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Buy Once, Cry Once: The $2,000 Kitchen Knife Lesson

How I Learned the Hard Way That Cheap Knives Cost More in the Long Run

At Home
Published in
10 min readJan 3, 2025

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An image of five high quality knives including a bread knife, Chef’s knife, Santoku, Nakiri and Shoto knives.
Five out of Six “Dream” knives — image courtesy of the author

When my partner and I got married, one of the gifts we received was a set of kitchen knives. They came in plastic cases that were meant to keep them sharp. They looked decent enough, and, as far as we could tell, they were sharp. Those knives served us well during the first many years of our married life. They weren’t exceptional, but they got the job done — they worked. Or so we thought.

Something changed. I started to enjoy cooking. Not just the day-to-day chore of putting dinner on the table. I enjoyed the art, the science, the process, the creativity, and the satisfaction of making a dish that wowed family and friends. With that growing passion came the desire for better tools, including knives.

Little did I know my desire for better knives would take me on a journey that wasted over $2,000. I could have saved so much money if I’d made a smarter decision at the start.

The Starter Knives

The first set of knives I owned was a beginner’s set. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the knives seemed perfectly adequate for slicing tomatoes, chopping onions, and occasionally cutting through…

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Mark Laflamme
Mark Laflamme

Written by Mark Laflamme

I’m a scientist, critical thinker, and writer passionate about food, travel, fitness, wellness, and their associated lifestyle.

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