Cangshan vs Henckels - 6 Essential Factors for Choosing Your Perfect Knife
Cangshan or Henckels? This a pretty common investigation for people like you who are probably looking for the best kitchen knife brands and trying to make a proper decision on which one would be the most befitting addition to your kitchen.
Cangshan Cutlery is a comparatively new company in the knife business. Launched in 2015, they started to produce hand-crafted knife collections with classic designs and aesthetics.
Now, Henckels, or more specifically, a member of the prestigious ZWILLING Group, J.A. HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL, is a 252-year-old popular cutlery brand with lots of quality western knife collections on their name.
Well, there’s more to discuss on these two amazing knife brands. So, buckle up as we break down Cangshan vs Henckels so you can have the right set of information to make a well-judged decision on which one to try and which one would be the most suitable for your culinary needs.
Let’s get started.
Cangshan Cutlery is a US-based company that specializes in crafting high-quality knives for professional chefs and home cooks.
Their blades are known for their exceptional performance, exquisite design, and durability.
Cangshan offers a wide variety of knife types, including chef’s knives, bread knives, paring knives, carving knives, and more.
Each knife is crafted from premium materials, such as high-carbon German steel, and features an ergonomic handle for comfortable use.
What sets Cangshan knives apart is their innovative design. They have won numerous awards for their unique, modern designs that seamlessly blend form and function.
For example, their TS Series features a sleek, minimalistic design that incorporates a unique tang and handle design for optimal balance and control.
Overall, you’ll see Cangshan knives has a seamless fusion of Western and Japanese knife styles with quality performance and functionality.
Henckels Knives – A Brief Overview
Henckels Cutlery is a German-based company producing high-quality knives for over 280 years. Their knives are known for their exceptional sharpness, durability, and precision.
Just like Cangshan, Henckels also offers a wide range of knife types, including chef’s, bread, paring, carving knives, and more.
Each knife is crafted from premium materials, such as high-carbon stainless steel, and features an ergonomic handle for comfortable use.
What sets Henckels knives apart is their unique blade design. Their knives are made using a proprietary process that involves ice-hardening the blade to enhance its strength and durability.
Additionally, their knives feature a full tang, meaning that the blade extends all the way through the handle for optimal balance and control.
Overall, Henckels Cutlery is a brand that is trusted by chefs and home cooks worldwide.
With their long history of producing high-quality knives and their commitment to innovation and design, they are a top choice for anyone looking for a reliable, high-performance knife.
Cangshan vs. Henckels – The 6 Key Differences
Factors | Cangshan | Henckels |
Knife Construction | Cangshan offers their knives with forged blades (Mostly). Though, some collections, like TG and W series, are stamped. Here is an interesting fact, all Cangshan knives undergo an ultra-precise six-stage heat treatment for getting the best qualities in each blade steel. | Henckels goes into a different path making all their blades stamped with a few forged knives. Their Classic, Premio, and Graphite series offer forged blades. Henckels owns all of its factories and uses top-quality steel to construct its knives. They’re also open about the whole knife-making process. |
Blade | Cangshan generally uses three steel variants: High alloy German steel, high carbon Japanese steel, and high alloy Swedish Sandvik 12C27 and 14C28N Steels. | Henckels on the other hand uses only high-carbon stainless steel. This exclusive alloy was especially pioneered by Henckels, containing 15% carbon, 8% molybdenum, 5% carbon, and 2% vanadium. |
Handle Material | Cangshan uses different types of handle materials depending on their knife series. To be specific, they utilize high-quality food-safe polymer, walnut, teak, African blackwood, or high alloy steel in some cases. | Henckels mainly uses a type of plastic: black Polyoxymethylene. It’s mostly durable and moisture-resistant. They also use stainless steel handles for two of their other knife collections (Graphite and Modernist). |
Knife Design | Cangshan cutely thrives on excellent design for its knives. Currently, Cangshan’s collection offers 17 handle designs, all either Patented or Patent Pending. Their uniqueness lies in the angled bolster, a patented feature that facilitates a comfortable and secure pinch grip. With Cangshan, you’ll have both full (TS, S1 series) and half-bolstered (Thomas Keller) knife collections. | Unlike Cangshan, Henckels isn’t a design-oriented knife brand, instated they focus on traditional looks and performance. You’ll find most Henckels knives with a black POM handle featuring three exposed rivets and obviously full tang. They also have a modern stainless-steel design (Graphite, Modernist Series) collection. Also, all their knives are fully bolstered. |
Knife Collections | Cangshan offers a lot of variety in its knife collections. They feature around 25 distinct knife series. For example:
| Henckels on the other hand offers over 15 knife collections each with unique materials, design, and construction. For example, the most popular ones are:
|
Price | When it comes to price, Cangshan knives come from $39.95 to $249.95. So, they are not that expensive compared to other popular brands like Shun, Dalstrong, or Wusthof. | Henckels, with lots of knife collections, can get low to very high in the price range. As of now, they provide their knife collections from $49.99 to $1999, depending on the individual knife or block set. |
Cangshan vs. Henckels – What are the Brand’s Best Options to Offer?
Now, as we dive deeper into Cangshan vs Henckels, let’s talk about the best knife series that both these brands have to offer.
Starting with Cangshan, it’s one of the popular and notable knife collections would be –
Cangshan Thomas Keller Series
Designed by the Michelin-starred chef himself, the Thomas Keller Series offers fully forged knives with Swedish steel.
This construction creates an incredibly sharp yet durable blade for optimum performance.
Although these knives are known for their excellent edge retention, regular use will require sharpening every few months.
However, with moderate use, sharpening once or twice a year should suffice.
With their award-winning designs and premium materials, the knives in these collections not only offer exceptional performance but also boast an attractive appearance.
While they are among the most expensive knives produced by Cangshan, they are still considered mid-range compared to other high-end brands.
Now, let’s get onto Henckels. There are lots of “worth the money” knife collections Henckels produces, but for us, the best knife series they offer is the –
Henckels Classic Series
The Henckels Classic series is an ideal and popular option for those seeking an affordable, yet high-quality forged and full-tang chef’s knife for their kitchen.
Crafted from German stainless steel and manufactured in Spain, each knife in this series blends sharpness and durability seamlessly.
The bolster-free design and triple-riveted handle further enhance the knife’s longevity and ease of use.
Although the chef’s knife may be an inch shorter than the ideal length, its excellent quality makes it a worthwhile purchase, especially at such a reasonable price point.
Cangshan or Henckels – What the Consumers and Reviewers are Saying?
It’s the part where user experience determines the difference between reality and the company’s claims about their knives’ performance and quality.
After collecting customer reviews from E-Commerce sites like Amazon, Walmart, Target and product review sites like Looria, here are the conclusions we came up with –
Cangshan:
Many reviewers from different sources stated Cangshan knives as –
- Great for the kitchen.
- Good Value.
- Easy to use, with
- Beautiful designs.
Most consumers like the ergonomic handle and the affordability of Cangshan Knives.
However, some customers didn’t like the fact about Changshan knives don’t hold the edge for longer.
The opinion varies depending on the knife series from Cangshan consumers are using.
Henckels:
Many reviewers from different sources stated Henckels knives as –
- Very sharp.
- Great for a kitchen knife set.
- Durable and functional.
- Classic design.
- A bit pricy take.
Most consumers liked the razor-sharp blade that smoothly do the job. Also, they stay sharp for longer.
However, some of the consumers found a rust-like spot or two on the knife blade while using it within a short period.
There were some other issues with hand feel and weight across different knife collections from Henckels. Despite that, it’s all about positive reviews.
In the End – Which one You Should Go for?
Now that we have arrived at the concluding part of Cangshan vs Henckels, it’s time to decide which one to choose.
As we walked you through the six comparison factors between Henckels and Cangshan, we think the best option is the Cangshan knives (personal preference) for various reasons. For example:
- The award-winning designs.
- The hand feels and performance.
- Different high-quality blade materials, and
- Ergonomic handle design.
All these factors really make Cangshan knives a great deal for the price.
Now, Henckels also performs well in terms of durability, price, and sharpness.
They put a traditional look and feel throughout all its knife collections.
Ultimately, the most crucial factor in choosing a knife is your personal preference. Whether you opt for Henckels or Cangshan, the decision should be based on what you want your knife to do and how it feels in your hand.
The perfect knife for you is the one that best fits your needs and suits your individual preferences.
FAQs
1.Is Henckels made in Chaina?
Ans: No, not all Henckels knives are made in China. They have factories in Germany, Spain, and China.
2.What is the difference between Henckels and JA Henckels?
Ans: JA Henckels is the same company as Henckels, but the “JA” stands for Johann Abraham, the founder of the original company. The two names are used interchangeably.
3.What angle is the edge of a Cangshan knife?
Ans: The edge angle of a Cangshan knife varies depending on the specific model, but most fall between 16 and 18 degrees.
