Until this past Christmas, I would have argued that a knife was a knife was a knife. I would have said a $10 set works just as well as a $100 set. I would have said that I was perfectly happy with my 10 year old $15 set because they got the job done.

Until this past Christmas when my husband and kids gave me a beautiful set of Chicago Cutlery knives.

At first, it seemed kind of indulgent to me. But then I used one of the knives for the first time. I diced an onion in half the time I usually did! I was sold.

Since then, I have truly fallen in love with these knives. My favorite is the Santoku knife.

I use it for almost everything. It really has cut down on my prep time, so much so that I would never have believed the difference if I didn’t experience it first hand. (If you buy just one good quality knife, I definitely recommend the Santoku knife. And for less than $20, it’s a great deal!)

The blades are smooth and sharp and they cut cleanly. For once, I can cut things the way they do on Food Network and it actually works.

A few weeks ago, my friend Lynn shared her feelings on Quality Kitchen Knives and I am in full agreement with her views. Our set was a bit less than hers (I think my husband paid about $75), but these knives are definitely still high quality.

And honestly, I am all for anything that speeds up prep work in my kitchen. It leaves more time for experimenting!

Do you have a favorite higher quality kitchen item that you couldn’t live with out? My Kitchen-Aid is definitely right in line with knives, but I’d love to hear what tops your list.

Full disclosure: I am in no way affiliated with Chicago Cutlery. They did not ask me to review their product. These knives were a gift purchased by my husband and I’m sharing my honest thoughts because I am so pleased with the product. However, the links are my own Amazon affiliate links.