When I was a very young, and enthusiastic newbie to homemaking, I spent entirely too much money on a set of Henkels Four Star knives. Then, I fretted and stressed about keeping them from getting banged around, wouldn't put them in the dishwasher, and obsessed about keeping them sharp. I ended up losing them during a move (long tale of woe) and I hadn't the money to replace them but still had to cook. So, while shopping in Chinatown one day, I picked up a cheapie cleaver and a few anonymous kitchen knives and realized that I could keep them sharp and not worry about them getting banged around as I could replace them at will. There is a brand, KIWI (made in Thailand), that these little stores carry, and my favorite is 6 1/2 inch long, appx. 2 inch wide blade with a very slight curve in the cutting edge. The end of the blade looks as though it was supposed to be a couple of inches longer, but someone chopped off the end at an angle, with the shorter side of the angle being the blunt side of the knife. These knives are wonderfully sharp when you buy them, made of stainless steel, easy to sharpen on a stone and they cost about $2 a piece. So, I put them in the dishwasher, and throw them in a knife drawer without worry because if one gets knicked or bent, I can simply replace it.

I agree....if you are trying to sell me something it's not a party....and I don't go even if I like the people who invited me. I have gone to too many Longaberger basket parties and Lia Sophia, and....and. I don't consider it entertaining in any way to listen to a sales pitch....or to look at stuff I really don't want and try to be interested for the sake of being polite. And to get back to the original question....sort of...LOL! Two years ago last Spring I got talked into a Pampered Chef Party for the benefit of the church kitchen....so naturally I had to buy something....one of those hamburger mushers. The party was full of "sweet young things" who rarely really cooked for their family and about once a year helped with a meal in the church kitchen. They insisted we have a can opener which no one can work ( doesn't work on institutional cans at all) 3 knives in their little sheathe to keep them sharp....well one has rusted because it was put back wet and all are very dull because they are used to chop on a glass cutting board. There is also ANOTHER lettuce spinner because someone thought we needed 2, and that dumb hamburger smasher. Someone did buy us 10 of those small wooden tongs which are wonderful for sticky bars and such....but the rest was expensive junk that we didn't need. No, I don't like PC products. They are too expensive and kitchey, for what they cost. Go to a commercial kitchen supply store and have a party with your friends without any sales pitch and bad cooking demo. You'll save money and have more fun...AND get better products. Just my feelings. Linda C

SIL used to do the demos... and she was GOOD at it, always lots of fun and food involved. After she stopped doing them, she gave me a few things she accumulated. She SWEARS by the chopper... it works just fine, but I find that the small amount of extra time with a knife outweighs the disassembling of the gadget to clean. The "V-slicer" works fine, but already had an inexpensive Mouli mandolin that works FINE even after many years. She used the apple peeler/slicer/corer a LOT when niece was small to prep fruit for snacks. I found another use for it. Was making a BIG batch of real lemon-ade and thought off all that great zest (that I didn't immediately need) just going into trash after juicing. The parts that slice and core can swing out of the way and I ended up with MOUNDS of zest and lemons still intact enough to use reamer on. Air-dried and then ground to make REAL lemon-pepper that didn't have SALT as a main ingredient. Pizza stone is nice, though NOT any different from every other one to justify possible higher cost. She had a few demos in her home for something called "Simply" something. All food items. Tasty but seriously over-priced. I found knock-off recipes for a few things people were RAVING about that were much nicer and a fraction of cost.

Foodonastump, funny you should ask. I never did use the stirrer thing. Upon inspection I decided that it was too whimpy for anything but the lightest of sauces/batters. A whisk works just fine and doesn't require batteries. The spatuala thermometer has never been used because I can't pull-out the platic strip protecting the battery that powers the thermometer. I tried taking out the battery box, and can't get that out either. Right now it is laying on my side cabinet in hopes that someday the grandson who loves such challenges will come to visit and get it to working. yeonassky: I have a tool called a 'seal breaker'. You use it like a can opener to break the seal on too tight lids and it works every time.