Reddit reviews Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Straight Paring Knife, Large Handle, 3.25-Inch

[this chefs knife- very best bang for buck]
(http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47521-10-Inch-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B0000CF8YO/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1450572369&sr=8-11&keywords=Victorinox+Fibrox)

[get this paring knife]
(http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-4-Inch-Fibrox-Straight-Paring/dp/B008M5U1UE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1450572029&sr=8-4&keywords=Victorinox+Fibrox)

[this slicing knife]
(http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-12-Inch-Granton-Slicing-Fibrox/dp/B0000CFDB9/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1450572029&sr=8-9&keywords=Victorinox+Fibrox)

[if you have money left over - get this bread knife]
(http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47547-4-Inch-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B00093090Y/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1450572029&sr=8-10&keywords=Victorinox+Fibrox)

Get a chef's knife. Buy the Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife. It has a lifetime warranty, great reviews, and is 25$. Same with the Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife.

Get a good, thick, wood, end grain, 12" cutting board.

Watch some videos like this about how to hold a knife, and how to chop with one.

This will do the most toward making cooking easier.

I'll give you the same standard advice which was given to me:

1. Chef's knife: Victorinox fibrox 8" chef's knife, $40. It's a great workhorse knife. Unless you're really serious about cooking or knives, it's more than adequate. Do watch for price fluctuations, though. Right now it's at $40, which is a good price.
   
2. Paring knife: Victorinox 3.25" spear point paring knife, $8. It's very lightweight, and the blade has some flex, but those aren't really big concerns in a paring knife. It's good enough for plenty of professionals, so it's good enough for me. Stays sharp well and is cheap and well-designed. The handle is on the smaller side if you have large hands.
   
3. For the serrated knife, I went with the Mercer 10" bread knife, $13 over the often-recommended Dexter-Russell one. I think it was the right decision, because it came quite sharp, solidly built, and has a very comfortable and grippy rubberized handle. The steel isn't very high quality, but who cares? This knife is much cheaper than a single sharpening service on a serrated knife. When it gets too dull, throw it out and get another one. Don't get an expensive serrated knife. You'll be disappointed.
   
   So there you go, for 60 bucks and change, you'll have a set of knives that's equal to or greater than the stuff most professional cooks are using on the line. If you want, add in a honing steel or ceramic rod to keep them sharp. I would also recommend getting some sort of protectors or holders, not only for your safety, but for the knives' safety. No knife in the world will stay sharp after banging around uncovered in a drawer or sink for a month. And for God's sake, please get a nice, large wood cutting board. Glass, stone, or ceramic boards, or cutting directly on a plate, will ruin your knives' edges in two seconds. Even bamboo and plastic boards can sometimes be too hard, so I recommend real hardwood. Edge grain is fine, end grain is possibly better. Just make sure it's big enough, at least 16" x 20" or so.
   
   You should be able to get all of this for well under $200.

If you really want to get a block set then try the Victorinox 7 piece set. But honestly building your own is better.

• Get a universal block like this or this. Avoid wooden blocks, they may look nice but sooner or later unseen crud is going to build up. The Polymer blocks can be taken apart and the insides cleaned out.
  
  
• Victorinox 8 in Chef's Knife best bang for your buck ~$35
  
  
• Mercer Bread 10 in Bread Knife ~$17
  
  
• Victorinox Paring Knife ~ $9. Wusthof is supposed to be better but I'm not spending $40 for a paring knife.
  
  
• Kitchen shears depends on what you are going to do. Light duty shears get a Victorinox Classic ~$14. You'll be able to do all kitchen tasks and occasionally break down a chicken. If you plan to break down chickens more than occasionally then get a Shun Kitchen Shears ~$70. If you plan to break down chickens often then get dedicated heavy duty chicken shears (can't help you with that) and a Victorinox for the light stuff.
  
  
• Get a sharpener. If you're willing to learn how to sharpen get a Spyderco Sharpmaker and a cut resistant glove, if not get a Chef's Choice 4643. The Chef's Choice is a poor 2nd choice I urge you to get a Spyderco, but DO NOT forget the cut resistant glove. Most people after they get good at sharpening become less paranoid about cutting themselves and that's when they cut themselves.
  
  
• Get a honing steel any will do but I like the Wustof 9 in it's magnetic so it'll pick up any metal dust even though I always wipe my knife on a damp towel. Honing and sharpening do two different things. You should hone often, sharpen rarely.
  
  Here is something from r/ATKgear if you want another opinion.
  
  

I mean, the Victorinox pairing knife is pretty good. Exact same handle as the chef knife


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M5U1UE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3KIXAbH1N42HY

• First, what is your budget?
  
• Second, as others have said, ditch using the dishwasher for any knives that you care about or want to stay sharp.
  
  In general, I would shy away from buying a "set". You'll end up spending more money on lower quality knives that you'll not end up using. I would suggest buying one good knife (such as a gyuto or chefs knife) and then getting basic knives for other stuff (a pairing knife and a bread knife). Personally, I feel that most other knives outside of these three are useless for most people.
  
  If you have about $100 bucks to drop on a 'set', I would just go this route:
  
  
• Great, sharp, all-purpose chef's knife in good quality steel that will retain it's edge: Richmond Artifex in stainless $65
  
• Pairing knife: Victorianox Fibrex 3.25 inch $10
  
• Bread knife: Victorianox Fibrex 7 inch serrated $21
  

Here is the "set" I would recommend.

• Fujiwara FKM Stainless 240mm Gyuto
  
• Victorinox 3.5" Paring Knife
  
• Smith's 9" Ceramic Honing Rod
  
• Sani-Tuff Rubber Cutting Board
  
  90% of how knives cut depends on how they're maintained. Those up there should be absolutely killer if they're kept right.
  
  I made a really long post all about knife ownage/usage/maintainage/keepage. If you have the leisure, feel free to check it out.
  
  http://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/1es339/why_a_highend_knife_might_not_be_for_you_how_to/

Mercer and wusthov are both fine knives, but if you want the most bang for your buck, you really should buy individually. That doesnt mean you cant get a nice matching set though. Copying and pasting this from a thread a few weeks ago.

>
>The Victorinox ones are probably the best value around. Thats speaking as someone >who owns several hundred dollars worth of mostly Shun and Mercer knives.
>
>All you REALLY need is a
>
>Chefs Knife
>
>and a
>
>Pairing Knife
>
>
>to start with, those will handle about 85% of anything your ever need to do, but if you >want to expand i would get a
>
>
>Boning knife
>
>Bread knife
>
>Slicer
>
>And dont forget a honing steel.
>
>And MAYBE a pair of shears.
>

http://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/1nbho7/baked_potatoes_i_made_last_night/cchbgh9

They wont come all together in a nice box, but no reason you couldnt get a nice block too and just wrap the whole thing...

As little as possible. The more crap you have, the more it weighs you down.
That said, every home needs some necessities to get by. For me those generally involve cooking, sleeping, and repairs. I just finished watching Parks & Rec and am in a bit of a Ron Swanson mood.

For the kitchen (all recommended by America's Test Kitchen):

Victorinox 8" Chef's Knife

Victorinox Paring knife

CDN Instant Read Thermometer

Lodge 12" skillet - cheap and will last you forever

Crockpot, 6qt - the one kitchen appliance I'd cheat with. Easy delicious meals. Toss in a cheap cut of meat (chuck roast, etc), salt, pepper, garlic, onions, carrots, whatever. Let it sit for 6-8 hours. Dinner for 3 meals.

Tools:

I'd probably just pick up a cheap set of craftsman stuff (screwdrivers, hammer, sockets, pliers). Splurge on the ratchet and any power tools you need:

Bahco 3/8" ratchet - same as snapon F80 at 1/2 the price

Other misc. tools that are quite handy:

Magnetic stud finder - in a new place you're going to be hanging pictures, installing shelving, and mounting curtain rods. These are dirt cheap and super convenient.

Multimeter - Flukes will last you for life. If you need to do any electrical work, these are great. If you don't want to splurge up front just borrow them or buy a cheap $15 one at home depot.

Bedroom:

Get comfortable pillows and nice sheets. Don't get all caught up in the 1000 thread count crap, it's a hoax. Just get at least 400tc or so, and preferably egyptian or pima cotton. My favorite sheets are actually a super cheapo brand that are 60% cotton 40% polyester. I prefer them because they feel more "smooth and cool" rather than "soft and warm".

Obviously get real furniture: dresser, bed with headboard, etc.

Electronics

I won't go into too much detail here, but consider cutting the cord (/r/cordcutters).

A cheap Roku3 + netflix + an OTA antenna can go a long way.

If you have a lot of pictures/media/etc, don't forget about backups. I'd look into an inexpensive NAS, or at least a USB harddrive. They are dirt cheap and worth the insurance.

Insurance

Lastly, don't forget renters or homeowners insurance. If you are renting, you can get rather good coverage for quite cheap. I just paid around $50 for 12 months of coverage on my apartment ($15k coverage, $1k deductible). I shopped around at 5 different places and Amica came out the cheapest by FAR.

Other than that, you don't need much. Buy less crap. Don't buy some $50 automatic electronic wine opener when a $1 wine key will do the job. Same for a can opener.

Agreed, except I'd say go for the 8" knife ($30) , as it will be less cumbersome. Also pick up one of their paring knives (for seven bucks!) to make quick work of fruit, chicken skin, etc.

I have that cutco paring knife. It's pretty from an aesthetic standpoint, but as a knife, it's pretty crap.

I never really found it worthwhile to sharpen the cutco knives since they're made out of a soft steel with high chrome content for maximum shine. (I think they use 18/10?). They quickly dull again after sharpening and never get that sharp.

A decent cheap paring knife that's highly recommended, and extremely cheap, is the Victorinox. Cheap but sharpens up well and holds a nice edge.

The cleaver, well, cleavers are generally dull anyways. Wouldn't worry too much about that, cleavers are more about smashing stuff.

That Henckels is a decent knife, sharpen it up and use it for what it's worth.

If you have a hankering for better knives, check out chefknivestogo. I've found all of the knives there to be a much better value proposition than the bigger brands, like Henckels, Wusthof, etc. Get a gyuto for around $70 bucks and a sharpening stone like the one /u/SavageConciousness mentioned, then teach yourself basic knife care and sharpening, and you should be good to go.

ok i will offer you two BIFL versions. the first one being BIFL on a budget and the second being a much higher dollar BIFL cost.

quality on a budget- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CF8YO/ref=cm_ciu_pl_B0000CF8YO_mo1ZWCPZP5I7S3B

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Color-EC6D43-Enameled-6-Quart/dp/B000N501BK/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857337&sr=1-1&keywords=lodge+dutch+oven

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-4-Inch-Fibrox-Straight-Paring/dp/B008M5U1UE/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857377&sr=1-1&keywords=victorinox+paring

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Wooden-Spoon-3-Piece/dp/B008H2JLP8/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857407&sr=1-2&keywords=wooden+spoon

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-12-Inch-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet/dp/B00006JSUB/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857459&sr=1-1&keywords=lodge+cast+iron

higher dollar items include-

http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-2-inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B00005OL44/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857561&sr=1-1&keywords=global+knives

http://www.amazon.com/Shun-Premier-Chefs-Knife-8-Inch/dp/B003B66YKA/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857613&sr=1-2&keywords=shun+knives

http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-2-Inch-Paring-Knife/dp/B00005MEGH/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857640&sr=1-3&keywords=paring+knife

http://www.amazon.com/Le-Creuset-Signature-Enameled-Cast-Iron/dp/B0076NOGPY/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857680&sr=1-2&keywords=le+creuset+dutch+oven

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-12-Inch-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet/dp/B00006JSUB/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1371857717&sr=1-1&keywords=lodge+cast+iron


I own the cheaper BIFL items i listed and they have been AMAZING so far. you really cant beat the quality/ price ratio for the cheaper things i listed. if you want a better chef knife all the options i gave you would be excellent but just know that you could go crazy looking at all the different brands.

Pretty much everything you need to outfit your kitchen:

Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife

Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife

Victorinox Cutlery 9-Inch Round Sharpening Steel

Smith's TRI-6 Arkansas TRI-HONE Sharpening Stones System

Lodge Pre-Seasoned Skillet

Lodge Color Dutch Oven

Weber 741001 Silver One-Touch 22-1/2-Inch Kettle Grill

Throw in some stainless mixing bowls and a couple 1/4 size sheet pans and you will be able to roast, bake, broil, grill, steam, or smoke anything that comes your way.

Honestly, I'd recommend you grab one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008M5U1UE/ref=mp_s_a_1_3 and give it a try. If you don't see the big fuss you're not out much, but if you like it you can grab the 8" chef knife for $45 and that'll cover almost all your knife needs.

I'm very satisfied with this trio:

Dexter Russell Chef's Knife
Used in most restaurants.

Victorinox Paring Knife
Very sharp and perfect for small cutting tasks.

Serrated Bread/Meat Knife

To be honest I always forget about the serrated one and don't use it nearly often enough.


They are all quite nice when paired with a cheap 2 stage sharpener.

This is pretty much the most recommended cheap chef's knife. I have it and it is pretty good, not as good as my main knife but still good enough for any task. I actually use it on harder foods as I've known of the tojiro chipping the blade on frozen or harder vegetables and roots.

Victorinox also has a 9 dollar paring knife

I've had Global and Victoronix steak knives. I would recommend neither. However, I find this Victoronix pairing knife makes a really good steak knife. It's like eating steak with a scalpel:

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-4-Inch-Fibrox-Straight-Paring/dp/B008M5U1UE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408756006&sr=8-2&keywords=victorinox+paring+knife

And for $7, you can't really go wrong. Makes a good pairing knife too. I think I own 2 or 3 of these now.

Highly recommended, very inexpensive. I’ve plowed through an inordinate amount of limes with this thing.