Once you start getting into cooking you start to hear about the importance of a good set of knives. Truth be told I’ve never invested in good set of knives despite the fact that I’ve been cooking seriously for years. It didn’t make sense to get a good set while I was in university with roommates and when I moved out on my own I didn’t bother. Every time I get a gift card to Williams Sonoma or a similar store I always think that I’ll buy one but I don’t.
It wasn’t until I stayed at my (married) friend’s apartment and started cooking that I realized what I had been missing out on. One of her wedding gifts was a set of really good knives. I made butternut squash soup and slicing the butternut squash was like cutting through butter. I actually enjoyed the process whereas I normally get grumpy and hate every minute of squash slicing. That’s when I realized that new knives were in order.
The first thing I decided was that I didn’t need a set. The “experts” on this sort of matter always say you just need a chef’s knife and a paring knife and MAYBE a bread knife. While I love the cheese spreader knife in my current it is so NOT necessary. The next thing I had to do was some research to figure out the right brand. I’ve always heard of Shun, Global and Wusthof and figured I’d go with one of those but didn’t know too much about anything. I then uncovered another layer in the knife world: Japanese knives.
The whole business got kind of complicated but luckily I stumbled across this article in Cook’s Illustrated that ranked a variety of chef’s knives. I hadn’t heard of most of the brands and many of them were pricey. I was on board with spending a hundred + on a good knife but if I could avoid that I would be happy too. On the list was the Forschner by Victorinox chef’s knife with a fibrox handle which was a mere $40-ish! This knife was rated very highly when compared to its more expensive counterparts. A few years ago when I was in the market for a dutch over and not wanting to pay Le Creuset prices the folks at Cook’s Illustrated recommended a dutch oven from Target for under $40. I bought it and LOVE it. I bought a smaller Le Creuset a few months later and think the Target dutch oven really does hold it’s own. With that said I had few reservations about the Victorinox knife. My faith in the knife was further enhanced by a blog post over at Food with Legs that raved about the knife. SOLD!
I ended up buying my knife at Tap Phong on Spadina in Toronto for about $39.99. SCORE! It was the last one they had in stock believe it or not, so clearly others are onto this knife. I bought the 10″ because I love a big knife and didn’t even test it in store.
I’m LOVING this knife. I love the fibrox handle because it’s easy to grip and doesn’t slip. The knife itself has a good weight to it but isn’t too light or two heavy. The blade itself has made my life so much easier. I’ve been juicing every morning and it is so much easier to cut through my fruits and veggies now. It truly is so much easier to slice through everything now and I find my technique has improved because my knife does more of the work.
If you want to upgrade from your current knife set (mine is from Canadian Tire) this is a great nice and a fantastic price.
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Thanks for the review!! I’ve only had a couple knife sets….and not a really “good” knife yet. I’ve been looking at some online and reading reviews, but haven’t been able to get to a store to look and hold. I can’t wait to get one. This will help in the decision.
The Fibrox 8″ Chef knife weighs only 6.25 ounces, versus the 8.5 to 9.0 ounce weights that typify forged German knives, but the lighter weight feels comfortable and nimble, rather than flimsy. If you are diligent you can find it on Amazon sometimes for around $20. At that price it’s the best knife in the world, hands down!