Taking an Infomercial Bullet for Y'all

Cafe Society
1

I almost wrote this a few months ago when it happened, but then I thought about it, and my brain said: “Who the hell CARES?!?”

So I didn’t.

Since then, I’ve realized that my brain isn’t always right. (Gee, ya think?)

So here’s the deal:

I’ve needed new kitchen knives for a while. Thus far, my kitchen knives have been a set bearing the “Betty Crocker” name that I bought at the local hardware store: $12.95 for six knives in a wood-block holder. They were all serrated edges, and they lasted for several years (although not individually: as I dulled the teeth on one, I moved on to the next one; but I still got about a decade out of the set as a whole). Still, I decided I needed new ones this year.

For quite a while, the Miracle Blade Perfection Series was the king of infomercial knives. They were sold by some guy named Chef Tony and had all of the requisite “these are the sharpest knives you will ever own” and the “lifetime guarantee” if they are ever damaged or go dull, EVEN IF IT’S YOUR FAULT! kind of thing.

You can, of course, see them here: http://www.miracleblade.com/

Then, Ron Popeil came along. ANOTHER infomercial, hawking ANOTHER knife set. YOU know Ron Popeil: inventor of the Popeil’s Pocket Fisherman, GLH (the spray-paint for your bald spot), the Showtime Rotisserie, the Popeil’s Pasta Maker, etc.

NOW he has the Ronco Showtime Six-Star Cutlery Set: http://www.ronco.com/products/knives.di4?productID=16

I was conflicted. What to do? What to DO???

The problem was, a local store in the local mall sold the Miracle Blade set, which had the advantage of instant gratification. On the other hand, I could order the Ronco set, which had the advantage of more knives.

I (in the interest of fighting ignorance, as well as filling my kitchen with knives, and possibly several beers) did both. So here is my comparison:

So far (and I acquired both of these sets in August, 2004), none of them have let me down; nor made me wish I hadn’t purchased them. Of course, they may rust to pieces in three weeks (in which case, I’ll let you know). So far, I’m okay with them.

The Miracle Blades come with SIX kitchen knives in the original set, ONE pair of kitchen shears, and FOUR steak knives. You get this for $40.00. If you buy the woodblock to store them in ($30), you (well, I) get FOUR MORE steak knives, as well as the juicer mentioned on the website (but NOT mentioned on the infomercial).

I didn’t pay shipping on this, since I bought it at the mall, and I don’t currently have the receipt for it at hand; but it was between $70-$75 for the whole thing (of course, the woodblock is optional).

These things came with dire warnings about how DANGEROUSLY SHARP they are, and they weren’t kidding. Within the first hour of unpacking them, I’d cut three fingers rather deeply.

Not that I’m a klutz, mind you (although maybe I am), but they ARE “razor sharp”.

While I was home and unpacking the MiracleBlades, I flipped on the TV, and the Ronco informercial came on. In the interest of fighting ignorance, I succumbed.

Twelve days later, the Ronco knife set showed up.

SIXTEEN kitchen knives, ONE pair of kitchen shears, and EIGHT steak knives, a knife sharpener and the Solid Flavor Injector. You get THIS for $40.00. If you buy the woodblock to store them in ($30), you don?t get anything extra. Yet they offer a matching 40 piece flatware set for an additional $30. Total price for all of that with shipping: $109 and change.

So which do I prefer? I’m currently voting for the Ronco set. The handles aren’t quite as swoopy and curvy and ergonomic, but they ARE riveted to a full steel tang, whilst the Miracle Blades are molded of something. There are MORE KNIVES with the Ronco set. There’s a matching 8-place setting, 40-piece flatware set as an option, the woodblock has slots for extra knives. You get the knife sharpener as well as the Solid Flavor Injector (which lets you inject whole pieces of flavoring into the center of a piece of meat: garlic cloves, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, herbs, fruits, etc.).

I should note that if you just buy the knife sets by themselves, both the MiracleBlade and the Ronco sets are the same price. If you buy the knife set plus the wood block, they are the same price. Ronco has twice as many knives, however.

DISCLAIMER: I realize that we’re not talking top-of-the-line culinary equipment here. But while a Ferrari Testarossa is nice to have, for the same price you can buy half-a-dozen Honda Accords and still get to work. As a non-professional chef, I look at kitchen knives the same way. You don’t always have to have the best to be sufficient.

There IS such a thing as overkill.

I should ALSO NOTE (for the mods/admins) that I am not a shill for Ronco (nor MiracleBlade). I am simply reporting my experience with these products, in order to inform anyone else who may be thinking of buying them.

One of the things that I’ve seen frequently on this board is the contention that the way these people make their money is by charging EXHORBITANT shipping fees on their replacement guarantees.

I can attest through personal experience that if you need to replace one of these knives (of either company, for any reason, “EVEN IF IT?S YOUR FAULT”), the shipping cost is $4.95. For either company.

Not very exhorbitant in my book.

I just tested these, so others don’t have to. Plus, I’ve got a kitchen full of knives (which would make a great name for a rock band…yeah, I know).

(Note to mods/admins: feel free to delete links, if you feel they’re inappropriate. I?m not trying to break rules, I am just trying to share personal experiences. No-one is paying me, but if you think it sounds like they might be, by all means, edit appropriately.)

2

Well, that’s cool that you like the knives; but wehat I really want to know is have you tried the spray-on hair?

I’ve had an irrational desire to get a can of that stuff ever since I first saw the infomercial, and I’m not even balding. It’s just such a silly idea; gotta love it! :smiley:

3

Nope, haven’t.

I agree, though: it’s certainly a novel approach to a ubiquitous condition. You’ve got to hand it to him for trying.

4

Oh, by the way:

Thanks, Dex. I don’t know where all the question marks came from, but I appreciate you grabbing that one.

5

Can you cut a tin can with any of these, and then slice a tomato?

6

Just how many knives do you have now? :wink:

7

Why not just buy ONE decent set of non-serrated knives and a sharpener. I have a mixed set of Wusthoff-Trident chef’s knives (not top of the line by any means) and a $10 sharpener. When any one goes dull, zip through the sharpener a coupla times and it’s sharp. I’ve had my knives for 8 years or so and there’s no reason to beleive they won’t last forever. A freind of mine just tried to sell me on Cutco knives and I laughed at him. Likewise, my mom bought some Cutco knives a year ago and they’re dull already. Granted, Cutco will sharpen them for free but why not just do it at home 10 seconds before you use them?

8

I stood through a twenty-minute knife demonstration in a department store to qualify for a free paring knife. “Look at that onion ladies, have you ever seen an onion cut as fine?” et fecking cetera ad infinitum. I got the paring knife in the end, and it was great. Until its first wash in the dishwasher, which caused the bastard to rust completely.

9

By the way, I have one very-ultra-sharp Japanese knife, one paring knife, one serrated knife, and a Sabatier chopper. I cannot imagine any situation in the kitchen that would require anything else.

If your steak is so tough that you need anything more than a regular cutlery knife to cut it, you’re cooking it wrong, or buying it in the wrong place. :stuck_out_tongue:

10

I, too, have succumbed to the lure of the Miracle Blade. I bought the set a year or two ago and so far, they are exactly as described in the commercial. Be careful about where you put them in the dishwasher though since the logo on the handle can fall off. I know it’s a Miracle Blade so that part doesn’t matter to me. The knives are extremely sharp.

I saw the commercial for the Ronco product the other day and I was oh-so-tempted by the Showtime Six-Star Cutlery Set. I resisted the temptation since I already have the other set, but I admit it was difficult.

I think I need a 12-step program for infomercial addiction. I rarely buy anything (the Miracle Blade is an exception), but for some reason I always watch the shows. :frowning: It’s the lure of the “…but wait, there’s more!” that gets me. I always want to know what extra thing they’re going to throw in.

11

:smiley:

When my mother found the original set of Ginsu knives at a *dollar store * (!!), she decided, what the heck - I’ll give these things a try and see what all the hype is about. It’s not like she lost a lot of money on them, after all.
After she’d brought them home and had been using them for a week, I asked her the same question you posed above. My father commented wryly, “Sure they can. Once.”

I don’t know what it was about these things. Just popularity over the commercial, I suppose. Seeing as how they came from the dollar store, I have to question how authentic they may have been. They came in a large flat box, and was a set of about 12 knives (I can’t remember exactly how many, but four steak knives were there, and a handful of larger knives). They had the little “Ginsu” name on each knife, written in that horrendous Asian-esque font (you know - written in English letters, but all funkified for some inexplicable reason - as if we suddenly are made to think “Oh, dear, I can’t read that, it’s kanji! Oh, wait - ha ha, you got me, you clever, clever marketers!”) Anyway.

I was living with my very cheap then friend shortly after, and I was trying to cut a tomato with her “Ginsu” knife, which she purchased, naturally, at the dollar store. I was complaining bitterly about it’s inability to properly slice the tomato (it was leaving great, jagged pieces of skin hanging, the cuts were not smooth at all - and I’m not totally inexperienced when it comes to cutting with knives). She overheard me complaining, and huffed indignantly “That’s a Ginsu knife. Those are the top of the line, best knives in the world. It doesn’t need to be sharpened. The tomato must be rotten or something.” I snarkily pointed out to the garden and suggested I could try another one. She says “They work perfectly. You must be doing it wrong. I paid a lot of money for those things, so they had better work.”

Pause.
Blink.

Me: “Wasn’t I with you when you picked up the whole set at the dollar store?”

Pause.
Blink.
Pause.
I watch her face redden deeply.

Her, icily: “You must be mistaken!”

Then again, this is from a woman who fills her trailer to the brim with lead crystal dinnerware and knickknacks (and has nothing else to use for eating), and tells everyone it was terribly expensive, etc… I mean, she puts on major airs. Major, major affectation. Makes for some fun stories, though :smiley:

By the way, Dijon, thanks for the reviews, because incidentally, I was about to invest (or get someone else to invest in me for Christmas!) in a new set of knives. This is quite helpful, since I’d had my eye on the Miracle Blade ones. Think I’ll give the Ronco set a look.

12

Haven’t thought of a reason to cut a tin can, yet…so, no.

I’ve got a hammer that’s eyeing me trepidatiously, however.

13

on QVC you can get the Miracle Blade 3 knife set and the block and the juicer for around 44 bucks:

knives

now I’m tempted to get them.

14

The price you paid for those two sets of mail-order knives could have bought you a Wusthof chef’s knife, boning knife, and paring knife (which will go a long way…). Wouldn’t want to cut a tin can with one, though. :wink:

15

Whaddaya need a reason for? You’ve got like ninety four zillion knives now, you can use one to attack a soup can for the hell of it. Shit, you could probably build a new wing onto your house with the steak knives alone.

16

Heh–one user reports that they cut drywall with one, and then sliced a tomato…and the knife was still razor sharp (of course, the tomato tasted all gritty).

17

This is an easy problem to fix. They even show you how to fix it on the infomercial. You have to cut the tin can first, then the red ripe tomato. Cutting the tomato without the can is just asking for trouble.

18

Years ago, the Ginsu knives were made in Pawtucket, RI. A local store had a big bin of them-you could buy them for $1.99 each…so I bought 3. I still have one…they are great for slicing vegetables, bread, etc., and at $1.99 a great value. Now, my SABATIER carbon steel knife is much better…but it was $89.99!
PS. I don’t feel the need to slice aluminum soda cans much!

19

As Weird Al says in Mr. Popeil: You can even cut a tin can with it… but you wouldn’t want to.

I have Cutco knives, which are great for most anything, but I still find that cutting chicken breast is a pain. Even with the knife for that purpose. It’s not just a simple drag the knife across the chicken, there’s still the need for some back and forth motion.

How does Chicken Breast (Purdue Boneless) fare under the might of the Miracle Blade II? I think Chef Tony is great, if I didn’t have a Cutco set already (wedding present) I would have bought them.

20

Well, I can tell you that it goes through (cooked) turkey breast like buttah. Almost no drag necessary.

I like the Miracle Blade steak knives much better than the Roncos (although I haven’t compared them on steak, yet). The MBs edge is convex-scalloped, so that the curved parts stick out with little valleys between them. Slips right through everything I’ve tried them on.

The Ronco edge (and there are a variety of them in the set: serrated, scalloped, straight, etc) is concave-scalloped, with sharp teeth separated by crescent valleys. These seem to tear at stuff a lot more.

It’s for RESEARCH!!

[sub]Yeah…that’s the ticket.[/sub]