Tuo Cutlery Review
Summary
Tuo Cutlery is an up and coming company that provides quality knives at a reasonable price. They achieved remarkable success by delivering exceptional knives at wallet-friendly prices. In just a few years, their products have become immensely popular in China and North America – driving them to the top of the cutlery market!
Along with their individual knives, they sell a wide variety of sets from the novice starting out to the master chef.
Overall
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Quality
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Price Point
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Warranty
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Variety
Pros
- Full tang with premium steel materials
- Excellent selection of handle materials
- Company transparency about where Tuo is based
- Exceptional customer service
- Masterwork crafting and design with modern elements
- Affordable pricing for high-quality knife selections
Cons
- The various series could be merged into a better product offering instead of complicating the purchase options
- A la carte options are a lot more expensive than the series collection options
It feels next to impossible to find a quality knife when navigating the endless options from online knife retailers. Trying to understand a knife review from various international manufacturers in Germany, Japan, China, and the US only adds to that complexity.
That is why our review team decided to conduct some knife research by exploring everything from the handle to the material behind the Tuo cutlery knives. We wanted to understand if these various knife series offer a complete professional cutting experience in the comfort of our homes.
Read on to explore our knife review of how our examination went so you can decide if the fantastic Tuo knives are a good fit for your cooking and food preparation lifestyle.
Tuo Cutlery Overview
Most knife aficionados would swear by Japan or Germany when finding premium steel knife cutlery. That is part of the reason we wanted to explore the China-based Tuo brand of knives further. Their series of knives have an amazing online review that directly competes with other international knife suppliers.
The Tuo knife brand means “to explore and adventure.” They used this knife brand motto to test out all kinds of unique steel and handle materials in the Tuo series of knives. The idea is to match the never-ending spirit of exploration from humankind with a Tuo knife series that equals the various uses during such a journey.
The knife industry in China does not have the best reputation. Unfortunately, low-cost knife materials flooded the market, and many knife manufacturers weakened the reputation of Chinese-backed knife suppliers.
The Tuo knife series fought back directly against this idea by focusing on cutting-edge (get it?) steel, handles, and knife materials. The result is a pioneering knife manufacturer that blends incredible knife designs with premium knife ingredients.
Tuo has won numerous knife awards, including the 2018 “China Good Design” and 2019 kitchen knife of the year at a Blade Show in Atlanta, GA. The end result is a knife series high in demand among international consumers from America to Europe to Asia and everything in between.
Tuo Cutlery Review
Tuo series knives are made from Japanese AUS-8 or AUS-10 steel and German 1.4116 steel. In addition, the knives often feature Pakkawood or military-grade G-10 handles for ergonomic comfort and advanced knife handling.
The beauty of the Tuo series knife brand is they did not shy away from their heritage. Even though Tuo knives are manufactured in the same Yangjing province where three-quarters of the world’s knives are made, Tuo decided to show national pride to recast their knife brand’s reputation.
Some may think this would harm the steel knife manufacturer because consumers would associate poorer quality knives with Tuo. Instead, people were so genuinely shocked at the knife quality that it elevated Tuo’s integrity and built consumer trust. The transparency Tuo provides about its knife origin makes people more willing to trust the rest of Tuo’s claims about their knives.
The Tuo knife series includes a wide variety of steel knives. Each knife series has its own set of benefits depending on the cooking needs of the buyer.
The best part is you do not have to guess what you are getting with Tuo knives. There are no marketing tricks to try and convince the consumer they are purchasing a Damascus steel knife when in reality, it is far less premium knife steel made to look like Damascus steel knives.
Everything about Tuo knives is meant to be fair and upfront. From the moment you unbox one of their steel knives to cutting it into a mouthwatering steak, you get precisely what Tuo promises in the knife company’s marketing materials.
Our product review team was able to get a hold of most of Tuo’s series of steel knives and accessories.
Tuo Knife Explanation
Before we continue in our Tuo knife series review, it would probably help to give you a quick overview of the different knives and their uses.
Not every Tuo knife is included in the two series sets we tested out, but this comprehensive knife list goes a long way to informing precisely what you are purchasing and how you will use it to create delicious foods, snacks, and desserts.
- Chef’s Knife – a versatile knife used for smaller tasks like mincing herbs just as much as larger tasks like slicing a roast.
- Bread Knife – a longer-length steel knife blade with a serrated knife edge to cut through large pieces of bread without ripping the material.
- Sharpening Steel – a steel circular long tool to rehone the edges of your Tuo knives.
- Santoku Knife is a traditional Japanese knife used for chopping, dicing, and mincing. It is what you see when people scoop up freshly cut ingredients and then toss them into a pot.
- Nakiri Knife – a straight-edge knife designed for chopping and slicing. What you would see on a chopping block for larger vegetables in an Asian marketplace.
- Boning Knife – a flexible steel knife used to work around the complex bone structure of various meat ingredients.
- Chicken Scissors – a much simpler method of cutting through the bones and sinew of large chickens and similar ingredients to save on food preparation time.
- Tomato Knife – this has a unique beak-like tip and serrated edge, allowing you to smoothly cut through tomatoes instead of dealing with rips.
- Utility Knife – like the knife’s name, this is the ideal small knife to work with practically any minor kitchen task.
- Paring Knife – a precision tool in a much smaller form factor to trim, cut, or slice away pieces of ingredients.
- Bird Beak Paring Knife – a small, curved blade that is inversely angled like a bird’s beak. It is used like a paring knife, but usually for ingredients with a curved side (tomato, apple, cucumber, etc.).
- Serrated Steak Knife – a premium tool for cutting through steak while eating a meal.
Tuo Cutlery Blackhawk 7-Piece Series Set
Right off the bat, we are getting into the luxury end of the Tuo knife series options. These 7 knives are made from high carbon German 1.4116 steel with premium Pakkawood handle. Yet, even though these Tuo knives have superior materials, they are offered at much more reasonable price levels than competitors.
The Black Hawk Tuo knives use vacuum heat treatment and high-tech finishing to create a truly sharp knife blade. That includes cryogenic nitrogen tempering of the steel material. You want the Black Hawk for the smooth finish. There is a Black Hawk S version that uses Damascus steel for the knife series, but that tends to be harder to maintain.
The Tuo Black Hawk knife set includes pretty much everything you would want as a beginner home chef. Yes, there are plenty of knives in this Tuo set for more advanced or professional cooks, but we suggest this as a beginner’s gift.
Inside the Tuo Black Hawk set of steel knives, you will find:
- (1) 9-inch Tuo Bread Knife
- (1) 8-inch Tuo Chef Knife
- (1) 7-inch Santoku Knife
- (1) 6.5-inch Nakiri Knife
- (1) 5-inch Utility Knife
- (1) 3.5-inch Paring Knife
- (1) Natural Rubber Wood Block
We love the rubber wood block that is included in this Tuo Black Hawk series set. It has a modern design that looks fantastic on your countertop and easily fits all the veracious blades into its shape without needing to adjust the knives or watch out for cuts.
This Black Hawk series uses 56 +/- 2 HRC German stainless steel. That is the hardness factor with edges sharpened to 8-12 degrees, depending on the Tuo knife you are using at the time.
Every knife has been painstakingly hand-polished and includes a tempered/tapered designer and a full tang for durability.
Tuo Cutlery Blackhawk Knives Images
Tuo Cutlery Falcon Series 17 Piece Set
With the Falcon series of Tuo knives, you are getting the same HRC hardness and German steel construction of the Black Hawk, but not at the same premium level. Instead, this is stainless steel, making this Tuo series a bit more affordable and far easier to maintain.
The nice thing about the Falcon series is Tuo did not sacrifice full tang for stainless steel materials. Most other knife competitors at this level would have gone for a stamped, partial tang construction to save on costs, but not Tuo. That is part of the reason the Tuo knife series brand is so well celebrated because Tuo does not sacrifice quality.
Where the Black Hawk series is suitable for beginners because it only includes 7 pieces, this Tuo Falcon series is definitely for the busy home that does a lot of cooking! Besides the serrates steak knife collection for diners, it has pretty much every tool you could want for a wide range of cooking styles and nationalities.
The Tuo 17-piece Falcon series includes:
- (1) 8-inch Chef Knife
- (1) 7-inch Santoku Knife
- (1) 8-inch Bread Knife
- (1) 7-inch Boning Knife
- (1) 5-inch Tomato Knife
- (1) 5-inch Utility Knife
- (1) 3.5-inch paring knife
- (1) 2.5-inch Bird Beak Paring Knife
- (6) Serrated Steak Knives
- (1) Pair of Chicken Scissors
- (1) Honing Steel
Again, Tuo includes a fantastic natural rubber wood block to store all your various Tuo knives without damaging the steel blades or premium handles. While the Falcon series may be a little less luxurious than the Black Hawk series, it certainly does the job well enough for any busy household to make the perfect family recipes.
Tuo Cutlery Blackhawk Knives Images
The Tuo Ring Series of Knives
While we did not get the chance to test out the Tuo Ring series of knives during our review, we wanted to touch on it quickly here. This is the simplest of design options throughout the Tuo brand that uses Japanese AUS-8 steel. That means razor-sharp performance and exceptional balance at a fraction of the price of other Tuo series or collections.
The reason we wanted to mention the Ring series is that the a la carte options are fantastic. You can find practically any Ring series knife you would want to extend the versatility of your bigger series sets from the Black Hawk or Falcon series of knives.
For example, our review team was impressed by the 7-inch versatile Santoku in the Ring series of Tuo knives. This is an excellent option if you want to try the Tuo brand out at home because the Tuo Santoku knife can be used for practically anything – giving you valuable brand insight before committing to the extensive knife series collections.
Tuo Cutlery Pros and Cons
Who is Tuo Cutlery For?
The Tuo brand targets users who want premium materials and sharp knife edges but at a fraction of the price of more expensive competitors. From the Black Hawk series to the Falcon or Ring series of knives, this is a company that offers complete kitchen knife utility without breaking the bank.
We highly recommend Tuo knives for those looking to start out their cooking career as a home chef or even a professional chef to enhance their kitchen capabilities. It also makes gift for people moving or just married.
Our review team was continuously impressed by the quality of the steel materials. Again, most of the Chinese-sourced knives tend not to have premium Japanese or German-made steel, but Tuo found a way to cut expenses in other ways to ensure they could still provide such high-grade steel options.
What Do Customers Think?
The Tuo brand of knives is currently enjoying a 4.5-4.7 rating out of 5 stars on Amazon, depending on the series, collection, or individual knife you choose. Most of the positive reviews surround the high-quality steel being used in the Black Hawk, Falcon, and Ring series.
The few bad reviews Tuo receives tend to surround the difference between the higher-end luxury knives of the Black Hawk with the lower-end simple Ring options. People expect the same quality without paying attention to the company’s various price points.
The general consensus is Tuo offers a premium quality item at an affordable price. This review sums it up perfectly:
I bought these as a gift for my wife. They feel really nice in the hand, and they are pretty well-balanced. Did I mention beautiful and sharp? We’ve had them for a few months and used them all the time. They still look brand new, and I haven’t needed to sharpen them yet. I’ve seen a couple reviews that there were sharp burrs, but my set does not have this issue.
Is Tuo Cutlery Worth It?
Tuo cutlery is a wise choice. The incredibly low pricing on any Tuo knife is a surprise, considering the fantastic blade quality and steel materials. From the handle to the sleek polishing, this is a brand of cutlery that would look good in most professional kitchens.
We cannot emphasize how much money you will save by picking up the Tuo series of knives compared to other options. While the Black Hawk set of Tuo knives is probably the best for value, the Ring and Falcon are more than enough to handle your kitchen needs.
Wrapping it Up
Tuo is redefining Chinese-made kitchen knives by offering premium steel and handle materials at a fraction of the cost of other competitors. This superior product meet all the industry standards as their Japanese or German competitors.There are many options to choose from, or you can purchase one of the Black Hawk, Falcon, or Ring series to simplify your ordering process. If you need a well-made set of full tang knives, you cannot go wrong with Tuo!
