Discovering the ideal knife set can significantly transform your culinary experience, making meal preparation more efficient and enjoyable. The Anolon SureGrip 17-piece knife set, crafted from premium Japanese stainless steel and featuring innovative silicone handles, aims to deliver both superior performance and ergonomic comfort. This comprehensive review delves into the essential aspects of this popular kitchen tool, providing an in-depth look at its features, advantages, and potential drawbacks. Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or just starting your culinary journey, understanding what makes a knife set truly exceptional is key. Join us as we explore the unique attributes of the Anolon SureGrip collection, examining everything from its robust construction to its everyday utility in a busy kitchen environment. Our analysis is based on extensive use, including a three-year trial of the first-generation model and a recent evaluation of the updated set, ensuring a practical and reliable assessment.
Anolon SureGrip Knife Set Review: A Deep Dive into Performance and Comfort
A well-rounded knife set is the backbone of any functional kitchen, and the Anolon SureGrip 17-piece collection offers a comprehensive array of tools designed to meet every culinary demand. This thoughtfully assembled set ensures that you have the right blade for every task, from precision slicing to robust chopping, enhancing both your efficiency and safety in the kitchen. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the essential components included in this versatile collection:
- 8-Inch Chef’s Knife: The workhorse of any kitchen, perfect for chopping, dicing, mincing, and slicing a wide variety of ingredients. Its versatile design makes it indispensable for daily meal preparation.
- 8-Inch Bread Knife: Featuring a serrated edge, this knife effortlessly slices through crusty bread, delicate pastries, and even soft-skinned fruits and vegetables without tearing.
- 8-Inch Slicer Knife: With its long, thin blade, this knife is ideal for carving roasts, poultry, and fish, creating uniform, clean slices every time.
- 5-Inch Santoku Knife: A Japanese-style knife designed for versatile kitchen tasks, excelling at chopping, dicing, and mincing. Its flatter blade and unique grants (dimples) help prevent food from sticking.
- 5-Inch Utility Knife: A multi-purpose knife that bridges the gap between a chef’s knife and a paring knife, perfect for tasks requiring more precision than a chef’s knife but less than a paring knife.
- 3-½-Inch Paring Knife: Essential for intricate tasks like peeling, trimming, and garnishing fruits and vegetables, offering superior control for detailed work.
- Eight 5-Inch Steak Knives: A full set of sharp, serrated steak knives ensures a pleasant dining experience for family and guests, making it easy to cut through cooked meats.
- Kitchen Shears: Versatile and invaluable for tasks like snipping herbs, trimming fat, opening packages, or even spatchcocking poultry.
- 8-Inch Honing Steel: An essential tool for maintaining the edge of your knives, realigning the blade to ensure optimal sharpness between professional sharpenings.
- Acacia Wood Knife Block: A stylish and functional storage solution that protects the blades and keeps your knives organized and safely within reach on your countertop.
Our comprehensive review is shaped by extensive real-world testing. My mother has relied on the first generation of this Anolon set daily for the past three years, replacing her long-standing Cutco collection. This prolonged usage provides invaluable insights into the knives’ long-term durability and performance. Supplementing this, we’ve conducted several days of testing with the newer, updated model to highlight improvements and assess its current capabilities, offering a balanced perspective on both longevity and modern design.
Anolon SureGrip Knives PROs: Where Comfort Meets Performance
The Anolon SureGrip knife set distinguishes itself with several key advantages that enhance the user experience, making it a standout choice for home cooks. From revolutionary handle technology to thoughtful design aesthetics, these knives are crafted to perform reliably and look great in any kitchen.
Unparalleled Comfort and Grip: The SureGrip Advantage
The standout feature of the Anolon SureGrip knives is undoubtedly their innovative handles, incorporating Anolon’s proprietary SureGrip® technology. These silicone-enhanced handles offer a truly unique tactile experience that defies simple description. They are not as squishy or pliable as typical rubber spatulas but instead provide a firm, secure grip with a subtle, reassuring give. This distinct texture is engineered for maximum comfort and safety, particularly in dynamic kitchen environments.
We’ve found these handles to be exceptionally beneficial, especially when hands are slightly damp or wet. While conventional wisdom dictates always using cutlery with dry hands, the reality of cooking often involves constant washing—produce, dishes, and hands. During meal preparation, a single knife might be washed, rinsed, and wiped numerous times. Even with diligent wiping, achieving complete dryness for both hands and knives can be challenging. The Anolon SureGrip technology mitigates the risk of slippage in these real-world scenarios, making knife usage significantly safer and more confident.
Beyond the material, the ergonomic design of the handle further enhances user comfort and control. Its distinctive “protruding belly” contour is specifically shaped to provide a more secure and natural grip, reducing hand fatigue during extended periods of use. This thoughtful design helps distribute pressure evenly across the hand, allowing for better manipulation of the blade and improved cutting precision.
In contrast, my cherished Japanese Global Knives feature a single-piece stainless steel construction with dimpled handles designed for traction. While elegant, these all-metal handles require extra vigilance; I often resort to a terry cloth towel to ensure both my hands and the knife remain perfectly dry, as even minimal moisture can lead to potential slippage. The Anolon SureGrip’s superior moisture resistance offers a significant practical advantage, especially for busy home cooks who prioritize safety and efficiency.
Aesthetic Appeal and Thoughtful Design
Beyond their functional superiority, the Anolon SureGrip knife set boasts a truly handsome and sophisticated aesthetic, designed to complement any modern kitchen decor. The knives feature thick, rounded handles that culminate in a heavy, polished stainless steel end cap. This end cap not only contributes to the elegant appearance but also serves a crucial functional purpose by providing excellent balance to the knife, enhancing control and reducing strain during use.
The entire set is presented in a beautifully crafted Acacia wood knife block. Its gently curved design is thoughtfully conceived to harmonize with the unique contours of the knife handles, creating a cohesive and visually pleasing display on your countertop. This natural wood block not only protects your blades but also adds a touch of organic warmth and sophistication to your kitchen.
The Anolon SureGrip set is available in two attractive color options: Bronze and Gray. The Bronze option, in particular, offers a refreshing departure from the conventional black handles often seen in knife sets. This warm, inviting hue makes it an excellent choice for kitchens with warm-toned decor, where it can serve as a stunning focal point. Furthermore, the updated design of these knives is crafted to perfectly match Anolon’s Advanced Bronze Cookware Set, allowing for a seamless and coordinated look across your entire kitchen collection. This attention to detail in both form and function truly elevates the Anolon SureGrip knife set beyond mere utility.
Anolon SureGrip Knives CONs: Considerations for Discerning Users
While the Anolon SureGrip knife set offers numerous advantages, it’s important to acknowledge certain aspects that might be perceived as drawbacks, depending on individual preferences and culinary expertise. Understanding these points helps in making an informed decision about whether this set aligns with your specific needs.
The Full Bolster Design
One design element that may not appeal to all users is the presence of a full bolster. A bolster is the thick metal piece located between the knife blade and the handle. While it adds weight and can contribute to balance, a full bolster can sometimes impede a recommended “pinch grip” on the blade. The pinch grip, where the thumb and forefinger grasp the base of the blade, is preferred by many chefs for superior control and precision during cutting tasks. A full bolster can make it harder to achieve this grip comfortably, potentially affecting maneuverability for some users. For those accustomed to knives with a half bolster or no bolster, this might require an adjustment in cutting technique.
Blade Material and Hardness: Understanding 420J2 Steel
Information regarding the specific blade material on Anolon’s website is somewhat limited, broadly stating “Japanese Stainless Steel.” After inquiring directly with the company, we confirmed the detailed specifications:
- Japanese 420J2 Steel
- Rockwell Hardness 50 +/-2 HRC
According to Knife Up, The Knife News Magazine, “420J2 stainless steel is a popular choice for knife manufacturers. It contains medium quality carbon content and offers good corrosion resistance in salt-free atmospheres and most industrial environments. It is resistant to many chemicals and household cleaners and is also a more durable steel compared to the 440 grades.”
In essence, 420J2 steel is an inexpensive, medium-quality, general-purpose stainless steel. Its primary benefits include excellent corrosion resistance, making it highly resistant to rust and stains, and its ease of sharpening. This steel is quite suitable for medium-duty home use, where extreme edge retention might not be the highest priority. However, its relatively low Rockwell Hardness of 50 +/-2 HRC indicates that the blade is softer compared to high-end cutlery steels. This softness means that while the knives are easy to sharpen and less prone to chipping, they will also require more frequent honing and sharpening to maintain a keen edge. For home cooks, this translates to a need for more regular maintenance to ensure optimal cutting performance.
Anolon’s Primary Expertise
It’s also worth noting that Anolon is widely recognized and highly respected for its exceptional cookware and bakeware, not specifically for specialized cutlery in the same vein as brands like Henckels or Wüsthof. While their culinary products are generally excellent (they make one of my favorite everyday woks), their venture into cutlery, while commendable, operates in a highly competitive market dominated by brands with centuries of knife-making heritage. This doesn’t detract from the Anolon SureGrip set’s quality for its intended purpose, but it positions it differently within the broader cutlery landscape.
Maintaining Sharpness: Honing vs. Sharpening
A common misconception among home cooks is confusing honing with sharpening, yet understanding the difference is crucial for maintaining your knives’ performance. Honing primarily realigns the microscopic edge of a knife, pushing it back into place after it has bent or rolled from use. This is done with a honing steel, which comes included in the Anolon set, and should ideally be done frequently, perhaps before each use. Sharpening, on the other hand, is a more aggressive process that grinds away a small amount of metal from the blade to create a new, fresh edge, removing any nicks or dullness. Sharpening is typically needed less often than honing, depending on the knife’s steel and frequency of use.
My mom’s three-year experience with her Anolon knives perfectly illustrates this distinction. For the entire period, she only ever honed the knives with the included steel. It wasn’t until we moved closer to each other in Las Vegas that her knives underwent true sharpening with my electric knife sharpener. As expected, her chef’s knife, being the most frequently used, had become noticeably dull. However, a proper sharpening session restored it to like-new condition. The paring knife also benefited immensely from sharpening. Interestingly, the other knives in the set, used less frequently, had maintained their edge surprisingly well, proving that usage frequency heavily influences the need for sharpening.
To ensure your Anolon SureGrip knives remain in peak condition, I strongly recommend investing in a dedicated knife sharpener. For those on a budget, a simple manual pull-through sharpener, such as this one, is a highly effective and affordable solution for maintaining a good edge. If sharp knives are a high priority and your budget allows, the Chef’s Choice Angle Select electric sharpener is an excellent investment. This versatile device can sharpen both Asian-style and European-style knives, providing professional-grade results at home. Alternatively, you can always seek out a local professional knife sharpener; for just a few dollars per blade, they can restore your knives to factory sharpness, ensuring they perform at their absolute best.
Anolon SureGrip Knives: The Ideal User Profile
The Anolon SureGrip 17-piece knife set, with its distinctive features, is particularly well-suited for specific types of users, offering benefits that cater to comfort, safety, and everyday functionality. Understanding who this set is perfect for can help you determine if it’s the right choice for your kitchen.
These knives are exceptionally well-suited for individuals who may experience weaker hands or suffer from arthritic conditions. The thicker, more robust handles of the Anolon SureGrip knives require less hand closure to achieve a firm and secure grip. This ergonomic design significantly reduces strain and discomfort, making prolonged meal preparation much more manageable and enjoyable. My mother’s experience is a testament to this; she has battled chronic pain in her right thumb for years, and these knives were instrumental in allowing her to continue her passion for cooking without exacerbating her condition. Even after undergoing finger surgery recently, she now relies on a different set (which I’ll be reviewing soon!), but the Anolon SureGrip provided invaluable support during her initial recovery phases.
Furthermore, the SureGrip technology, which ensures a non-slip hold even with damp hands, enhances safety for home cooks of all skill levels. This feature is particularly beneficial in a bustling kitchen where hands often get wet from washing produce or dishes, minimizing the risk of accidental slippage. The generous 17-piece collection also makes it an excellent choice for new homeowners, aspiring home cooks, or anyone looking to upgrade from a basic, mismatched set. It provides a comprehensive range of essential knives and accessories in one stylish package, ensuring you’re well-equipped for virtually any recipe.
However, it’s important to note that this set might not be the best fit for everyone. If you have particularly petite hands, you might find the thicker handles a bit too bulky, making them less comfortable to maneuver. Individuals with very strong hands who prefer the delicate precision and balance of extremely thin, lightweight handles might also find these knives less appealing. For professional chefs or culinary enthusiasts who prioritize ultra-premium blade steel and razor-thin edges for highly specialized tasks, the 420J2 steel may not offer the extreme edge retention they demand. For the average home cook seeking comfort, safety, and a reliable, comprehensive set, the Anolon SureGrip delivers exceptional value and performance.
Value Proposition: A Smart Investment for Your Kitchen
Considering its robust feature set and comprehensive collection, the Anolon SureGrip 17-piece knife set presents a compelling value proposition for a wide array of home cooks. The combination of Japanese stainless steel blades, albeit of a moderate hardness, with the innovative SureGrip ergonomic handles, creates a package that balances performance, safety, and comfort. For its price point, acquiring 17 essential pieces, including a full set of steak knives, kitchen shears, a honing steel, and an elegant Acacia wood block, offers significant utility.
This set is particularly appealing for those looking for a complete kitchen solution without venturing into the premium price categories of specialized cutlery brands. The durability of the Japanese 420J2 steel, known for its corrosion resistance and ease of sharpening, ensures that with proper care, these knives will serve your kitchen reliably for years. The SureGrip handles, a highlight of this collection, actively contribute to a safer and more enjoyable cooking experience, especially for individuals who might struggle with traditional knife handles. This blend of practicality, aesthetic appeal, and ergonomic design makes the Anolon SureGrip set a wise investment for enhancing daily culinary tasks and bringing a touch of coordinated style to your kitchen.
Conclusion: The Anolon SureGrip Knife Set for Everyday Culinary Excellence
The Anolon SureGrip 17-piece knife set stands out as a strong contender in the market for home kitchen cutlery, offering a thoughtful balance of functionality, ergonomics, and aesthetic appeal. Its core strengths lie in the innovative SureGrip silicone-enhanced handles, which provide exceptional comfort and a secure, non-slip grip—a critical safety feature in a busy kitchen environment, especially when hands are damp. The ergonomic design caters particularly well to individuals seeking to minimize hand fatigue or those with joint discomfort, making cooking a more accessible and enjoyable activity.
While the Japanese 420J2 stainless steel blades offer good corrosion resistance and are easy to sharpen, their moderate hardness means that consistent honing and occasional sharpening will be necessary to maintain peak performance. However, for the general home cook, this level of maintenance is easily achievable with the right tools and commitment. The comprehensive collection of 17 pieces, elegantly housed in an Acacia wood block, provides all the essential tools needed for daily meal preparation, from slicing and dicing to carving and shearing. The sophisticated design and choice of finishes, particularly the unique Bronze option, ensure that this set not only performs well but also enhances the visual appeal of your kitchen countertop.
Ultimately, the Anolon SureGrip knife set is an excellent choice for individuals prioritizing comfort, safety, and a complete, aesthetically pleasing kitchen solution. It delivers reliable performance for everyday culinary tasks and represents a valuable investment for any home cook looking to upgrade their kitchen arsenal with a set that thoughtfully addresses practical needs and modern design preferences.