Gourmet

Wusthof’s Gourmet assortment of knives is far more accessible than other collections offered by Wusthof. They are perfect for the regular home cook who is starting. 

The Gourmet series offers the same high-carbon stainless steel blade materials and similarly designed ergonomic handles but at a considerably lower cost. While the Gourmet line features razor-sharp blades built to last because they have been stamped, they are not quite as sharp, thick, heavy, or long-lasting as some of Wusthof’s other lines. Wusthof’s stamped knives, including the Gourmet line, are created via a 14-step process whereby they are generated from a large steel slab, much like you would stamp cookies out of a big piece of dough that has been turned & folded.

Most knives within the Gourmet line have full tangs; however, these do not extend across the width of the handle and thus are not exposed, as is the case with the Classic or others lines. The Gourmet collection of knives from Wusthof comes with a covered tang. The Gourmet knives that have shorter than 4.5-inch blades, such as the 4-inch paring knife, are redesigned to have a tang running just halfway down the handle, held in place by two rivets. Ideally, you will want full tangs on all knives, but most commonly used knives (6-inch or 8-inch chef’s knives) have a full tang. 

So, it is not as big of a drawback to the Gourmet series, especially for the price! The Gourmet line, while still high quality and performance-driven, is designed to be the lower-end, more affordable version of the Classic line. As we mentioned, Gourmet knives are stamped, and some cutlery in the collection comes with a half tang, with blades that are not PEtec-sharpened. All these differences affect the quality and the pricing. 

Wusthof designed its Gourmet series to appeal to the home cook who wants the quality and performance of a Wusthof knife but without the premium prices found in the advanced Wusthof lines. If you are not going to be using specific knives often, there is no point in spending extra money for Wusthof’s top-end versions. We at WFE do not regret using our Wusthof Gourmet bread and carving knives!