Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife
Customer Review: Awesome Chef's Knife. 6 stars!
Summary: 5 Stars
This came in a set I bought from [...] (looking for discount cutlery or kitchen stuff? Shop here).
First off, I am very impressed with the knife's quality. These are made by Victorinox (who also make Swiss Army Knives). The fit and finish are on par with knives costing two or three times as much. The blade is nicely polished, and razor sharp out of the box. I ususally sharpen new knives to make them really sharp, but not this one! The price is ridiculously low for such a great knife. Henckels, Wusthof, Mundial, Shun, and other knife-makers need to learn a thing or two from Forschner about making a low-cost, but high-quality knife.
This is a stamped knive, so it isn't as heavy and balanced differently than a forged knife, but Victorinox have done a great job of weighting the blade and tweaking the balance point. I've used forged chefs knives for a while, and stamped knives (Henckels, Cutco's, Kershaw's), but the Forschner equals the forged and surpasses the stamped. The thin blade makes it easy to glide through food, and the thin kerf makes precision cuts possible.
The Fibrox handle is amazing. It's non-slip, even when my hands were wet and slippery, fits the hand well, and seems to be about indestructable. My POM-handled knives (Cutco, Henckels) have all cracked or been scratched up. The comfortable, non-slip handle, lightweight blade, and razor-sharp edge makes the knife easy to control, but watch your fingers when using it. This knife is so sharp, it will cut you before you have a chance to say "ouch!"
My verdict? If you aren't picky about how your knife looks but want a great-performing knife without spending $80-100 on another brand, give Forschner's Fibrox a close look. I think this will be the last chef's knife I'll ever buy!
Customer Review: Fantastic Value!
Summary: 5 Stars
Looking for decent knives to replace an inefficient knife set that was given to me years ago, I started with this Forschner Victorinox Fibrox 8" Chef's knife (model # 40520) based on the high recommendations from Cook's Illustrated. At first I was turned off by it's appearance, preferring the look of wooden, riveted handles, but I decided that function was more important than looks and gave it a try.
I am blown away! I have owned this knife for over a year now and it still seems as sharp as the day I bought it, yet I have never done anything more than use a conditioning (sharpening) steel on it every few uses. It's light and well-balanced... an exceptional value!
I then bought a Forschner Victorinox Fibrox Paring knife, a 10" Slicer, the Conditioning Steel, and just to fill in my old knife block, a 7" Serrated Edge Chef's knife and a Boning knife (same brand). I love each and every one of these tools and highly recommend this brand, especially the 8" Chef's knife!
It is extrememly satisfying to find such incredible tools at such a reasonable price; restoring hope that there are still people/corporations in the world that understand it is possible to be successful by giving consumers a superior product at reasonable price.
p.s. This exact knife (model # 40520) can be confusing to find with Amazon's search engine. Several other model numbers also appear in the search results... some listing the model number in the description, while others can be found only by enlarging the picture. Also, I have had good experiences with Allsparestools.com, including their return policy/function, and their current pricing of this knife is considerably cheaper than other websites.
Customer Review: A Best Buy
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the first knives that I've ever gotten based upon a chef's review. Usually I've always had a box set like you could find in any homegoods store [Target, WalMart, etc]. Some knives that I've gotten in those stores claim to be Chef quality, but once you get them home and have them in use they don't seem to live up to the claims. However, I heard about this knife on [...] and was immediately intrigued.
I love to cook and bake, but most of the knives I've had to date felt wrong in my hand. The Victorinox has no such problem. It is nicely balanced and feels great even when my hands are covered in avocado pulp.
Some of the other problems I've had with store bought knives include a propensity to dull quickly, feeling dull right out of the box, feeling unsturdy, or having a blade that is so thin that it gives the feeling of splintering in your hand.
Just as the LifeHacker review claimed, this knife's blade is thick on the top side while have a very narrow cutting edge. This solves the 'flimsy' feel problem while still giving you an ultra-sharp cutting edge.
I received my knife for Christmas and only just used it yesterday. I sliced a large onion [went through like butter], some roma tomatoes [no tearing of the skins at all], and avocados [similarly sliced through like butter].
For the price, this knife is a steal. Like I said, I have not had it overly long, so I cannot attest to its edge keeping ability or its rust proof quality. However, it is made by the same people that make Swiss Army knives so I do not foresee any issues.
This is a definite must have for an at home chef.
Customer Review: Lightweight but a 'heavy-weight' contender for best value
Summary: 5 Stars
One of if not THE most important items in any kitchen is a good chef's knife. Probably more important than a multi-thousand dollar Viking stove. Any money spent on a good 'high-end' chef knife will be money well spent.
Prior to this I had Henckles Pro S 6 inch Chef Knife and Pro S 6 inch utility knife. I wanted another chef knife and wanted to try an 8 inch. Based on the reviews garnered here I went for the Victorinox. My first impression without the first cut was how light it was. I was a little concerned.
However, the balance is great, the handle while not particularly good looking feels good in the hand, but most importantly it slices and chops like a heavy knife. It goes through all my vegetables so far without any problem. I am able to make thin accurate cuts; it has been a true pleasure in the kitchen.
Coming from a 6 inch chef knife I like the 8 inch as well. I can not, however, imagine EVER liking a 10 inch behemoth. 8 inch is more than big enough. The only thing I can see a 10 inch having a place for would be to take the place of a meat cleaver. But for the versatility that is why we buy a chef knife to begin with a 10-inch would just be too big and unwieldy.
This knife compares very favorably with the higher end Henckles I have used. However if you feel you want a heavy chef knife do not look here. But after some adjustment I really like this knife. A cook's best friend in the kitchen. Great for yourself or as a gift. BTW anyone coming from 'lower-end' knifes were an entire set can cost $30; trust me this is money well spent.
Customer Review: Still my Go-To, Even After I Got More Expensive Knives
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this knife three years ago, on the recommendation of Cook's Illustrated magazine. I was initially very skeptical that a stamped blade with a plastic-like handle (fibrox is not plastic, of course) could out-perform a nice, heavy, forged blade with a full tang. It turns out that the hype is true.
Out of the box, this knife is very sharp. The sharpness and the light weight of the knife allowed me to speed up my chopping and slicing quite a bit. The blade held its sharpness for longer than other inexpensive knives I had purchased, too, which was a plus. (It was about a year of daily use before I first had to sharpen it).
After a two years with this knife, I received a set of very nice (and more expensive) Henkels chef's knife, which is fully forged and heavier than the Victorinox. The Henkels knife is excellent, and I've used it frequently throughout the past year, but I still reach for the far cheaper Victorinox knife more often. Just like the Cook's Illustrated reviewers, I prefer its light weight, and love the sharp edge.
All knives, stamped or forged, inexpensive or expensive, require sharpening after a while. Every few months I sharpen this knife, and all my knives with the very economical manual sharpener, the AccuSharp Knife Sharpener With Replacement Blades. I hope to upgrade to a highly-rated electric sharpener soon.
It's safe to believe the hype around this knife.