HockeyDad wrote:I’m looking at dumping my old knives for a Wüsthof set. I love the look of some of the Asian style sets as well though.
I was set on the "look" of the Ikon series, and walked into a store to confirm my bias. I am glad I did, because it didn't feel correct in my hand. Ended up with the full bolster Classic as the weight distribution was better for me. I spent some time on the Shapton 1k/5k stones and now it is simply amazing. I feel like it is effortless to use.
Bottom line, I think it's important to feel it in your hand before you buy it. There's a store in town here in Phx (Sur La Table) that has a cooking school/demo kitchen in the store for cooking classes, etc. and they will grab some veggies from the kitchen and let you use the knives you are contemplating buying to see which actually feels better cutting a carrot, pepper, potato, etc. If you can find a place like that, I would go out my way to be able to use the knife (versus just hold it) before committing.