I’m not the world’s best chef by any means, but I have been getting a little more creative in the kitchen these days. This is half because I just moved cities a few months back and needed to replace all of my kitchen essentials and half due to the fact that I fell in love with Carmy’s character on FX’s The Bear (and his stupid white t-shirt). I still haven’t figured out whether I want to be him or be married to him. I think I’ll figure that out more in season two.
Although I’m working from my desk in a converted dining room-to-office set-up and not in the kitchen of an Italian deli in Chicago, I still cook. Not quite like Carmy does, but I cook. And I’m in Chicago like Carmy is. So there’s that.
Post-move, a brand-new kitchen inspired me to crave only the best of the best kitchen tools, and in my humble opinion, that all starts with the perfect knife block. And no offense to anybody’s current knife block, but mine’s probably better than yours.
Cheaping out on your first knife block is a good first move; I won’t even lie. I took mine as a hand-me-down from my parents, and it served its purpose in my shared Brooklyn apartment as a 22-year-old. But, if you’re 25 or older (25 just feels right, roll with it), you shouldn’t be using mom and dad’s tattered knife block in your home any longer. You need something resilient, good-looking, long-lasting, space-saving, and sharper than sharp. You need Kilne’s 5-star Knife Set, as I do.
And if I could get into the mind of a fictional character, I can assure you that it’s probably Carmy-approved.
Pros
- Durable
- Stays sharp
- Good-looking
- Multiple color options
Cons
- Other sets might come with more knives
- A little pricy for some
Standouts Seen in The Knife Set
When you or a guest enters your kitchen, the first thing they take note of is… well… your kitchen. Nobody wants to enter a kitchen where the majority of appliances, dishware, and prep items look like they should have been donated to the Salvation Army in 2005. The Knife Set from Kilne is one of the very first items guests see when they enter my kitchen. My kitchen is on the smaller side (she’s nothing like Emma Chamberlain’s, sadly), so I really do have to work smarter, not harder to get my kitchen to stand out.
The Knife Set sits on a rolling cart on the right side of my kitchen that’s front and center when walking in. The block itself is visually striking because of the exposed, sleek wood. It has a weight to it that’s essentially known without touching. Essentially, it simply looks like a unit. It’s as eye-catching as it gets.
The block has six different slots for various knives to stand out, including a chef’s knife, santoku knife, bread knife, paring knife, kitchen shears (that I use for just about everything), and a steel knife sharpener. Though, I haven’t yet used the knife sharpener.
The Knife Set in Action
Sorry that I left you on a bit of a cliffhanger with that last sentence; I just love drama.
That’s right, I’ve been using these knives every single day since May 2022, and I’ve never needed to sharpen them yet. Once you get past the visuals, you’ll note just how sharp these knives are, like I did. Sure, my previous knives were hand-me-downs, but I was genuinely scared to use these knives at first. The way they slice through veggies, meat, and the like is comparable to no other knife I’ve held in my hand. They’ve gone without being sharpened since, and I still fear using them daily. Of course, they dulled slightly — they aren’t magic, but they’re in no need of sharpening now or any time in the near future.
When it comes to daily use, I’d consider my three best friends to be the chef’s knife, the santoku knife, and the kitchen shears. I think that I’ve used the bread knife once or twice because the majority of the bread I purchase is pre-sliced, so I simply haven’t needed it much. I’m still really confused about what a paring knife actually is, so I only use that from time to time when I need to cut cooked chicken or steak because the knife block doesn’t come with any traditional steak knives, which really is this block’s only flaw (though Kilne does offer an add-on steak knife extension.) Sometimes I’ll use the paring knife for an avocado if I’m feeling crazy.
The kitchen shears are superb, too. Although this is a knife block, I really do have to mention how impressed I am by these scissors. I use them to open all of the packages I get in the mail, to cut the sleeves off of my t-shirts when the pit stains get too funky, my friend’s bangs if she’s having an episode, and of course, to get the weird parts off of my chicken breasts. They’re super multipurpose.
Verdict: Should You Buy The Knife Set from Kilne?
If you’re an early 20-something living in your very first apartment with your best friends from college, just getting your foot in the door and tasting real life for the first time, no. Do not buy The Knife Set from Kilne. It’s way too pricy for shared living situations with folks you probably won’t live with a year from now. Maybe consider a cheap knife set from Amazon like this or this or this. You know, something to hold you off for the time being. You’ll still need to cut stuff.
If you’re the magic age, I mentioned (remember, 25?) or older, I say yeah, garner up the courage and buy The Knife Set from Kilne. After almost a full year of use, I imagine myself having this set for many more years to come, from this apartment to the next to many, even a future house. I know, a house. A mortgage. White picket fence vibes. We’ll see.
If you’re interested in The Knife Set from Kilne, you can currently pick it up at Kilne for 10% off traditional price. Check it out for yourself below.