Wal-Mart currently has several Henckels Pro S cutlery sets on sale (do a search on Henckels, not all of them say Pro-S in the title, but do say it in the details) for pretty good prices, so I ordered one. However, I can’t find the model numbers they have listed anywhere on the Henckels website, 35676, or for sale by anyone else.
I’m always wary of anything put forth by the Evil Empire…has anyone else seen anythign like this?
I wouldn’t worry about it. If it’s Henckles twin they are good knives. The model number is just for the the particular package(ie. Block and Knives) and most likely has been discontinued. It may have been unpopular, or replaced by something newer, or maybe it was specifically put together for Wal-Mart, or maybe they are trying to dump whatever stock Henckles had excess of. Doesn’t matter. A couple years ago I ordered a set online from Macy’s I think. It didn’t exist as a set found elsewhere, but was a hell of a deal.
Yeah, it should be shipped to the store in about a week, and we’ll see what it actually says on the box. I heard that Twin Pro S is the new name for the old Pro S sets, so maybe it is just old stock, or maybe their web dudes are just slacking.
Or it’s a stock number that’s exclusive to Wal-Mart. Big retailers often get packaging/models created only for them.
This also helps out retailers who advertise that, if you find the same model at a competing retailer for less, they’ll refund you double the difference or some such: it’s literally impossible to find the same model at any competitors.
I heard a rumor last year that Henckels had sold thier name to a cheap line of knives from China. I was hoping it wasn’t true, and maybe this makes me a snob, but I wouldn’t trust Henckels from WalMart. When your set arrives, will you please remember to tell us about it?
Well, I don’t think they sell their name, they just make a cheap line that’s made in China.
I think the middle line is made in some cheaper European country, like Spain. And the good line is made in Germany.
It should be printed on the blade where it is made.
Henckles does have a cheaper line. They only have one guy on the icon, and are not allowed to be called Twin. They arn’t shitty knives, more of a starter set, but just not quite of a quality to last a lifetime of sharpenings(or at all, I have a few pieces of a micro serrated Henckles that cannot be sharpenned).
I have one of the cheap Henckles chef knives. It won’t take or hold an edge worth a wet shit. The edge chips under even very light use. Based on this knife, I can’t recommend the Chinese-manufactured Henckles line.
Henckels does indeed have 2 lines, one of which is JA Henckels International. This line does not offer the Pro-S model, it offers EverSharp and FineEdge models.
I am happy to report that I picked up my order today, and I got a Twin Pro-S set of cutlery, 12 piece set (so it’s definitely the upmarket brand, it says Zwiling on it as well). Very nice.
Excellent! How do they cut?
You can tell the Henckels knives apart by the little icon- the good ones have the “gemini” logo, i.e. twins.
The lower-end ones have a stick figure with a halberd- the J.A. Henckels International ones.
Yes, I have the twins logo. As for how they cut, this is sort of a Christmas present I am giving to myself, so I am not opening them until Christmas 
(Also, in case someone goes absolutely hog wild and buys me a nice set of knives for Christmas, I can return them or sell them for a profit)
I’ll report back after. In my experience, however, new knives often cut very nicely for a bit, and then tend to taper off in their performance. I got a set of Santokus for my birthday that were super-sharp at first, but now (3 months later) are not as good.
Holy crap, Wal-Mart is carrying a better Henckels line than the knives I just bought at Macy’s? I picked up a Henckels made-in-Spain 8" chef’s knife and 4" paring knife at Macy’s.
Well, they WERE. I beleive they have sold out of most of the sets now.
And Wiis, too 
Is there something wrong with Spanish steel?
Hmmm, if you’ve got foodnetwork, you might try watching Alton Brown’sknife episode. It has some good ideas on keeping your knives in good shape. You might also check with your local butcher and see if s/he has a sharpening service. Dull knives are the bane of my existence.
I’ll try to remember to bump this thread after the holiday. I admire your restraint in being able to resist the early-gift-temptation.
Re: santoku knives - Japanese knives are sharpened at a different angle from Western knives. From the Henckels Web site (page for one of their sharpeners):
You might want to find somebody who know what they’re doing to sharpen your santokus.
This is especially true at mattress stores.
I’ve got food network, but I don’t know what show to tape for this knife episode? Is it Good Eats? I currently have about 90 of them recorded onthe DVR and only one was about knives and it was more about how to chop or cut and what sort of cutting board to use than how to use a steel properly, etc.