Best deal on Henckels Five Stars?

[carswell]

Some good friends, who are also serious amateur cooks, recently purchased their first home, and I've decided to give them a set of good kitchen knives as a housewarming present. I've more or less settled on four knives as a starter set: an 8 or 9-inch chef's, a 6-inch utility, a 5½-inch boning and a 3½-inch paring. I'd been looking at the Henckels Four Star line, which I know and like. Unfortunately, La Soupière, my first stop, had only two of the four desired knives. The clerk pointed me toward the Five Star line, saying she thought they could piece together a complete set from their various stores. Not enamoured with their look and slightly higher prices, I'd been avoiding the Five Stars but agreed to give them a try. Well, it was love at first grasp; up and down the line, the handles sat perfectly in my hand, and I liked the balance too. What's more, since I have a big mitt and one of the recipients has small hands, I collared two petite passers-by and asked for their opinion. Both preferred the Five Star to the Four; in fact, one was so taken with them that she said she was going to tell her husband they were what she wanted for Christmas.

So, Five Star it is. But, of course, Murphy's Law rules and La Soupière couldn't put together a full set of Five Stars either. Turns out they have only the 10-inch chef's knife, which is just too big. The Bay has the full line but only the Four Star and Professional S models are on sale; the Five Stars are around 25% more expensive than at La Soupière. I'm not seeing my friends until the 28th, so in the worst possible case, I can buy the three smaller knives at La Soupiére and head to the Bay on the 26th in hopes of a Boxing Day special.

Anyway, before plunking down my hard-earned cash, I thought I'd ask if anyone here knows of a store that offers a good deal on Henckels Five Stars and is likely to have a full set. (Please bear in mind that I don't have a car.) Is it worth schlepping out to Caplan-Duval?

Edited December 21, 2004 by carswell (log)

[eat2much]

Let your fingers do the walking...try Monas on Parc Ave. 842-1421

[sf&m]

Try Le Coin Gourmet.

Store Directory

or 1-888-84-Gourmet

There is one on St Denis and one on Cavendish

I assume you already tried Dante Hardware.

[ademello]

Carswell,

If you're willing to be flexible on the brand (but not the quality!) check out:

Paul's Finest

He's based here in Montreal, and is sometimes seen posting on this board. I've purchased quite a bit of stuff from him, and his service and knowledge is excellent. He steered me towards the excellent Messermeister line which although they are stamped and not forged, are significantly less expensive than the comparable Wusthofs I was considering. I believe he's an authorized reseller of Messermeister, Wusthof, Microplane, and some other brands as well.

[pss999]

Carswell,

If you're willing to be flexible on the brand (but not the quality!) check out:

Paul's Finest

He's based here in Montreal, and is sometimes seen posting on this board. I've purchased quite a  bit of stuff from him, and his service and knowledge is excellent. He steered me towards the excellent Messermeister line which although they are stamped and not forged, are significantly less expensive than the comparable Wusthofs I was considering. I believe he's an authorized reseller of Messermeister, Wusthof, Microplane, and some other brands as well.

←

Hi ademello,

Thanks for the plug :-)

Yep, Messermeister is cool, but Wushof is still the most popular. Their new Le Cordon Bleu knives are actually quite impressive, even though I initially wasn't going to carry them because I thought it was just a pay-for-the-brand marketing thing, but the blades really are thinner, sharper and lighter. Their excellent santoku was a big seller this year. Nice knife for the price...

Anyway, don't want to get in trouble for sounding commercial here -- my reason for responding was to plug a different business: I recently broke the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer (darn brioche!), and no store had a replacement in stock, but I found out that the Whirlpool (they own KitchenAid now I think) service center in Laval had some, so I broke down and drove out there to buy one. Glad I made the trip, because I also found out that they have lots of KitchenAid, Whirlpool and Inglis "refurbished" appliances. Most are perfect or near perfect (store returns, etc.), one year warranty, and significant discounts. They had quite a few mixers, blenders, food processors, coffee makers, stoves, fridges, washers, etc. Next time I need an appliance I'll definitely check there first before going retail: Whirlpool Canada, 2750 Francis Hughes, Laval (in the middle of nowhere, but actually very easy and fast to get to by car).

Paul

[carswell]

Thanks for all the leads, guys. I ended up buying Henckels Five Stars at the Bay on Boxing Day, where the four knives ran about 10% less than elsewhere. When not on sale, the least expensive stores were Monas and La Soupière, though the latter never seems to have the full line in stock.

If you're willing to be flexible on the brand (but not the quality!) check out:

Paul's Finest

Paul's site was the first stop in my search, ademello. But my friends said they preferred moulded, not riveted, handles, and Paul didn't have the full set of knives in the Grand Prix line. Anyway, I'm lusting after that Wüsthof Classic 10-inch (26 cm) Wide Cook's Knife, so Paul will probably be getting some business from me before long...

[pss999]

Anyway, I'm lusting after that Wüsthof Classic 10-inch (26 cm) Wide Cook's Knife, so Paul will probably be getting some business from me before long...

←

Hey Carswell,

Yeah, the wide versions are awesome. Pretty serious. Nobody imagines liking them (the rage now is still all towards light Japanese-style blades, but I do sense this cooling off now a bit as people try to keep them sharp), but then they hold one and the inner Thag the Caveman emerges . Definitely a Guy Thing The 8" Wide is the coolest in a way because it's more noticeably wide (very distinct profile and noticeably thick). The 10" is so big already that it's not as obvious.

Paul