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Cutlery questions and recommendations?

MrCheeseman
Posts: 67 Forumite


I moved house a while back and, now I've got a decent kitchen, I want to get some decent cutlery. I've got some that's a hand-me-down from my grandma to my mum then to me, which is "community plate", with white handles. I know they're not worth much but I'm tempted to use them - are they likely to be any good? One thing that stands out is that the bottom of the regular knives are sharper but they aren't jagged. Only thing I'm worried about is will the handles come away from the metal bit if I leave them in the sink. I know that happened with the handful I got from B+M bargains but I was purposefully buying bargain basement cutlery then just to tide me over.
Or, can anyone recommend me some decent day-to-day use cutlery that will last a long time - so, ideally one single piece? Is there a good brand to go for, with enough for four people? Money wise I'd be maxing out at £100 but I'd aim for lower than that.
Or, can anyone recommend me some decent day-to-day use cutlery that will last a long time - so, ideally one single piece? Is there a good brand to go for, with enough for four people? Money wise I'd be maxing out at £100 but I'd aim for lower than that.
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We're perfectly happy with Ikea cutlery for day to day life. I'm pretty sure our set is 'Dragon'. They've sold it forever (30 years!) so it's really easy to replace teaspoons and forks when they go walkabout!Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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I was going to say the same thing - Ikea is usually a safe bet for everyday stuff that's not too expensive and a reasonable enough quality.Ah for the good old days when anything stamped "Sheffield Steel" was a guarantee of top quality :-)1
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Ikea from me too. I have some stuff my mum got me 17 years ago when I moved out and they’ve been great.
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We have a best set, but our everyday cutlery is mostly old ones from Woolies when we first married - 50 years ago.Member #14 of SKI-ers club
Words, words, they're all we have to go by!.
(Pity they are mangled by this autocorrect!)2 -
We have two sets by Culinary Concepts, one for every day and one for dinner parties, Christmas and so forth. The everyday set resembles aged pewter which goes with our style, whereas the *posh* set is more shiny and we got extra bits such as steak knives, serving spoons etc. Not cheap, but we got a good deal from the Ideal Home show about 16 years ago and they're like new still so imho worth every penny. We shouldn't ever need another set in our lifetime
Prior to that we had a few cheap sets which never seemed to last very long - apart from the rather hideous set we received as a wedding gift in 1988 and rarely used, lol - mainly because the handles came away from the steel end. I recall we had a red set, then a green and possibly a cream set...for years we never learned, lol!
Ikea sounds like a good bet if you're on a tight budget!Mortgage-free for fourteen years!
Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed1 -
I would suggest avoiding heavy solid-metal handles. They drive you up the wall when they constantly fall off plates etc. The old white handle knives are perfect for spreading butter etc.2
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I think you should use your "community plate" cutlery - I wouldn't put anything in the dishwasher that had metal blades sunk into a plastic/bone handle though (so more washing up for you!!).
I have a wide selection of cutlery which I use all the time; ranging from vintage bone handled knives, 1970's steak knives, stainless steel, various serving spoons to salad servers - mainly bought from charity shops. I simply buy what I like!
I like a nicely turned out table so am always on the look out for lovely stuff!
Viners are a good brand and I have seen their stuff in T K Ma@@
Good luck!3 -
It depends whether you use a dishwasher or not as older pieces will not be suitable. Personally I prefer heavy stainless steel places like TK Maxx and Homesense generally have a selection of boxed sets and I judge the weight of four place settings. As with most things you get what you pay for but I expect to pay about £20-£30 for a decent set/2
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Cutlery needs 'auditioning' in a tangible shop to get the 'feel' weight and balance that suits!
Some Ikea cutlery is pretty good if the design look / balance / weight suits you on testing them.
I'd always go solid stainless rather than any wood / plastic handle. SWMBO tests potential cutlery forks by trying to bend the tines (prongs) - the sturdier Ikea stuff passes with flying colours (but not all did).
Our 'best' cutlery is in a canteen and is George Butler/Arthur Price in a bead design (a classic style) - a treat to ourselves many many years ago. The knives have a honed sharp edge on them. They cut very well. Our day to day set is now a 'close match' bead design from Judge which has very slightly serrated knife edges that cut well also. Bought as a 44 piece set 'on offer' in a Department Store since closed. Probably well over 10 years old. Some Ikea cutlery is used when we tour in our caravan and must be 20+ years old.
At the end of the day buy something that you (and any significant others) like the look and feel of.2 -
Why do you leave your lovely knives soaking in a bowl of water?I've been using some for 30 yrs and my favourite kitchen knife has come down through 4 generations.I use a cutlery basket and put them in there. If you need to soak the blades that's easy without slinging the whole thing in up ot the hilt and leaving it. It also keeps the cutlery together until you get around to washing up rather everywhere.And they wouldn't normally have a serrated blade. If you need to cut something tough then a couple of steak knives are better than a serrated general purpose one.Perhaps keep them safe and buy some solid ones. See what you think. Drove me mad sliding around and falling off the plates and I don't find the grip comfortable either.
I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!
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