Montana Knife Works (Costco)

I just popped for an 8-piece Forschner block set, the stamped knives with the Fibrox handles, and they are every bit as good as I've heard. The block has two empty slots, and I immediately started thinking about filling them.

Well, I'm at Costco picking up some stuff for the wife, and they're having a sale on some cutlery from Montana Knife Works. One of the items is a stamped Granton edge Santuko, nylon handle, priced at six bucks. The package lists Montana Knife Works as being based out of South Carolina, using German steel that gets assembled in China...It's like a geography class in a blister pack, but for six bucks, I bought it.

I got it home and noticed right off that there was a wire edge on it, and that steeling the blade just flipped it back and forth. I touched it up very lightly with a blue DMT stone, and used it to cut up some veggies. Not bad at all. I'm eager to try something sticky like cheese or a tomato to see if the Granton edge makes a difference.

Never heard of Montana Knife Works before, and only time will tell if it holds an edge and holds up. The nylon handle feels downright slippery after using the Fibrox Forschners, and since it's a white handle my bride has banished it to the drawer (the ones in the block have to match, dontcha know) but for the price I may drill a hole in it and hang it outside by the kettle.

Anybody else have any thoughts on Montana Knife Works? They had some forged stuff too, all priced pretty cheap.

I've never heard of them. How long is the blade?

I think the only advice one can give a knife purchaser, is that since it's such a unique experience, most generalized advice should be ignored. There are too many factors that affect wether a new knife is "good" to someone. Alton Brown once said in his show, that the best knife is the one you actually use. A $200 knife that just sits in the drawer is not a good knife.

I personally buy my knives individually, so I can get the ones I want, and that fit, and work for me. A lot of pre-packaged knife blocks have a few odds and ends that don't get used, and just take up precious space.

The blade is 7".

The Forschner set made sense for me because I was starting from scratch, and for a hundred bucks I got an 8" chef, 10" slicer, 8" bread, 6" boning and and a 4" paring knife, plus a 10" steel and some shears. The selection seemed like it was pretty basic for a weekend warrior like me without too many extras.