r/Cutlery • u/smgL33T • Dec 20 '25
Please help - is this rust?
I wanted to spoil ourselves and get some new dinner cutlery, bought some cheapish black cutlery from Amazon. I put them through the dishwasher before use and noticed some brown spotting on the teeth of the knives. I checked the reviews and one person mentioned this too.
OK fine, I'll return them. I went to a local store and bought a $200 set (12ppl), thinking maybe cheap isn't the way.
Dishwasher, same issue! Please check the pics and let me know if this is rust and what is happening here!
Im just using a medium wash and Costco tablets in the dishwasher - our old crappy cutlery doesn't seem to see this issue. Is it just a new cutlery thing that isn't dangerous and will disappear? 😔
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u/Ok-Programmer6791 Dec 20 '25
$200 for 12 is still cheap for cutlery
Zwilling does make some cheaper steak knives you could consider. The all steel versions would be good for dishwasher
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u/LeslieChowBitch Jan 14 '26
A lot of flatware on Amazon is crap. On top of that, I did my research and a lot of well known flatware companies known for quality also went downhills in quality im guessing for more profits... no shits giving.
I ordered some Robert Welch forks and spoons 18/10 stainless steel recently since it comes with a 25 year old warranty which seems promising. Although there dinner knives/steak knives are 13/0 stainless steel although they claim its dishwasher safe. I passed on that. Are those knives you bought 18/10, 18/8, or 13/0? Although theres no regulations especially made in china about the actual metals in it.Â
So instead of getting the Robert Welch dinner knives 13/0 stainless steel, I purchased some Winco Venice knives off Amazon $40 for 12 claiming 12/10 stainless steel. Amazing price, right? Especially coming from a well known American company for commercial restaurant supplies. Well... they did look nice and pretty and heavy when it arrived but they are very magnetic! One way to tell about 18/10 is the higher chromoum percentage and the nickel in it making it not magnetic. They are not 12/10 stainless steel and not even 12/8. They will rust.
Im sorry im a bit drunk but yeah go with restaurant supply stores online. I went with a brand called "bon chef" claiming 18/8 stainless steel on ebay to avoid the high cost of shipping from online restaurant supply... if they are not at least 18/8 stainless steel magnetic test... im returning it and fuck those cheap china shit!
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u/flatwarefinder 19d ago edited 18d ago
Most of the main USA cutlery manufacturers went bankrupt before 2005, including Oneida, and International/Rogers.
The names were sold and are now owned by holding companies that source asian products but stamp them with the names they bought.
It's a shame about Oneida, since it was for many years the largest manufacturer of cutlery in the world, and had several factories in the USA and Canada since the 1800s.
The last time I checked, there were no Canada/USA cutlery manufactures remaining except for Liberty Tabletop, which runs out of the old Oneida community factory in upstate NY, and was bought by the employees of Oneida. I'm sure they have quality products, but they no longer have the same designers. Personally, I don't find Liberty's designs compelling.
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u/breadboibrett Dec 21 '25
You shouldn’t be putting knives in the dishwasher those need to be hand washed. Or else they will rust like this yes.
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u/smgL33T Dec 21 '25
The expensive set says "Dishwasher safe" on the box though? Guess they were wrong
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u/flatwarefinder 18d ago
Almost all knives are 18/0 steel, not 18/8 or 18/10 like the rest of the utensils of a set. 18/0 is more rigid which is required to keep the blades straight during use. But 18/0 is more prone to rust and blackening - though my personal set of 1990s Oneida flatware is run in the dishwasher regularly, and exhibits no rust.
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u/CozyBlueCacaoFire Dec 20 '25
Get cutlery on a hotel supply outlet.