Where can I find a quality comparison for Zwilling Knives?

Question

I'm trying to find comparisons between various knives from Zwilling. I know the difference between the lines: JA Henckels International tends to be of different build quality as compared to Zwilling.

However, I'm having trouble differentiating between the different knives from within the Zwilling brand. For instance, sets are named things like Cuisine, Gourmet, Signature, Four Star, and Professional S.

Even the Zwilling website doesn't really offer too much information about the specific lines. In fact, it doesn't even list some of the lines I've seen for sale, such as Gourmet. Can anyone provide info about these knives, or a link to further descriptions and comparisons?

Answer 1

There's a serious dearth of information about the differences between the Henckels product lines, but from what I can tell:

• The biggest difference is the handle design, which impacts the balance. You'll want to hold the knives to find which is right for you.
• Stamped blades are used in the following lines: Twin Signature, Twin Gourmet, International Everedge, International Everedge Plus, International Fine Edge Pro, International Fine Edge Synergy, International Eversharp. Source: Henckels Site.
• Forged blades are used for the following lines: Twin Profection, Twin Four Star and Four Star II, Twin Cuisine, Twin Professional S, Twin Select, International Classic, International Forged Premio, and International Forged Synergy. Sources: Henckels site, Squidoo, Amazon
• Microserrated blades are used in the following product lines: Eversharp Pro, Everedge, Everedge Plus (Source: Henckels International website)
• All but the Twin Cermax line are X50CrMoV15 steel, hardened to 54-56 HRC (some reports say up to 57 Rockwell C). This means they're slightly softer than Wusthof (which now hardens many of their products to 58 HRC), but less brittle.
• Twin Cermax uses special, superhard (66 HRC) MC66 steel, meaning they take a sharper edge and hold it MUCH longer than the other lines. This is probably a clone of the ZDP-189 supersteel. (source)

The microserrated blades aid in slicing, but hurt the ability to chop and mince. They WILL help retain a cutting edge longer, but also cannot be sharpened normally.

Edit: Personally, I've not been impressed by Henckels knives. Wusthof knives strike me as better quality at a similar price, and Victorinox is almost as good but a lot cheaper. Why do I say this? Well, Wusthof blades aren't as thick and unwieldy as Henckels, and they harden the steel to 58 Rockwell, so it takes a better edge. Victorinox is comparable hardness to Henckels, but about half the price, and the shapes of the blades just seem so perfect, with a deeper belly to slice thick items, and awesome grippy Fibrox handles.