Really as little as possible. I have to pay €17 for that Herder and €17 for two (of the same) Opinels. Which I already find very expensive for a small kitchen knife.
That's why I don't just buy all of them because it would get pretty expensive in my opinion.
Could you elaborate about why you think a wharncliff blade is better? I've been hurting my brain trying to figure out why so many paring knives have a wharncliff blade.
I only use the point of the edge because I'm using it at an angle. Which doesn't exactly give a smooth cutting experience.
With a paring knife, a lot of cuts are made on an angle. Others are made with point-cutting. As I only use two knives (paring and 240 or 270mm chef's knife), I look for a versatile cutter. My paring knife may be used for skinning, scaling, chopping, dicing, mincing, point cutting, stripping, boning, etc. So whenever I advise a paring knife, I look at ones that are capable of multiple roles, gives edge retention of 154CM or better, and have good strength to withstand the impact kitchen knives see, including metal-on-metal contact with something like a sink or metal cookware/bakeware, or metal-on-ceramic content on a sink/dish/enameled tools.
Mine isn't quite the wharncliffe but closer to an insignio...but the important part is that like the wharncliffe, the edge is largely a flat line and it has changed from the traditional paring knife blades that cut on multiple planes to a single plane. I find this for kitchen usage to be extremely beneficial, especially for precision cuts and when cutting close to fingers.
In the kitchen, it allows it to be used for things like slicing cheese without requiring rocking cuts to remove the bottom portion that will otherwise tear because a drop point with an unswept tip leaves a small amount of uncut portion. If you choke up on the knife for coring, you do not have to bend your wrist as much as on a drop point where you would have to bend the wrist more to get the upswept portion of the blade on the target. Sharpening is also easier IMO, and I find the blade making even impact with the board better disperses the shock and slows the speed of edge deformation. I also think when cutting close to fingers, operating on a single plane makes it easier to get close without cutting oneself. If you are making a tip cut/dragging cut, you may have to elevate a normal blade almost straight in the air in order to get the edge on what you want to cut...with this blade, a much more comfortable 45 degree angle works as well or better, and positioning is easier. I also believe the shape allows less force to be used for the same cut...my other paring knifes with equal sharpness require more force than this. I can use this knife in a traditional, hammer, or reverse hammer grip and still have complete control. I also like how the tip is stronger given my kitchen knives get used pretty heavily and sometimes see an accidental ding...one of which did a great job chipping a Shun I had.
If $40 is above the price range, there are prolly other models of similar designed. But for a paring knife, this is IMHO one of the best for the money as it's a $100 knife on a great sale. The blade steel is clad VG-10, which for that price range is an excellent option...edge retention is excellent and they harden it really well. It also has stain resistance that will be a lot better than a carbon steel, which on a paring knife is IMO desirable.
I own two Victorinox paring knives...for their price, they are beefy. However, the amount of force I have to use them to cut is tremendous compared to my Tojiro. By comparison, some of the mid-level brands like Wusthof, Shun, Global, and others do slightly better than the Victorinox, but they still lack a lot of performance. The problem with them and especially the Victorinox is that it often tends to 'mush' softer foods that when mushed may look nasty and taste different. This is the issue that led me to try more unusual blade types, which as the one being discussed. When you use the Tojiro, you immediately think of how much of a pleasure using it is, and how less effort you are using to do the same things yet how you are getting a better outcome. With a thickness of slightly under 2mm and with a very pronounced taper and fine edge, this knife could be used for slicing tomatoes without mushing them, but also be used to chop almonds followed by usage in trimming steak, chopping fresh herbs, peeling/coring fruit, prepping larger fruit for cutting (it's a dream use on a pineapple), and then for other misc. prep.
Sorry for the long response but that's why I've come to like the Tojiro so much.
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/todppakn90.html
I own this Victorinox...great for the price, but I do not like the blade shape nor how it does precision cutting. I now use it for trimming meat only and run it through the dishwaster given it's a composite handle and not very expensive.
http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Sw...&qid=1379029375&sr=1-13&keywords=paring+knife
I also own this Global...I do not like it much. Handle is so/so, steel is lackluster, and using the front upsweep of the edge I find to be difficult, especially as the handle isn't well-suited to this.
http://www.amazon.com/Global-GS-38-...&qid=1379029473&sr=1-22&keywords=paring+knife
While not having used this, everything I have read says this beats most $50 paring knives and it performs similar to the more recent Wusthofs
http://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Cutler...&qid=1379029473&sr=1-19&keywords=paring+knife
Rada makes some good stuff for the price...and USA made. These have a great name, especially in professional kitchens.
http://www.amazon.com/Rada-Cutlery-...&qid=1379029473&sr=1-28&keywords=paring+knife
---> here is one for only 5 bucks!
http://www.amazon.com/Cutlery-Super...&qid=1379029659&sr=1-47&keywords=paring+knife
A friend has this TD...I was very impressed, especially at the price. It is a Japanese knife made with very good steel for its class.
http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Douglas-P...&qid=1379029659&sr=1-42&keywords=paring+knife
And finally, one of my favorite paring knives was actually 6 bucks delivered to my doorstep. For a mass-produced and imported piece, they did everything right. I find the handle to be more comfortable and better-balanced than Wusthof. The edge retention isn't very impressive, but the overall package is, especially at its price-point. My biggest complaint tho, is that the blade is technically operating on 3 separate planes...but it's adaptable and reprofiling can give the knife a lot better performance. Lifetime warranty for only 6 bucks, too...
http://www.amazon.com/Farberware-Pr...&qid=1379029789&sr=1-56&keywords=paring+knife
