Mundial started business in Germany in 1931, and the basics of Mundial cutlery haven't changed much since the company moved production facilities to Brazil. This Mundial chef's knife pattern was good enough for your grandfather and is still a good choice for the modern chef, even though today it's not high-tech. Tempering now involves several stages of heat- and cold-treating for better edge-holding and more strength. Blade style still includes the full width bolster that's missing from stamped steel knives and from most modern forged designs.

The high point of the Mundial design is appearance. This is a classy knife with solid stainless steel bolster and end cap and a handle grip of carefully shaped and polished Brazilian ironwood. This tropical hardwood resists heat and moisture and keeps its polish with very little special care beyond hand washing and a touch-up with vegetable or mineral oil. The grip is practical and comfortable, designed for safety even when things get slippery.

The blade does include the multiple hollows of the granton grind, a feature also found on modern santokus. These ground hollows break up the contact between food and blade. The hollows fill with juices, lubricate the cut, and help prevent food from stacking up on the blade after slicing.

Compare with the Henckels Hollow Ground Chef's Knife if you're more interested in budget price than good looks.

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Mundial Olivier Anquier 10 Granton Edge Slicer Knife Dark Brown New Chefs US $68.44   Auction Ends: 23d 6h 12m

Mundial Olivier Anquier 10 inch Chefs Knife with Hollow Edge New Chefs US $88.09   Auction Ends: 23d 6h 12m

In this cleaver, the tang connects through the hardwood grip to a solid stainless steel end cap. The front end of the grip gets reinforcement from a stainless steel ferrule, and the steel tang has such thickness that there's no need to worry that the knife can't take a beating. It's able to handle the chopping chores of the average kitchen without any problems. Comparable to German steel in quality, this Brazilian cleaver is tempered tough and won't chip if used on hard bones. The edge will deform if abused, and with a blade this thick, sharpening is a job for the whetstone, not the honing steel.

The Olivier Anquier pattern uses ironwood grips sculpted in a comfortable shape with a corrugated belly that adds to the non-slip feel. Ironwood, a tree from the acacia family, is native to South America and, like many tropical hardwoods, has enough density to rival modern composites in durability. You get the beauty of natural wood without having to worry you've just contributed to the demise of the rain forest. Acacia grows quickly and abundantly and qualifies as a renewable resource. Hand washing and drying is the only special care the cleaver needs.

For a light vegetable cleaver made for slicing rather than chopping, see the Victorinox Chinese Cleaver.

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Le Cordon Bleu 6 Professional Light Cleaver Mundial Forged Top Chef Quality New US $69.95   Auction Ends: 23d 11h 45m

Mundial Elegance 6 Light Cleaver BP6150 6 US $36.90   Auction Ends: 6d 5h 21m

The forged high carbon stainless steel design of this santoku gives it more strength than the usual thin-but-efficient Asian slicing blades. You'll be able to use this knife for chopping and not need to worry that running across a bone might damage the steel. The steel compares well to anything made by Wusthof or Henckels, and turns instead of chipping. Sharpening steels reset the cutting edge easily. The wider stock and thicker cutting bevel make this knife less the classic santoku and more an improved chef's knife.

Multiple hollows ground into the sides of the blade do decrease friction in the cut, and to some degree release slices of food from the blade. Some chefs accustomed to stamped steel designs will find the full-width bolster a hindrance. The bolster does increase the strength of the blade, but in a forward cut stops the knife short. One useful trick is to slice on the pull stroke instead of sliding the knife forward.

The ironwood grip of the Mundial Olivier santoku comes from an acacia native to South America. This abundant and renewable resource offers owners the beauty and durability of natural tropical hardwood without the moral concerns about depletion of the rain forest.

See the Mundial 5100 Santoku for another good santoku built for the professional kitchen.

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SANTOKU KNIFE FROM MUNDIAL 7 GRATON BLADE WITH WHITE HANDLE US $23.98   Auction Ends: 18d 19h 22m

SANTOKU KNIFE FROM MUNDIAL 7 GRATON BLADE BLACK HANDL US $23.98   Auction Ends: 28d 11h 40m

If it's more than steel you're after and you do appreciate the appearance of the knives, the Olivier Anquier pattern adds style and beauty to a strong and practical forged knife. The first thing you'll notice is the ironwood grip, a one-piece hardwood design firmly positioned between strong stainless steel fittings. This dense tropical wood resists damage from moisture and temperature extremes and requires very little upkeep to retain its polished appearance. This is the Old World type of construction, not trimmed back to save on materials. The knives include heavy bolsters which run the full width of the blade and forged stainless steel end caps with built-in loops, handy if you prefer to hang these blades from a peg-rack.

The set includes an eight-inch carving knife and fork for dinner service, an eight-inch chef's knife able to do most of the kitchen's chopping and slicing, plus a six-inch serrated utility blade for sandwich prep and slicing. A 2-1/2-inch bird's beak peeling knife and a 3-1/2-inch standard paring knife handle vegetable peeling and trimming. A pair of forged steel kitchen shears and a sharpening steel complete the tool set. All items store neatly in the laminated hardwood knife block.

Yes, there are modern knives which perform better than the Old World design of the Mundial Olivier Anquier knives -- but with this set of good knives on hand you may never be tempted to try them. The set comes with a lifetime warranty.

See the Mundial Olivier Anquier Steak Knife Set for a matching set of serrated steak knives.

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Mundial Olivier 8 Carving Set Presentation Box PB 2A US $24.90   Auction Ends: 6d 5h 58m

Here's where you shouldn't worry about a few extra ounces of weight and whether or not the extra strength of forged steel is actually necessary. During the dining service, the two-piece carving set from Mundial of Brazil does more than slice the meat. This carving set fits the occasion with a polished high carbon stainless steel fork and knife built in a traditional Old World pattern. Mundial's grips give servers total control of the tools but also add beauty with forged stainless steel bolsters and end caps and one-piece hardwood handles shaped from dense Brazilian ironwood.

In the kitchen you'll find them equally useful, since the ironwood grips resist moisture extremes and hold up to heat and cold without distorting. The best tropical hardwoods like ironwood provide density and durability that rivals modern composites. High demand for some popular tropicals like rosewood has put specific species in danger of extinction. Ironwood, a member of the acacia family, happens to be one of the faster-growing and most renewable hardwood resources in the tropics, so don't feel guilty when you use this fine carving set. It's sensible in many ways.

See the Wusthof Culinar Carving Set for a modern carving set made entirely from stainless steel.

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Mundial Olivier 8 Carving Set Presentation Box PB 2A US $24.90   Auction Ends: 6d 5h 58m

Honing steels were not intended to shape edges, only to reset an edge that turns out of line with the blade. Diamond grit sharpening steels actually cut steel from the blade on each pass -- using them too much can shorten the knife's lifetime and doesn't create the best cutting edge possible.

When knives do become worn beyond simple resetting, grinding on a flat stone is the usual remedy. The Diamond Hone postpones that day a little longer and can correct minor defects on its own. Many cooks will actually prefer this abrasive hone since results are a little easier to spot, but perfectionists may be happier with more traditional sharpening tools.

Diamond hones are not tricky to use but often create unreasonable expectations in new users. The cutting action is faster when the hone is new, since some diamond chips set higher than others and cut with a coarser effect until the hone is broken in. When the true honing surface is fully exposed, the action is smoother and the resulting edge is sharper -- but the cutting action of the hone isn't so dramatic. Rotate the hone in use to avoid wearing away only one facet of the rod, and rinse the hone after use to prevent clogging it with steel shavings. Unlike regular honing steels, diamond hones will affect even the hardest steel edges -- but follow the sharpening advice of the knife manufacturer or risk damaging your best blades.

For another economical diamond-coated honing steel, see the Chef's Choice Diamond Sharpening Steel.

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Mundial Sharpening Steel Diamond 12 NEW US $38.36   Auction Ends: 14d 8h 34m

Designed for professional food service workers, meat packers, and restaurant employees, the Mundial Professional product lines are just as efficient and economical for the professional home chef. Built to meet NSF sanitary standards, Mundial professional knives and hones carry a lifetime warranty against defects. The only shortcoming may not even matter to you -- the professional line looks like it belongs in the back of the kitchen, not at the dining table. This black polyacetal-handled sharpening hone is typical and won't win awards for good looks, but it will last through years of hard use.

Made of high carbon stainless steel with a finely serrated surface as hard as a file, the Regular Cut Sharpening Steel is meant to reset the edges of knife blades, not to remove steel. This is the style of hone that most of us find satisfactory. If you don't let a knife get truly dull, all that's needed to restore the blade to razor sharpness are a few strokes on the steel. The nearly invisible edge of the blade will be put back in line, as good as new. Sharpening on a stone is actually seldom needed.

Covering the entire length of a long knife with a short hone is awkward, but Mundial offers the Regular Cut Sharpening Steel in 10-inch, 12-inch and 14-inch lengths -- enough choices to match any common, plain-edged kitchen knife.

F. Dick makes a Multi-cut Sharpening Steel in a technically advanced style -- check it out if you want a good tool that also looks impressive.

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Mundial Sharpening Steel Diamond 12 NEW US $38.36   Auction Ends: 14d 8h 34m

Mundial 10 Sharpening Steel Round Cut Black BRAZIL NEW US $17.95   Auction Ends: 3d 8h 47m

The type of hone retailers like to sell is the one that people know the best. The micro-ribbed hone of hardened steel is the most common and the one many cooks choose, but those serrations can actually remove small amounts of steel through a filing action that isn't necessary. Professional meatcutters know that a polished hone is best, since that perfectly smooth surface only resets the steel edge and doesn't degrade the blade.

On a microscopic scale, a blade tempered to the usual European standard turns when it dulls. The sharp edge is still there but no longer in line with the knife. Ordinary ribbed hones may remove that thinnest and sharpest portion of the edge, pushing the knife closer to the day when real grinding is needed. A polished hone extends the life of the blade by setting the edge properly without wearing away the metal. This hone is intended for knives with edges still in good condition; if you work by more ordinary standards, you may find a serrated hone more to your liking.

The Mundial 10-inch Polished Cut Sharpening Steel is permanently fitted to a red polyacetal handle with a convenient metal ring. Hang it in easy reach, because you'll use this butcher's steel frequently.

For a good honing steel in the serrated pattern, see the Mundial 10-inch Sharpening Steel with white handle.

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Mundial Sharpening Steel Diamond 12 NEW US $38.36   Auction Ends: 14d 8h 34m

Mundial 10 Sharpening Steel Round Cut Black BRAZIL NEW US $17.95   Auction Ends: 3d 8h 47m

This 10-inch sharpening steel with ergonomic polyacetal grip uses a micro-grooved surface with the hardness of a steel file to reset blade edges without removing steel from the knife. In most cases, that's all that's needed to put an edge back to proper working condition.

Mundial knives and most other brands of cutlery are tempered to actually roll an edge over when it encounters a hard surface. Usually that happens on a scale so small it's barely visible -- that's the reason experts hold an edge to the light and look for a telltale glint. When there's no surface to reflect light, you know the blade's sharp. Dulled edges usually only need to be set upright again, not ground, and that's the purpose of a honing steel. A few strokes are enough to put the edge back in line.

Mundial's sharpening steel works well on blades tempered to European standards and 10 inches or less in length. Resetting blades longer than the steel can be awkward, and if that's a frequent part of your day, getting a longer steel to match does make sense. Owners of harder blades such as Shun should follow the recommendations of the manufacturer -- some fine blades are tempered hard enough to chip cutting edges against a honing steel.

For an equivalent honing steel with less of the "institutional kitchen" look of this restaurant-quality hone, see the Wusthof Grand Prix 10-inch Honing Steel.

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Mundial Sharpening Steel Diamond 12 NEW US $38.36   Auction Ends: 14d 8h 34m

Mundial 10 Sharpening Steel Round Cut Black BRAZIL NEW US $17.95   Auction Ends: 3d 8h 47m

The Mundial 5600 series was designed for long term use by restaurant and food service professionals. Blades of cold-rolled stamped high carbon stainless steel are well tempered for hard use, and the full tangs give them enough durability to actually test the Mundial lifetime warranty. Grips are designed for safety in all types of conditions from wet and greasy to wet and freezing cold. The front bolster and dropped heel prevent the hand from slipping in either direction, and grips are wide enough to grab and twist without strain. Each knife is individually balanced when the anti-bacterial grip is added. Better balance and easier handling translate into fewer fatigue problems for those who use knives for many hours daily.

The set's six knives include a meat slicing knife, cook's knife, and offset sandwich knife plus three essential smaller knife styles with paring, boning, and utility blades. The diamond sharpening steel should only be used on the plain-edged knives in the set. A soft-sided carrying case provides room for this NSF-certified basic knife set and a few more essential items of your choice.

For an equally practical basic knife set for the traveling chef, see the Mundial MundiGrip 7-Piece Set featuring a more advanced grip design.

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Mundial Elegance 11 Piece Executive Chefs Set 61 984 US $455.99   Auction Ends: 15d 17h 14m

Mundial 41 984Future 11 Piece Executive Chefs Set US $297.90   Auction Ends: 14d 11h 45m