An update to my recommendation here: While I still love this knife set, I’ve watched it routinely fall out of stock. It’s also considerably pricier than when this piece was first published. While I use these knives almost every day and enthusiastically recommend them to anyone who can find them, I’m just not sure they represent a huge value the way they used to. For other three-piece bundle options, check out our roundup of the best knife sets.
When I was 16, I worked as a prep cook at a local banquet hall. On rare occasions, the chef would take out his personal knife roll and let us slice crudités with something other than the dingy, plastic-handled, dull kitchen knives that we were normally stuck with. I can still remember the distinct heft of the 8-inch chef’s knife as I slid it out of the cover, with the chef remarking, “Wüsthof makes the best knives.” Good enough for me. Years later I asked for a Wüsthof set as a college graduation gift and fell in love with their balanced handles, sharp edges, and high-quality steel. Or, at least, I fell in love with some of the knives in the set. Turns out, my Wüsthof block was full of random knife shapes I rarely reached for, meaning the two that I liked had worn down from heavy use over time. Fifteen or so years later, I realized my mistake and replaced the entire nine-piece block set with a simple three-piece option from Tojiro.
Tojiro DP 3-piece Deluxe Starter Knife Set
To put it simply, Tojiro knives are razor-sharp out of the box, comfortable to hold, and lower priced than similarly performing knives. The simplicity of this Tojiro set means that all three knives have specific purposes in my kitchen and get regular use. In general, you should probably avoid knife sets to avoid paying for knives you’ll never use, but in this case, Tojiro has an excellent take on every knife in the set. The paring knife peels and turns with ease, the petty knife is ideal for fine dicing, and the gyuto, a Japanese-style chef’s knife, can slice, chop, and mince with the best of them.
I used to agonize over picking the absolute best products with hours and hours of research, but now I’ve pared back my selection process to two basic questions: Can I afford it, and will it make cooking easier? This Tojiro set slices right through that criteria with ease, and if that’s enough for you, great! Don’t worry, though; the old me still exists somewhere deep down inside and he’s here to break down in detail why these knives truly outperform their price point.
