Cheap guy wants expensive knife set

November 29, 2017 3:03 PM

I'm interested in buying a Global knife set. I know they are expensive but I'm interested in finding the set for the best possible price. Can you help?

This is the set I'm interested in:
https://www.amazon.com/Global-G-79589AU-Block-Knife-Sets/dp/B00UVN5ZCO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1511995907&sr=8-5&keywords=global+knife+set

It's $599.95 on Amazon.
It's $599.96 on Sur La Table.
It's $599.95 on Williams Sonoma.

Best I can seem to do right now is Williams Sonoma. If I sign up for their email list, I get 15% off a purchase, yielding a pretax price of 509.96 with free shipping. Plus my credit card gives me 1% cash back, a whopping 5.10, so my final cost (I pay my balance in full) will be 504.86.

People of Frugality, can you help me do better? Thank you

posted by rachelpapers to Shopping (16 answers total)

Best answer: I usually check via Google Shopping and see if they have a lower price from another retailer that isn't sketchy. Looks like it gives you an eBay link here for $458.
posted by AppleTurnover at 3:07 PM on November 29, 2017

Best answer: Before placing an order, I always google "[company name] coupon code". RetailMeNot is usually the first hit and can be a great source of money-saving coupon codes.
posted by DrGail at 3:15 PM on November 29, 2017

Best answer: It's on eBay for $413. Booyah!
posted by Jubey at 4:06 PM on November 29, 2017

I'd put the set together piece by piece on ebay. Lots of people buy these and don't like them (I'm not that into them, honestly), so they show up.
posted by aspersioncast at 4:07 PM on November 29, 2017 [5 favorites]

I like aspersioncast's idea. That way you're not paying for the knife block, which get super icky and are almost impossible to clean.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:21 PM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

As a Person of Frugality, can I ask why you want Globals? Commercial kitchens use cheap plastic-handled colour-coded blades from the likes of Victorinox or Mercer to prepare their very expensive meals. If you want a really fancy knife because you like looking at knives, you can get a handmade chef's knife from Bloodroot for that sort of money, not a block of soulless stainless steel.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:30 PM on November 29, 2017

Buy less knives. One big, one medium and one little. Save $450.
posted by kjs4 at 5:24 PM on November 29, 2017 [8 favorites]

Just to say, as another person of frugality, that I think Global knives are great. My favorite actually. But according to culinary classes, you are only supposed to just need the chef's (larger) knife and a smaller paring knife, so I would just buy those 2 first to save money.
posted by bquarters at 5:43 PM on November 29, 2017 [4 favorites]

I have a Global paring knife that's been my go to paring knife for years. I will add a vote of chefs knife and paring knife. I would add the bread knife too; a good bread knife is so worth it.

Or if you're set on buying a block of knives, and want The Look™ buy a knife block, and buy two chef's knives, two paring knives, and a bread knife.

In my experience in a big block of knives there are 2 or 3 knives you use, and then the 6 knives you use when you're feeling lazy and haven't washed the 2 or 3 knives that are actually the ones you want to use.
posted by gregr at 6:10 PM on November 29, 2017 [9 favorites]

I really nth the advice to get three knives.

I have a drawer full of knives, a few fancy, and I really only every reach for one. For me it's a ceramic santoku. I'd spend $700 on one of those alone, but I would not waste the $500 for a bunch of other mediocre blades I won't end up using. It's the same idea as pot and pan sets. Be your own curator, and spend the frugal money on the one tool that is effective for you.
posted by Dashy at 7:34 PM on November 29, 2017

(Get the three knives == one chef's, one paring, one bread knife, but it's the chef that's important)
posted by Dashy at 7:36 PM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Have you used them? The handles hurt and give me blisters w/ professional use, YMMV. I have small-ish hands, not tiny, but 5'6" female sized hands.

Nthing only get the knives you will use on the reg. I think w/ the Global one of them is the Santoku knife. I actually wouldn't bother with the bread knife. I have and do not dig the big long sushi knife because I prefer a thinner blade, again, YMMV on that.

Get 3 or 4 knives. And double check you are getting the good version and not the Sur La Table version. So many knife companies (and cookware) have cheap versions with their branding but it's not the real deal.

And if you think the blade isn't keeping an edge - return it! Sometimes this happens with steel, it's just a bad batch. Keep your knives dry, wet knives get microscopic pitting.

You can try out the knives at most better shops before you buy, bring onions or carrots to chop. Find the exact ones you want. Be happy.
posted by jbenben at 7:55 PM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Check to see if any of these merchants are associated with Ebates or MrRebates, or other rebate site. If so, sign up on the rebate site, and then click through to whoever's selling the knife or knives you want.
posted by wryly at 8:46 PM on November 29, 2017

Best answer: Thank you, everyone! I am aware of the value proposition of a set vs the most commonly used knives. This is a splurge, and I know it's a splurge. I appreciate your thoughts.
posted by rachelpapers at 8:34 AM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is a splurge, and I know it's a splurge.

You do you, boo. Sometimes you just know what you want and it doesn't need to make sense. Every once in a while one of those weird mall shops that buy factory seconds and "hurts" will have high-quality remaindered stuff on the cheap; I've seen Le Creuset and Wustoff at Marshall's at 50% markdown.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:45 PM on November 30, 2017

I ran across Alton Brown's Knife Buying Tips this morning.
posted by bz at 9:35 AM on December 1, 2017