for a Christmas present and couldn't be happier with my choice! I was missing pieces from my previous set which wasn't the best quality and decided it was time to have another set. Did some research about quality knife sets that wouldn't break the bank and came across Chicago Cutlery. I don't require anything too special to create meals at home, but I wanted something of better quality. Item arrived much quicker than the estimated shipping date. Knives can not sit in water and are best cleaned by hand washing after use. When using the knives for the first time I was very impressed. Didn't require a lot of force to cut the steak that was grilled and it felt like cutting butter. Would recommend this set to somebody who needs a decent knife set and doesn't want to spend a lot of money. Very pleased with the purchase.

This seems like a good starter kit for a new kitchen. My in-laws are coming from overseas to live in the U.S. and to help prepare for their arrival we're putting together things they'll need. I ordered this and it looks solid, the knives look good in general, though I'm not 100% in love with the steak knives. Still, overall, it's a good set for the money.

Purchased these for my new place. You can tell these are made at a price point. The steak knives and scissors are very handy. The chefs knife doesn't have a whole lot of weight to it but everything in this set is usable. Haven't had any issues with these rusting yet.

Nice set of knifes.Buy a $5 kitchenaid sharpener and run each knife through each side about 4 times.

Just got my own house. Budgeting all my expenses I settled on this set. It gets the job done I'm satisfied.

Sharper than expected, sharpens even better after the fact, not the best knives but 110% worth it at this price point. Knife block was cracked up receipt though.

Surprising good quality for inexpensive knives. Full tang. Nice weight.

I really like these knives. They cut wonderfully. When I got them, one knife was missing. However, customer support was very helpful in resolving the issue.

The blades work well enough, but most of the knives have a plastic handle that seems only too likely to inevitably cause problems. I think it's a better investment to go with the more expensive set that is completely forged or metal.

We just purchased these knives, because the last order we placed for a Stainless Steel Cuisinart set started rusting right after we used them. We thought these would be better since they listed dishwasher safe on Amazon (although the directions in the box itself said to not place them in the dishwasher). There was one we've been using, didn't run it through the dishwasher, but did have it placed in the basket. We pulled it out today before it got ran through and it was already rusted! There is rust up and down the knife. We are extremely disappointed, especially because of what we went through with the last set we really liked.

I did like the product when it arrived. Looks sleek, works nicely. 2 years in and I have a broken knife (while cutting cheese). I see others have had the same issue. Is two years too much to ask?

My wife and I were excited about this set when we received it.Cutting and dicing have been effortless since.In the middle of my cooking today (after six month), I found that the cutting edge of the chef knife got broken. I was very disappointed because it was not when I started and I used just to cut meat.

They look nice and the price is low. The chef's knife is the highlight of the set though. The other main knives are fine, but I'm disappointed in the steak knives because they look and feel cheap. The main knives are made of steel and some kind of hard plastic that has been sanded down to be flush with the steel. These marks are noticeable when examined. The steak knife handles appear to be some cheap plastic mold that wasn't trimmed properly. The steak knives are light weight, and thus, feel cheap even though the blade looks decent. The wood block is nice though. This set isn't too expensive and you get what you pay for.

I bought this from an independent seller on Amazon. The knife arrived bent in 3 places. It had been shipped in a large padded envelope. They issued me a full refund, but beware - this knife is very thin, like 3/16". It's more like sharpened sheet metal. If you bend it, it won't spring back to it's original shape, it will stay a little bit bent - I actually bent it back in to straightness by hand (still not 100% straight though. It did arrive VERY sharp though, and in that respect it's good.Another thing is that because it's so thin, certain things will stick to the sides of the blades when cutting - like potatoes and things with large surface area, because the knife has very little "wedge" angle. I gave it 3 stars because of the price and sharpness, and because it's full tang and looks nice. The "sheath" is cheap but functional, so that's good. If you're on a shoestring budget this knife isn't horrible, but you can probably find a better one in the same price range.

Sharp and cuts well. Make sure you dry them quickly as they will develop rust spots despite it being "stainless steel"

You get what you pay for. The quality of the stainless steel is poor and the knives do not hold an edge well. After a year of use I had one 4.5-inch steak knife break in half during use from poor quality of the metal.

If I had been able to hold the handles of these knives before purchase, I wouldn't have bought them. They are adequate but not really good. Probably could have spent a bit more for better quality.

Very nice basic set, only problem is they are not completely rust proof...

For the price, this set of very basic knives is hard to beat. Cheap enough that you can essentially order a new set every six months. Main complaint is that after just two months, some of the rivets/handles have started to become loose.

these knives seemed great at first, but after about 6 months of use, they have become very dull and hard to sharpen. However, we bought these just to get us started in our new apartment so they worked for the time being at the price. so if your in a pinch and just need something to last a few months, these are great. but if you can afford to spend a little more but are just looking for a good deal, keep looking.

I have not been happy with these since I bought them nearly 3 years ago. Within 6 months of purchasing, rust spots developed on several of the blades and we hand-dry all of them when done cleaning them. They are very difficult to keep sharp, no matter how often I sharpen them. Today was the last straw - the scissors that come with them simply broke into two pieces, failing at the pin where they join. The joint just completely rusted to the point where it fell apart. There's no way to remove water from the joint so there's not much you can to avoid this. I can't recommend this product.

I was using Chicago butcher knife for almost 10 years. I became a big fan of Chicago cutlery since then. Recently i was looking to upgrade and bought Belmont 3-piece set. The butcher knife is no where close to the original one i bought long time back. I hardly used it for 2 yrs now. it chipped at the center. I presume the quality of belmont has been seriously compromised.I'm totally disappointed with my decision and i wouldn't recommend this product to anyone.

Needed a heavier cleaver and here it is! Excellent workmanship for the price.Edit after additional use: Have to change this rating. Used this cleaver several times with satisfaction, until this evening trying to cut a steak bone in two for the hounds, and the cleaver edge splintered, leaving metal fragments in the bone. The cleaver looks good, but the metal isn't up to par with the uses a tool like this sees.

For the price I paid for this knife set, I'm disappointed. The variety of knives in here are good; standard. The knives are EXTREMELY sharp (in fact, I accidentally cut off a large chunk of the tip of my thumb shortly after getting them - GROSS!), but with a few uses, they became extremely dull and pretty much need to be sharpened before every single use now, so they don't stay sharp for very long, which is annoying. When you need a knife for dinner, you want to just be able to pull the knife out and use it, not sharpen it first. The scissors were dull from the very beginning and are close to being useless at this point. No where in the Amazon description does it say that these cannot be put in the dishwasher. If I had known that I probably wouldn't have even purchased them. I only found out after opening the box. Even hand washing with mild dish soap and the handles stopped looking nice and shiny, and now look dull & grey, instead of black and shiny. They also look like they have hard water spots on them, even though I've always washed and dried immediately after use. The block that they are sitting in gets SO easily scratched and scraped up, so it already looks like cheap crap. For the price I paid for these knives, I'm really disappointed and don't recommend them to anyone else. Look for something nicer.

It was not what I expected. The picture showed a much richer style of knives than what arrived. In the picture to me it looked like the handles of the knives were clean smooth and classy... The metal parts looking very strong to handle.The actual knives are seem like cheap plastic handles.. Nothing that I would put out for a nice dinner with friends. And certainly not in class with a typical BBQ or anything like that. It was just your typical cheap looking knife set..I purchased my knives on a special of the day so they were a few dollars cheaper than the now advertised $49.00.... But if I had paid todays price I most definitely would have returned them before pulling the wood block out of the box.They're just knives... Nothing more.

The first Chicago cutlery set I purchased was perfect. The block was immaculate. I liked it so much I bought another. The second and third Chicago Cutlery set I purchased, I had to return both. There were defects in the block. Amazon was great in picking up both packages, FREE! Thank you Amazon. I tried one more time. The fourth Chicago cutlery set I purchased had minor block defects;however one of the knifes had crap all over it;like someone used it to eat with. I cleaned the knife and water stains remained on it. I was so frustrated with Chicago Cutlery (which is usually so good) I kept it because I did not want to put it back in the packaging. Please be aware of what you are buying. There is a reason the price on this item is much less than other retailers.

watch out! says they are not dishwasher proof, too bad other than that , they are okay

This is a great basic set of knives. The one nice advantage to this set is: a knife sharpener. Its pretty nice to sharpen all your old kitchen knives.update 3/16/2017I think I have used these knives about 10 times total. Maybe I used 3 of the knives 3 times. One of the small steak knives rusted and even somehow stained one of my nice dishes.Now I am wishing I spent more money on another set. Usually amazon, even Amazon basics don't steer me wrong. But this is not what I expected from something that has stainless steel printed on it...Apparently, I am not the only one with this issue.Corelle Livingware 6-Piece Dinner Plate Set, Winter Frost White<------ stained one of the 6 plates I also happen to purchase from Amazon.Changed from 5 stars to 2 stars. Still sharp at least.

These knives get rust marks very quickly. I should have sprung for the better knives. They are sharp though

They are what they are basic. Decent for someone just starting out on there own.

Atrocious. My sharpener has already broken. In fact it came loose. Additionally the knives are so dull, no matter how much you sharpen a few slices and BOOM dull again. Really, invest your money in a set that's going to last. This is garbage and not worth your money. I wish I never bought this, seriously I really mean it.

Too many serrated steak knives, not enough basic slicing knives.

Worst purchase I've ever made. The blades started to rust within two weeks of having them. l took care of them as instructed in the users guide. These knives are very poorly made as is the wood block. I called Chicago Cutlery customer service and apparently the lifetime warranty does not cover rust. I will NEVER be purchasing from Chicago Cutlery again, nor will I recommend them to friends and family.SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GO WITH ANOTHER BRAND!!!!

Very dull and don't cut very well at all. If I hadn't left the box outside (it snowed) I would have returned them. Don't waste your money!

Even for the low price they are not worth the money. I have treated them extremely well. I hand wash and dry them after every use. This evening, I noticed a strange feeling in the handle when I was chopping lettuce. Upon further inspection, the black on the handle is cracked in numerous places on all three handles. I'm very disappointed. I will be replacing them less than six months after buying them. Not going with Chicago Cutlery again.

The wood storage box that is used to hold the knives was stracthed and it looked like it had been used. Many little dings and imperfections all over the wooden holder. While the larger knives seemed to be pretty good quality, the smaller knives are flimsy and dull. They come with a cheap plastic handle that seems like it would not last.

Why did I NOT read reviews?My are all rusting.Just like other people, they look like crap and my return window just closed.DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY

The wood knife holder is the nicest thing about this knife set.We got only 7 of the 8 steak knives. (They shipped it with one short. )When I used a steak knife to cut a small piece of watermelon - it broke

I looked at the reviews before purchasing and people said that it will rust if you put them in the dishwasher, so I listened and didn't and they still rusted. Not very good knives

Great knife set! Unfortunately, shipped with one steak knife missing. I needed these immediately since I was moving into an apartment and cannot send them back for a replacement. Just a little disappointed.

The nails/screws were all misaligned and the wood was cracked when I received it. There were too many pieces to bother repackaging and returning it. Pretty embarrassing quality. Wood chips and sharp edges

There were rust spots on some of the knives right after I hand-washed them after taking them out of the packaging. I am in the process of returning these knives now. Do not buy this product.

These knives are badly rusted after only a single use.

Items started to rust right away despite being stainless steel! Had a lot of hope for this set but it was a waste.