This story came across the wire recently and it caught my eye.
I guess Henckels is not quite ready to pack it up and go home. In the last five years, they’ve had their market share taken from them as Shun, Wusthof, etc. have gone upscale and left Henckels in the dust.
For a while, it seemed like their only place to run was to the low-end. Hence, the introduction of sets like the Everedge Plus.
Problem is, it’s tough to compete down at that end. The margins are thinner, and there are companies like Forschner that are making excellent budget knives without worrying about cannibalizing their own high-end lines.
Maybe this announcement of the TWIN 1731 represents a change of direction for Henckels? Time will tell, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.
Of particular interest to me is the Cronidur 30 steel they’re using in the blades. I don’t think anyone else is using that, so we’ll have to see if it catches on.
Henckels must think it’s pretty darn good for them to charge $450 for a Chef’s Knife.
