Victorinox 5-Inch Mini-Chef's Knife with Fibrox Handle - $28.84

fightbriz wrote: ↑ where are these made? These can't possibly be made in Switzerland?

All Victorinox knives are made in Switzerland, but some of the accessories are made in China, The blade has "SWISS MADE" right on it. They've been making knives there for over 130 years.

OakAged wrote: ↑ I don't understand how you'd slice your finger in the first place, but if you do, then why not with a serrated blade as well? You're saying a serrated edge cuts veg easier but a smooth edge cuts your finger easier. I don't get it. But if I had to guess I'd say maybe you could avoid cutting yourself by keeping your knives sharp (use a sharpening steel before each use, and get them sharpened when they need it) so you cut with less effort and more control, and by holding it in one of the standard ways (such as the pinch grip) and using your other hand in the standard "knuckles-against-blade" method.

I bought the tomato knife with a smooth edge 2 weeks back. Used it on a small ripe tomato and it slipped and cut my thumb. There's a saying where I'm from - a new blade always draws blood. Kind of logical as you're still getting used to the instrument.
A week later, my wife sliced her thumb too. I went back to using the same old tomato knife with the serrated edge while she liked the sharpness of the smooth edge.

signops wrote: ↑ I bought the tomato knife with a smooth edge 2 weeks back. Used it on a small ripe tomato and it slipped and cut my thumb. There's a saying where I'm from - a new blade always draws blood. Kind of logical as you're still getting used to the instrument.
A week later, my wife sliced her thumb too. I went back to using the same old tomato knife with the serrated edge while she liked the sharpness of the smooth edge.

OK, then I wonder if you could eliminate that period of getting used to a new knife by making it less of a difference from your old knife, by keeping your old knife about as sharp as a new knife. And I have to suspect that you're not using the "claw" method of holding the food, because (when done correctly) it keeps your thumb away from the blade. If you're not using the pinch grip on the knife and claw grip on the food, then switching to them will feel awkward at first, but if you keep at it then it'll soon feel less awkward than any other way. Here's a pretty good demo:


Anyway, up to you of course, just trying to help. Ultimately the best way is whatever you like best that gets the job done, doesn't cause cuts, and is enjoyable.

Cheers

mewko1502 wrote: ↑
Victorinox is a tried and tested brand used by the industry.

Americas test kitchen did an extensive test/knife torture and the victorinox came out as their budget pick or something like that. The winner was a zwilling kramer or bob kramer handmade one (cant remember) thats either $6xx or has no price and is auctioned by mr kramer himself.

On the other hand we got TUO which is really an unknown brand that seems to be heavily marketed.

Also do you really believe in what a chinese brand tells you?

First of all, TUO is not a unknown brand, it's quite famous in the Chinese market. However, if you don't have confident for knife from Chinese brand at all, it doesn't matter of what I am going to say, you can simply skip this post. Trusting the knife is important, as it will lead to avoid any unnecessary accident. I am not saying all Chinese brand is good or bad, just in this budget sector, knifes from Chinese brand do have edges over the well established brands. Knives in the budget sector does not have much secrets which Chinese makers don't know. Indeed, some of them are the OEM
of Zwilling and Wusthof.

Victorinox does make good knives, entry level stamped knife like this cost $28 looks alright, but not great. With the brand name of Victorinox and cost of material/labor in Switzerland vs China, there is only limited materials and craftsmanship they can put into this knife.

Looking into TUO's utility knife, great reviews on Amazon, cost about the same price but package is much more interesting. TUO offers a full-tang forged German steel blade, pakkawood (still plastic, personally feel that's better than Fibrox) in its 5-inch utility knife which cost $30. Similar offering from well established brand at least double or even triple the price, which makes the knife disappear from the budget sector.

Should you found any dissatisfaction with knife from TUO? Amazon always got your back, why not give a try?

P.S.
I do not own a TUO knives, but do own a Sunnecko 5-inch utility knife which is also a Chinese brand. The knife cost around $27 Nov last year, forged full-tang blade, 36-layer steel on each side sandwiching the VG-10 core. The knife is razor sharp, edge retention is very good, someone may like German steel better Japanese steel, thats totally subjective and it depends on the use case. I personally like Japanese steel on utility knife and Santoku, German steel on cleaver knife.

frankykw wrote: ↑ First of all, if you don't trust a Chinese brand, it doesn't matter of what I am going to say, you can simply skip this post. I am not saying all Chinese brand is good or bad, just in this budget sector, knifes from Chinese brand do have edges.

Victorinox does make good knives, but probably not the budget knife in this post cost $28. With its brand name and its made in Switzerland, I can hardly imagine how much budget is left to put into the material and/or craftsmanship for this knife. Stamped blade, very basic plastic handle, that doesn't look much different than the $2.99 3.5-inch peeling knife from Loblaws (except for the blade length).

On the other hand, I am seeing the utility knife from TUO had great reviews on Amazon. With the cost of labor and material cost in China vs Switzerland, that leaves much more budget to put into the knife itself. TUO offers a full-tang forged German steel blade, pakkawood (still plastic, but much better) 5-inch utility knife cost $30, which looks much more appealing than the stamped blade Victorinox knife.
Should you found any dissatisfaction with knife from TUO? Amazon always got your back, why not give a try?

P.S.
I do not own a TUO knives, but do own a Sunnecko 5-inch utility knife. The knife cost around $27, forged, full-tang, vg-10 steel core, 36-layer each side sandwiching the vg-10 core. The knife is razor sharp, someone may like German steel better Japanese vg-10 steel, thats totally subjective and it depends on the use case. I personally like Japanese steel on utility knife and Santoku, German steel on cleaver knife.

I always love it when people think stamped blades are inferior. This is simply not true. Any benefits gained from forging is superseded by heat treatment. Also do not understand why full tang is considered superior. Traditional japanese knives are not full tang and it doesnt need to be. We are cutting food here not hammering cement walls.

You gotta remember victorinox is a HUGE company. Ever heard of economies of scale? Also the victorinox fibrox line has been around for a very long time with minimal design changes. One can assume victorinox nailed down the manufacturing process to be as efficient as possible.

Victorinox claims the hrc (hardness rating) of the steel to be 56 while the tuo claims 56 +/-2... so if we believe the claims from both company the steels are of similar hardness. TUO for w/e reasons claims this to be SUPER STEEL...yea no....56 hrc is basic considering "real super steels" can go to 62 hrc. HRC is exponential as well so the difference between 56 and 62 is huge.


To sum it all up I do not trust tuo when it seems like a heavily marketed brand from china that caters to lay man. The victorinox is tried and tested by industry professionals.

For those interested heres the torture test from americas test kitchen. They compare a victorinox to the kramer at arund 3:30.

OakAged wrote: ↑ I don't understand how you'd slice your finger in the first place, but if you do, then why not with a serrated blade as well? You're saying a serrated edge cuts veg easier but a smooth edge cuts your finger easier. I don't get it. But if I had to guess I'd say maybe you could avoid cutting yourself by keeping your knives sharp (use a sharpening steel before each use, and get them sharpened when they need it) so you cut with less effort and more control, and by holding it in one of the standard ways (such as the pinch grip) and using your other hand in the standard "knuckles-against-blade" method.

This. Sharp knives make all the difference. Finger slices are typically due to poor technique (holding food with fingers extended) and/or dull blades. A serrated knife I can see as more forgiving though as it “bites” into what you’re cutting so I guess it’s less likely to skim off the surface of the vegetable and take out your fingers.

My issue with serrated knives though is they don’t cut vegetables nearly as nice as a non-serrated… and I’ve done with both (when I’m too lazy to grab my paring knife on the end of my kitchen island). Also, sharp non-serrated knives require MUCH less effort to cut with that serrated which requires a constant sawing motion. A pushing downward motion is all you need to slice something.

i had a swiss army knife as a kid. In for both knives

I have the victorinox fibrox knives and like them. To the other persons point, they haven't changed is 30+ years so they have to be doing something right. If your not in a hurry to purchase set up an amazon sale alert notification and you can get them even cheaper.

I also bought the expensive but cheapie Presidents Choice (PC) "German" stamped chefs knives and Mercer knives for the cottage since you will properly respect your knives and they have been performing really good over 3 years provided you sharpen/hone them. If your not making money with your knives any mid to high end budget set that you keep sharp and maintained is all you need.

Got this for my kid as she's getting into cooking. Perfect size for a 7-10 year old. Did a few paper cut tests and the edge seemed sharp enough. Haven't used a victorinox in awhile. The finish on the knife is nice, I like that mirror polish type look to it.

Thanks OP.

HDawg wrote: ↑ This. Sharp knives make all the difference. Finger slices are typically due to poor technique (holding food with fingers extended) and/or dull blades. A serrated knife I can see as more forgiving though as it “bites” into what you’re cutting so I guess it’s less likely to skim off the surface of the vegetable and take out your fingers.

My issue with serrated knives though is they don’t cut vegetables nearly as nice as a non-serrated… and I’ve done with both (when I’m too lazy to grab my paring knife on the end of my kitchen island). Also, sharp non-serrated knives require MUCH less effort to cut with that serrated which requires a constant sawing motion. A pushing downward motion is all you need to slice something.

^ This

Unless I'm cutting fresh bread out of the oven I prefer my chefs knife for sourdough. So much less crumbs and way cleaner cut.

Thanks OP, got the 5 inch.
I don't have a knife that size so it could be nice for general every day use.

I have the 6 inch, 10 inch and boning. All are great. The 6 inch for smaller tasks, herbs, mushrooms onions etc. Just watch any jaques pepin video, for his technique. It stays the same for a 3 inch paring knife up to a 10 inch badboy.

I use my victorinox 6 inch more than my global or German zwilling.

bought one today, man I gotta stay off RFD lol =)

I already have the 8" model, not sure if I should add the 6" model as well. Anyone have the 8", 6", and 5" fibrox knives?

Do the Victorinox santoku knives ever go on sale?

Falkie2013 wrote: ↑ Do the Victorinox santoku knives ever go on sale?

Amazon shows two different models of the Santoku - 6.7 inch and 7 inch - with different handles. The 6.7 inch seems to have the same handle as their most popular 8 inch chef's knife that everyone loves (I own it and love it too), so I'd go with that one myself.

That being said, they both don't seem to have a good history of sales. There's a good site that tracks this stuff, just google it. They both seem to be right in the 60-70 dollar range, though the 6.7 inch recently started getting more expensive.

Idk about the knife beef currently going on but yes this is a very awkward size. Nice to have in the block but never would have purchased it standalone.