Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife
by Victorinox
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Our Price: $4.84
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Category: Kitchen
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: VictorinoxBrand: Victorinox
Model: 47508
Product features:
- 3-1/4-inch paring knife for coring, dicing, and mincing fruits and vegetables
- Stamped from stain-resistant, high-carbon steel
- Ergonomically designed, synthetic polypropylene handle
- Precisely tapered from base to tip; no bolster
- Hand-washing recommended; limited lifetime warranty
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife
Customer Review: An honest review
Summary: 3 Stars
First off, I am a bit conflicted in giving this product 3 stars because it is a product that I still use and generally enjoy, and I got it for only $5 bucks (it's a bit more expensive now, but not much).
But there are a few reasons I feel this knife falls short for most potential consumers. One of the biggest - the standards of Forschner's excellent and popular 8-inch chef's knife are not met in this product.
I've owned a forschner chef's knife for a while now. Like most, I was impressed with the quality and bargain. So I had fairly high hopes for the paring knife. But when this knife arrived, I noticed a few things.
1) It was quite thin and flexible, bordering on flimsy. No big deal, for a paring knife. I wasn't planning on using it to cut through bone anyway and being thin is useful for a lot of things. In fact, I've come to think this is a major strength of this knife - a thin knife cuts with less resistance and there's no reason for most people to want a thick heavy-duty paring knife that I can think of.
2) It wasn't polished to a mirror shine like the chef's knife. Again, though some claim a glossier knife sticks less to food, I don't really find there to be much of a functional difference, especially for a knife of this size.
3) The handle is nylon and not fibrox. I'd have known this of course if I'd read the description better. Still, I sort of liked the feel of the fibrox on the chef's knife and wish that forschner had some paring knives with the feature. (Maybe they even do, I don't know. BTW I have no idea what fibrox actually is except that it's some sort of plastic.)
4) The handle is very small, even on the "large handle" version. This small handle is useful for fine detail work, but can get lost in my hands (normal adult size) when trying to do faster paring knife work - peeling, coring, cutting citrus wedges, making tournees of vegetables, etc.
5) Most importantly, I noticed immediately that the paring knife was not nearly as sharp as the chef's knife. The chef's knife was sharp enough to easily shave hairs and shred paper to ribbons upon arrival. This paring knife on the other hand tore paper as much as cut it and couldn't shave hair at all. No real defects - just not carefully sharpened at the factory. It was, in short, about as sharp as any new but crappy knife. I wondered if it was even made of the same high-quality x50CR MO steel as the chef's knife. I looked online and though I couldn't find any info specific to this model, i did find an assurance that all victorinox forschner knives use the same steel.
So I took out my whetstones. And I'm happy to say that the little knife sharpened up beautifully. The metal ground away quickly, but the steel was still very willing to take a good razor sharp edge for me - i didn't have any of the problems I often have with cheap soft-steel knives. I believe I will probably use this knife and be quite happy with it. But here is the problem. If you don't do your own sharpening on stones, I can't really recommend this knife much above other cheap paring knives. Those electric or roller sharpeners will not do the trick. And most people won't bother to pay a professional to sharpen a $5 knife. But you'll never get cutting performance comparable to the forschner chef's knife without a good sharpening.
The edge retention is comparable to the chef's knife, meaning that it's strictly OK. Expect a few months of home use before it starts to feel dull. There are better options for edge retention, but they also cost more - sometimes much more.
I guess it could have been just the knife that I personally received. But again, there did not appear to be any defects. It simply lacked the polish and craftsmanship of the much nicer chef's knife. So while this knife is actually a nice bargain for those with whetstones due to the quality of the steel, it was still a bit disappointing to those expecting the same quality as forschner's chefs knife.
Description of Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife
The R H Forschner by Victorinox Paring Knife features high carbon, stainless steel blade, hand finished at Victorinox in Switzerland by skilled craftsmen. A special tempering process is used to produce an edge that can be resharpened over and over again, so the knife can keep its original sharpness throughout the entire life of the blade. Victorinox handles are ergonomically designed to minimize wrist tension. They provide a natural fit. A good heft and comfortable, positive grip are indications of a well-made knife. Although cutlery steel is naturally sanitary, materials and construction details of the handle minimize crevices what would offer hospitality to bacteria.Paring Knives
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