Fifty-three models across four groups: block sets, steak knives, individual kitchen knives and accessories. Piece counts, blade lengths and handle materials for each one.
Chicago Cutlery sells the same knife under several line names, and the lines differ in one thing before anything else: what the handle is made of. Walnut with brass rivets, black polymer with steel rivets, or a single piece of stainless steel that runs from blade tip to handle end.
Everything else follows from that. Walnut needs hand washing. Polymer is the cheapest to replace. Stainless has nothing to loosen and nothing to absorb water.
The catalog runs from a two-knife Santoku pair to a nineteen-piece block. Below, everything is grouped by what you are actually shopping for.
A cross-section of the catalog, one from each group.
Rubberwood block, shears and thirteen knives including four steak knives. High-carbon stainless blades, black polymer handles with triple compression rivets. Block 10 x 4 x 14.5 inches. The most reviewed item in the range.
Acacia block with a built-in sharpener, eight steak knives, shears with a bottle opener. Stainless steel handles.
Cushion-grip handles, honey maple-stain block, eight steak knives, sharpening steel and a chop assist.
Seventeen knives plus shears, built-in sharpener in the block, black ergonomic handles.
Solid walnut, triple brass rivets, 5-inch high-carbon stainless blades, full tang.
Walnut Tradition handle, narrow profile for working around bone and trimming.
Realigns plain edges between sharpenings. Walnut handle to match the Tradition knives.
Fifteen line names appear across the current catalog, and several of them describe the same construction with a different handle finish. Grouping them by what changes makes the range easier to read.
The oldest naming in the range and the one most people mean by "Chicago Cutlery." Solid walnut handles, triple brass rivets, full tang, high-carbon stainless blades. Model numbers here are letter-prefixed rather than numeric: B144 for the steak knives, B42 for the three-piece prep set, 42SP for the 8-inch chef knife, 102SP for the boning knife, CL38WP for the sharpening steel. Hand wash only.
Black polymer handles with triple compression stainless rivets and a full metal tang. The volume line: individual chef, bread, paring, utility and Partoku knives, a two-piece and three-piece set, a four-piece steak set, and the 15-piece block set. Blades are stainless or high-carbon stainless depending on the model.
Contoured stainless steel handles formed with the blade. Insignia Steel uses the patented Guided Grip shape, which the manufacturer describes as encouraging the pinch grip used by professional cooks. Sold as 2-piece and 3-piece value packs and as 13-piece and 18-piece block sets.
Both stainless-handled. Ellsworth follows the Guided Grip profile in 2-piece, 3-piece and 13-piece formats. Halsted belongs to the PrepSystem Lite range, where each set ships with a compact modular block designed to sit alongside the others, so a 3-piece prep block and a 7-piece steak block can be combined.
Avondale, Racine, Belmont, Damen, Lasalle, Armitage and Signature Edge Steel are block sets of 10 to 16 pieces, each with a stained wooden block and most with a sharpener built into the block. They differ in handle finish and in how many steak knives are included. Racine holds its steak knives in a separate walnut insert that lifts out of the main block.
Bamboo cutting boards with a juice groove, 0.75 inches thick, in 12 × 16 and 14 × 20 inch sizes. The manufacturer's warranty text for knife products excludes boards.
Three handle materials and two blade steels cover the whole range, and the combination decides how a knife is maintained.
Blades are stainless steel or high-carbon stainless steel. Chicago Cutlery grinds both with what it calls a Taper Grind edge, described by the manufacturer as a narrower taper that holds an edge and re-sharpens more easily. Several sets specify a 26-degree taper.
Every knife in the current range is full tang, with steel running from the tip to the end of the handle.
Two questions come up more than any others, and both have factual answers.
Is the range any good. Construction is consistent across the lines: full tang on every knife, forged or stamped blades in stainless or high-carbon stainless, and a taper-ground edge. What separates a cheaper set from an expensive one here is the handle material, the block, and whether a sharpener is built in. There is no difference in tang or blade steel between the least and the most expensive block set in the catalog.
Where the knives are made. Country of origin is listed per model and it varies. The B144 Walnut Tradition steak knife listing states China; the C42SP 8-inch chef knife listing states United States. Where the manufacturer publishes it, the country appears in the specification table on each category page.
Several listings state a full lifetime warranty on knife products. The warranty text on the Woodworks boards notes that boards are not included in it.
The brand's current catalog is published by Corelle Brands.
From two to nineteen. Value packs run 2 to 4 knives without a block. Block sets run 10 to 19 pieces, with the piece count including the block, the shears and the steak knives.
Insignia Triple Rivet Poly has black polymer handles with rivets. Insignia Steel has one-piece stainless steel handles in the Guided Grip profile. Blade shapes and set compositions overlap.
Walnut-handled knives are hand wash. For polymer and stainless models the listings differ, and where a listing contradicts itself both statements appear in the specification table.
Most of the wood-block lines have a sharpener built into the block. Fusion and the 16-piece Avondale ship with a separate sharpening steel instead. The knife sets page lists which is which.
It is the manufacturer's term for the edge geometry used across the range: a narrower grind angle, described by Chicago Cutlery as giving better edge retention and easier re-sharpening. Several sets specify 26 degrees.
Individual chef, bread, paring, utility, boning and slicing knives are sold separately, and the four-knife steak sets match the steak knives in most current blocks. There is no replacement program tied to a specific block.
The Essentials 15-piece is the most reviewed item in the catalog.
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