Victorinox Kitchen Knives

[macmiddlebrooks]

Here's my un-hygienic and unsafe handles that I use in a pro kitchen everyday...they are insulted

[MrCafe]

So far burned through two bread knives and one chef knife of the brand, and I would buy them again as they are great fro their price and last long enough in an industrial setting to warrant their price. So for a house hold setting they should last your a few years.

[FortyTwoBlades]

Good god, man! What are you doing to those knives to "burn through" them I've had my Vic./Forschners for years now and they look almost as good as the day I bought 'em other than the mirror polish being a bit scuffed up.

[MrCafe]

Other kitchen staff got their hands on them, one thought it a good idea to run a bread knife over a stone, we'll just say he doesn't work with me anymore. The second bread knife got ran through the dishwasher at work and lost it's temper, again another worker. As for the chef knife it got dropped once to many times.

[kalaeb]

Does $25 Victorinox 10 times better than a $2.5 Kiwi?
Does $500 Murray Carter 20x better than $25 Victorinox?
No and no.

It seems that performance is Logarithmic of price, so the bang/buck sweet range depend job function. Many pros/knuts spend their $ on high-end/custom knives because they know & expect alot more out of their knives.

Respectfully, the answer to the above two questions is yes and yes. Use each of those for 10 to 12 hours a day ad your opinion changes real quick. Buy the best tool you can afford. Treat it well and it will last you a lifetime.
Then assuming you have not purchased crap, pass it along to your children and let them use it another lifetime.

[looker]

Good god, man! What are you doing to those knives to "burn through" them I've had my Vic./Forschners for years now and they look almost as good as the day I bought 'em other than the mirror polish being a bit scuffed up.

I had a chef and a couple of paring knives. Mom-in-Law + turkey carcass = bye,bye chef's knife. I think the paring knives saw what happened to their big brother and just ran away.

[FortyTwoBlades]

Other kitchen staff got their hands on them, one thought it a good idea to run a bread knife over a stone, we'll just say he doesn't work with me anymore. The second bread knife got ran through the dishwasher at work and lost it's temper, again another worker. As for the chef knife it got dropped once to many times.

Just so you know, a dishwasher can't ruin the temper on a knife--it doesn't get hot enough. It DOES essentially sand-blast the edge with food particles knock up against other things in the process, however, which can significantly dull it.

Respectfully, the answer to the above two questions is yes and yes. Use each of those for 10 to 12 hours a day ad your opinion changes real quick. Buy the best tool you can afford. Treat it well and it will last you a lifetime.
Then assuming you have not purchased crap, pass it along to your children and let them use it another lifetime.

I respectfully disagree. I would say that a $25 Victorinox DOES perform 10x better than a $2.5 Kiwi, but a $500 Murray Carter does not perform 20x better than a $25 Victorinox. It still performs a lot better, but the performance per dollar ratio is much less because it occupies the high end of the exponential price/performance curve. The Victorinox is right in the sweet spot (and if anything could be considered almost an outlier because of how much performance is gives for the money) and the Carter could probably be said to perform somewhere between 1.5x-2.5x better. Cutting performance is based primarily on geometry, and the Vic's have that pretty well figured out. The only area I can really see them being improved significantly in is edge retention, and I personally prefer them right around the hardness they're at because they're easy to touch up. Most edge damage to a kitchen knife comes from accidental bumps or edge contacts that will damage almost any thin edge regardless of the steel. The fact that they can take a very stable edge means they can be made exceptionally sharp and kept that way easily.

Carters are great knives, for sure, and if they're worth it to you then by all means buy them and enjoy them. However, I find the Victorinox series more than adequate for my needs.

[Fanglekai]

I recently bought a Kershaw 9900 honing steel. The 8'' Vic needs a half dozen passes on each side and it's razor sharp once again. I think its edge retention is just fine, especially since a light honing is all it takes to bring the edge back. It's very impressive for $25.

More expensive knives might perform better in some way, but they aren't 20x better or even close to that. The 8'' Vic chefs knife is corrosion resistant, takes a great edge, holds it fairly well, and it touches up in seconds. My only gripe is the handle shape; I'd prefer it to be a bit different, but it's still fairly comfortable as it is.

[bluntcut]

Roughly I've sharpened over 100 Kiwi knives and tested uses/abuses a handful of them, well I would say a Vic is around 2x better than a kiwi. a Kiwi edge can get to treetop level, while a Vic barely cross cut a newsprint (<= could be my technique/skill - hehe, lack of).

For non-pro situation, a'le homecook, I found knives in $100-$300 offer best joy/buck. A $200 SKD knife is a well-balanced that sharp, low maint and can take abuse.

Chefs & Pros - sure buy the best but perhaps skip those $50K Kramers

[FortyTwoBlades]

I recently bought a Kershaw 9900 honing steel. The 8'' Vic needs a half dozen passes on each side and it's razor sharp once again. I think its edge retention is just fine, especially since a light honing is all it takes to bring the edge back. It's very impressive for $25.

More expensive knives might perform better in some way, but they aren't 20x better or even close to that. The 8'' Vic chefs knife is corrosion resistant, takes a great edge, holds it fairly well, and it touches up in seconds. My only gripe is the handle shape; I'd prefer it to be a bit different, but it's still fairly comfortable as it is.

Personally I enjoy the handle shape on the Vics and agree that the steel holds an edge just fine.

Roughly I've sharpened over 100 Kiwi knives and tested uses/abuses a handful of them, well I would say a Vic is around 2x better than a kiwi. a Kiwi edge can get to treetop level, while a Vic barely cross cut a newsprint (<= could be my technique/skill - hehe, lack of).

For non-pro situation, a'le homecook, I found knives in $100-$300 offer best joy/buck. A $200 SKD knife is a well-balanced that sharp, low maint and can take abuse.

Chefs & Pros - sure buy the best but perhaps skip those $50K Kramers

Personally I think that the Vics will do that drastically better than the Kiwis because of their superior blade geometry. The full flat grind Vic uses on thin stock allows them to slice even very resistant targets without jamming or getting hung up. As sharp as they come, I like to thin the edge angle down to between 25-30 degrees (included angle, so 12.5-15 degrees per side) and then they're practically unstoppable. I can get 'em to treetop no problem.

[kalaeb]

No doubt the Forschners/vics offer a good value. I get it, we are value hunting here. The Victorionox knives are the best of the sub $50.00 dollar knives. Are they a good value, yup. I will admit it, I buy 6-10 a year for my kitchen for the guys who have not figured out how to take care of knives and noobs. Are they durable...yup, and you can even put them in the dishwasher. Are they comfortable, ehh, go pick one up and test it out, you can find them at any restaurant supply store. You can also look at Dexter Russel, Mundial etc they are all in the same class. At 25 bucks for a chef knife, what do you have to loose?

[The Finn]

Hello

I'm writing this with my iPhone and I hope there isn't too many misspellings and such. I just bought me a new Victorinox chefs knife and it sure looks like it's been sharpened in some kind of "semi"convex style (they say it's conical). What do you think, how will I handle this with my edgepro?

[FortyTwoBlades]

Just sharpen it like usual. You're EdgePro will handle it fine--don't worry about the convex.

[The Finn]

Just sharpen it like usual. You're EdgePro will handle it fine--don't worry about the convex.

Ok. Thank you.

[HoosierQ]

Here's what I have to say abour Forschner. If I win the lottery...you know, THE BIG ONE...I am going to buy a set of Forschner. Under that dream scenario, I could have whatever I wanted, but I'd set forth and buy a selected, piece by piece set of Forschner Fibrox knives and move on.

They really are that good. Conversely, while I might get excited and buy some sort of Global or something to go with at some point...I'd never shell out $1000 on some fancy Damascus or Tamahagane knife.

I state all this from the perspective of somebody who appreciates the knife for the blade and the geometry and not for the art. I wouldn't buy a Bentley either. I'd get a nice new top of the line Buick...ok maybe I'd get a Cadillac. Kind of guy I am.

[Fanglekai]

Here's what I have to say abour Forschner. If I win the lottery...you know, THE BIG ONE...I am going to buy a set of Forschner. Under that dream scenario, I could have whatever I wanted, but I'd set forth and buy a selected, piece by piece set of Forschner Fibrox knives and move on.

They really are that good. Conversely, while I might get excited and buy some sort of Global or something to go with at some point...I'd never shell out $1000 on some fancy Damascus or Tamahagane knife.

I state all this from the perspective of somebody who appreciates the knife for the blade and the geometry and not for the art. I wouldn't buy a Bentley either. I'd get a nice new top of the line Buick...ok maybe I'd get a Cadillac. Kind of guy I am.

I can't bring myself to spend a whole lot on kitchen knives because they'll get abused. My roommate will cut food on a plate, toss the knives in a drawer with other things in it, run it through the dishwasher like he did with my opinel paring knives in carbon, scrub the knife with a rough scrubbing pad and scratch the finish, or the knife will be used and left dirty on the counter or even worse in the sink. Some people just don't think about what they're doing or simply don't care enough to take care of things like kitchen knives. Someday I'll have a few nice custom 8-10" chefs knives, but I'll have to have a place to keep them safe from negligence. Until then the poor Vic chefs knife will continue to see abuse.

[Patrickknives]

Does $25 Victorinox 10 times better than a $2.5 Kiwi?
Does $500 Murray Carter 20x better than $25 Victorinox?
No and no.

There is a limit to the comparison that you are trying to make, over time a better knife will last longer, keep an edge better, and go through more sharpenings. On the high end you may be paying more for artistry or the name and also on the other end there are cheap knives that are really poor and do not do the job at all. But in the middle ground I look at knives like I view my tools, if I am going to use a tool often for many years, I buy the best I can afford. This allows me to always have a tool that I can trust, is ready to work, and with which I am very familiar.

[timbit]

For the price, they are great. If you have other people in the household that won't treat the kitchen knives as they should be treated these are a good option. They work very well, easy to sharpen, and the handles can survive the dreaded dishwasher. (In my house, it is understood that SHTF if my kitchen knives enter the dishwasher.)

[AmmoHouse]

I'm no way shape or form a pro chef!
I like to cook and I love knives.
It's somehow impossible for my wife to understand not to throw a knife in the sink or dishwasher...although she has seen me a 100 times wash a knife and put it away when I'm done.
So, where's the best place to buy a decent set of these...or is there a place where I shouldn't buy?
I'm looking for a new knife set for Christmas.
Thanks

[Peak_Oil]

Extend that statement to knives in general and that's my whole philosophy. With any quality good you reach a point of diminishing returns. Almost all of my purchases are in the "most bang for your buck" range of the curve.

Along those lines I try to think of things in terms of limiting reactants from chemistry. Is my salmon going to taste/present better because of my kitchen knife, or because of the quality of the fish, or the skill in preparing it? If I have the skill to prepare and the freshest fish, how much does the knife contribute to the final product?

Many times I would prefer to spend more on the fish than the knife, as long as I take care of the knife and use it properly.