Wusthof "Gourmet" Series

[beany]

Please excuse my ignorance on this topic, but I just went into my college bookstore and found a 4.5 inch utility knife for $19.99 and a 3" paring knife for $16.99, both prices Canadian, and belonging to the Wusthof Gourmet series of knives. I have always used Henkels knives but from what I have read, I got the impression that Henkels is a lesser brand compared with Wusthof, and when I saw those prices I thought Wow! This is a really great deal. Today I went back and realized that there are several lines in the Wusthof collection, and now I am wondering if I got such great knives after all. When I picked up the classic knife, I definitely felt a difference.

So, be honest did I get excited over nothing?

Thanks in Advance!!

[Shazam]

Apparently Wusthof Gourmet is branded as Emerilware knives in the USA.

They seem to be okay. I do know that Wusthof paring knives are often on sale at great prices. I bought one as a gift for someone and they love it.

[srgoodman]

The Wusthof "Gourmet" knives are stamped steel - the Classic are forged. For a paring or other light knife, stamped is just fine. I think there is no reason to spend the extra money for forged knives as small as you bought.

For a chef's knife, I prefer forged - though Cook's Illustrated, and many people here, heartily endorse the Victorinox/Forschner line of stamped chef's knives.

[Shazam]

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I usually ignore celebrity endorsed products, so there you go :)

I wish I could find more Victorinox/Forschener stuff here in western Canada. The selection I've found is extremely limited (read: a chef's knife). I really need a new bread knife and the CI recommended Victorinox would really fit the bill.

[chuckl]

try this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Victorinox-Forsch...

there's a used 10 inch bread knife in there too

[srgoodman]

The Emerilware are actually rebranded Wusthof "Silverpoint".

Wusthof Gourmet and Emerilware knives have different handles. The Gourmet knives have the traditional three rivet handles. The Emerilware knives have a sealed plastic handle. www.cutleryandmore.com carries both lines, as well as SIlverpoint items not included in the Emerilware line.

I notice that the Emerilware are cheaper than the Gourmet knives. Since the former must include a royalty for Emeril, I assume they are more cheaply made than the Gourmet knives, though I can't tell exactly how from the photos.

[C. Hamster]

From the Wusthof site "(Emerilware Knives), drawn from our existing Gourmet Series, was hand-picked by Emeril himself and features the knives that he loves and uses most."

Wusthof calls them Gourmet Emerilware. They just stuck different handles on them. http://www.wusthof.com/EN/database3.a...

[bobbyboi]

Yes the Emerilware knives are stamped and the handles are fashioned after the Wusthof Grand Prix II knives whereas the Wusthof Gourmet have Classic Style handles.

[srgoodman]

From the Food Network site:

"New from Wüsthof and Emeril Lagasse! Based on the Wüsthof Silverpoint series of knives, the Emerilware line features the knives Emeril loves and uses the most."

http://store.foodnetwork.com/shop/pro...

Your cite says "look for them soon". Perhaps they had originally planned to use the Gourmet series, but changed their minds?

[C. Hamster]

That's possible. I assume that Silverpoint is their lowest quality knife, so that might account for the price diff between Gourmet and Emerilware.

[bobbyboi]

Silverpoint is no longer made and was replaced with the Emeril series. Silverpoint had a Wusthof Grand Prix styled handle which is also no longer made. Emeril's knives has the Grand Prix2 style ergonomic handle.

[srgoodman]

Silverpoint is still made and is identical to the Emerilware series. I believe Emerilware is only sold in the U.S., and is a subset of the full Silverpoint line, which is available for sale outside the U.S. . Emerilware gets the "Emeril" signature, and an "E" in the model number, but is otherwise identical to the corresponding SIlverpoint model.

Please compare the Emerilware line on the U.S. Wüsthof web site:
http://www.wusthof.com/EN/emeril.asp

with the Silverpoint line on the German Wüsthof web site:
http://www.wuesthof.de/EN/database2.a...

A good model to compare is the Emerilware 20 cm chef's knife (4561E/20) with the Silverpoint 20 cm chef's knife (4561/20). They look identical to me, except for the "Emeril" signature. Can you see a difference?

[ausflygirl]

OK, so now I'm confused. Is the gourmet series better than the silverpoint series? I know the Classic series is the best. Is the ONLY difference between the other 2, the handles? And exactly what is that difference? Thanks!

[Chemicalkinetics]

Classic is not the best. Maybe some people consider it the best from a personal point of view, but Wusthof elite lines are the Wusthof Ikon Classic and Wusthof Ikon Blackwood.

Here is one ranking of Wusthof knives, not definitive, but certainly not an uncommon ranking:

http://reviews.cookingcache.com/wusth...

[SanityRemoved]

Someone at Wusthof should have been fired over the Gourmet line naming. It is akin to snake oil salesmanship and did Wusthof no favors in terms of it's reputation. We liken the term gourmet to food we expect it be of very high quality, usually the best that a restaurant can offer. Many know that this is not the case with the Wusthof Gourmet line of knives. While the Gourmet line may or may not be the best of the stamped class isn't really the issue. It's the use of the term that is unnerving.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I think the "Butcher Knives" line is more confusing.

http://wusthof.com/desktopdefault.asp...

Instead of having an Wusthof Ikon paring knife or a Wusthof Classic bread knife, now you have a Wusthof Butcher butcher knife or a Wusthof Butcher boning knife.

Imagine you have a line of knife calls the "Chef's knives"