Tower 5-Piece Knife Set: UK Kitchen Essentials Review

Tower is a UK household appliance and kitchenware brand that has been producing affordable home products for decades. Their 5-piece knife sets represent the brand's entry into kitchen cutlery, functional, accessible tools designed for everyday home cooking at budget-friendly prices. This guide covers what you get in a Tower 5-piece set and how it compares in the UK market.

Tower as a UK Brand

Tower started as a small appliance brand (toasters, kettles, irons) and has expanded into broader kitchenware including cookware and knives. The brand is widely distributed through UK retailers:

  • Amazon UK
  • Argos
  • Very
  • Currys (for appliances; knives more varied)
  • BM Stores
  • Various online UK retailers

Tower targets the mass market with products that combine visual appeal (often matching color ranges across product categories) with accessible pricing.

What a Tower 5-Piece Knife Set Includes

Tower's 5-piece knife sets typically contain:

  • 8-inch chef's knife
  • 8-inch bread knife (serrated)
  • 5-inch utility knife
  • 3.5-inch paring knife
  • Kitchen shears

Some configurations substitute a santoku for the bread knife or add a different specialty knife. Most Tower 5-piece sets include the shears as the fifth piece rather than a knife block (block sets are sold as separate, larger configurations).

Tower Knife Lines

Tower offers multiple knife product lines:

Standard range: Basic polymer-handle knives with stainless steel blades. The most accessible entry point.

Colour-coordinated ranges: Tower is known for matching products across their color families (rose gold, obsidian black, champagne). Their knife sets in coordinated colors appeal to buyers furnishing matching kitchen setups.

Stone marble effect: A popular Tower aesthetic where the knife handles have a stone/marble pattern. Widely available at UK retailers.

Titanium-coated: Some Tower configurations feature titanium-coated blades in gold or black tones.

Construction and Steel Quality

Tower knife sets use stamped stainless steel at the budget tier. The steel grade is standard budget stainless, consistent with other budget UK kitchen knife brands.

HRC estimate: HRC 52-55 based on performance characteristics.

Edge retention: Moderate to low. With regular honing, adequate for home cooking. Without maintenance, the edge degrades noticeably within weeks of daily use.

Initial sharpness: Good factory sharpness out of the box, consistent with budget knife production standards.

This is honest budget construction, functional for everyday home cooking at the price point, not designed for performance longevity or professional use.

The Colour-Matching Appeal

Tower's genuine market advantage in the UK is their colour-coordinated product ranges. Buyers who want a rose gold kitchen, an obsidian black kitchen, or a champagne metallic kitchen can buy:

  • Tower kettle
  • Tower toaster
  • Tower air fryer
  • Tower cookware
  • Tower knife set

All in matching finishes from the same brand. This aesthetic coherence is a real consumer value, one that performance-only knife evaluations miss.

For buyers who care about kitchen aesthetics and are furnishing a cohesive look, Tower's matching ranges make the case for their knife sets beyond pure cutting performance.

Performance Comparison

vs. Victorinox Fibrox (UK): Better Swiss steel on three knives for a similar price to a Tower 5-piece. No color-matching capability.

vs. ProCook Classic: Comparable construction tier, ProCook has slightly better documentation of steel quality and physical UK stores.

vs. Prestige: Both are budget-tier UK brands. Prestige has deeper heritage; Tower has better color range and more modern design aesthetic.

vs. Wusthof/Henckels: Different tiers entirely. German professional knives at 3-5x Tower's price point.

Maintenance Requirements

At budget steel hardness:

Hone before every cooking session: A steel rod (Tower includes this in some configurations; otherwise use a separate honing rod) before each use extends the edge life significantly.

Sharpen every 4-6 weeks with daily cooking.

Hand wash: Tower may claim dishwasher safety; hand washing extends life.

Store with edge protection: In a block, on a magnetic strip, or with blade guards.

FAQ

Are Tower knives good quality? Good enough for everyday budget home cooking. Not premium tools. The value is in the price point and the UK-market color coordination, not in cutting performance against premium brands.

Where can I buy Tower 5-piece knife sets? Amazon UK, Argos, and most UK online retailers. Tower products are widely available throughout UK retail channels.

Do Tower knives come in a knife block? Some Tower configurations include a block; most 5-piece sets are block-free. Tower's block sets are usually 5-7+ piece configurations at higher price points.

Are the Tower color-matched knife sets actual titanium? The titanium-toned sets use metallic coatings, not solid titanium. Same as other budget "titanium" knife sets, the titanium is a surface finish, not the blade material.

How long do Tower knife sets last? With honing and hand washing, 2-4 years of regular home use before edge degradation becomes significant. Steak knives and shears may last longer. Shorter lifespan than mid-range alternatives.

The Bottom Line

Tower 5-piece knife sets deliver functional budget home cooking tools with the genuine advantage of coordinated UK kitchen aesthetics. The cutting performance is appropriate for the price tier, adequate with maintenance, not exceptional. For UK buyers furnishing a matched kitchen look and who want an accessible price for a complete basic set, Tower serves the purpose. For buyers focused primarily on cutting performance, Victorinox Fibrox and ProCook's X50 range provide better steel at comparable or modest premium prices.