I need help finding a paring knife for my mother.

J

James Healy

Joined
Feb 6, 2000
Messages
631
It's my mothers birthday soon, and i thought that a knife would be an approptiate present from me. She said a paring knife would be good, with a blade of around 3.5 - 4 inches. The problem is that i'm on a severely limited budget. Any suggestions around the $20-30 mark?

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The beast we are, lest the beast we become.
 
Hey James, tell your Mom happy birthday for me. Also, there are actually several different styles of paring knife to choose from. Kitchen cutlery happens to be one of my specialties.

And since it's for your Mom, how about a paring knife and an Ogg original Mini-Chef for $30.00 plus shipping? Or just a paring knife for $7.50 plus shipping. Interested, I have pics. I'm surprised Sparks hasn't moved this post to the exchange forum yet. He loves to do that.

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M.Ogg

"It's better to be thought a fool and remain silent, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
 
James--

Why don't you just give her your Busse Mean Street? Won't cost you a dime.

Glad to help--Will
 
I hate to be cheap here but...

Every year around Christmas time, True Value Hardware has this combo on sale for around $9. It's a Chicago Cutlery small paring knife and a small boning knife. And every year I buy one (or more-I've given them as presents). And it just so happens that I really love that little paring knife. Not fancy, not exotic, but it works well for me. Don't know what a Henckels would cost you but I would think that would be one of the best. And they have cheaper and more expensive models. But the Chicago Cutlery knives are pretty easy to sharpen. Don't know about Henckels. But non-knife nuts might prefer a knife that's easy to sharpen.


Just looked up a Henckels pairing knife. Looks like you can get a good one for $32.95 at: http://salesassociate.com/sc/products.asp?ID=192&Category=263

The Chicago Cutlery would be about 1/3 of that at the same place.
http://salesassociate.com/sc/products.asp?ID=192&Category=256

For a gift, I might opt for the Henckels. But I think pairing knives are pretty personal. My mom, for instance, will only use those cheapie, aluminum handled pairing knives they sell at WalMart. Actually, I kind of like them too. I think how the knife fits in the hand is perhaps more important than how fancy the knife is, asuming it's not a complete POS.

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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
If you have access to the Henckels I would chosse that one as your gift. Henckels knives are known for their excellent quality and value. I know there are several Forum members that use either Henckles or Wustholf exclusively in their kitchen's.

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Marine Sniper Motto:
There's no use Running, you'll only Die Tired!
 
We have a set of 4 star Henckels but for paring knives my wife like the 3in Victorinox the best. They're on the soft side but being thin, about 0.05 inches, they slice nicely. The smaller handle makes for easy control, such as coring, peeling and slicing apples, which is kind of a standard ergo test for me. I've paid $4 to $6 for ours and have a couple of extras for camping and such. Another nice looking paring knife of similar design with perhaps slightly better steel are some Messermeister (?) that I've seen for about $6 to $8. My current favorites are some hard to find carbon steel knives but very few share my retro tastes.

You can get a 3in 4 star Henckels paring knife for $20 or so at a number of places but a couple/three of the others mentioned, maybe a 3in and 4in, and an inexpensive crock stick will provide better utility. For the vast majority of people you're better off giving them a simple, effective sharpening system and some simple rules of knife use and care than a fancy knife.
 
I just bought an A.G. Russell "Woodswalker" to use as a paring knife.

Works great so far and only $9.95 without the sheath.

--Ben
 
James- I have had excellent results with the victorinox line. The little paring knive are good as well as the steak knives. get her a couple of the paring knives and sharpen them when you can and she will get great use out of them
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, but encourage her to use them sharp and rotate.... most moms don't want to make the work for you so they will use just one.....
 
My wife loves her Forschner(Victorinox) and Henckels kitchen knives.
 
Hoodoo is being smart!.
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Chicago Cutlery makes some pretty darn GOOD kitchen knives that don't cost a whole lot of money.

I have a 4 piece set that has served me VERY WELL for MANY years, and including the wood knife-block, I don't think the whole set will cost you over $50.

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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
I like the Henckels four star. The polymer handles allow you to toss them into the dishwasher.

Walt
 
Spyderco makes some great user kitchen knives for the money.
 
As Hoodoo said:
I think how the knife fits in the hand is perhaps more important than how fancy the knife is, asuming it's not a complete POS.
Click to expand...

I'll second that. I've found, for example, that I don't like the style of paring knife that looks like a miniature chef's knife. That's the style that Henckels, Wusthof, Sabatier, et al. sell. Obviously some other people like that style (a lot). Johno likes "the smaller handle" of the Forschners. I've found that in a paring knife, I like a fairly small blade with a larger handle (not as large as in a much larger knife, but larger than the blade). I know that doesn't actually describe it well, but it makes the point that there's a lot of variation here.

You've really got two choices of approach. Either you can go for the surprise and give your mother something new to try out and find out if she likes it or you can check it out with her and find out what kind of size and shape she's likely to use. Ask her what she likes and dislikes about whatever she has now. Look for something nice that maximizes the good points and minimizes the bad.

I have a Sabatier "paring knife" with about a 3" blade in the "miniature chef's knife" shape. When I bought it in 1972, I thought I'd like it a lot and spent what then seemed like a chunk of money for it. I find I use it about a half dozen times a year. (Yes, it is sharp and well maintained, thank you.) My favorite paring knife, which I use all the time, is a Russell Green River carbon steel blade, which I bought as a bare blade about 25 years ago and put on my own handle of exotic wood. The blade is a very thin spear-point, less than 1/16" thick at the thickest, but with a pronounced distal taper, so it's really very thin and about 3/8" wide as it joins the handle. The handle is about 5/8" thick and about the same from "top" to "bottom", i.e., noticeably larger than the blade. It fits me well and gives me good control. I'm not suggesting that your mother will have the same preferences I do, but it would be a good idea to check with her.


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Paul Neubauer
prn@bsu.edu
Of what use is a philosopher who does not hurt anybody's feelings?
-- Diogenes
 
I like the Russell carbon steel paring knife too. I have a 3 1/2 inch model 2332 that was something like $7 at a restaurant supply store. It's full tang, beech handle, spear point, was made from 1/16 inch stock and sharpens up nicely. I rounded some of the edges on the handle and put a couple of coats of an oil finish on it. I have some Mora (Ericksson) 3 1/4 inch full tang blades that I'll try out as a paring knife. They're carbon steel, are supposed to be RC60 and are made from 1/16 inch stock, making for razor like knives.
 
On the high-priced end, the Wusthof-Trident is a great little forged knife. I have the 4" parer, which is an amazing little piece and sells for $35.99 in the latest PCD catalog. You can also check it out on their web site at www.cutlery.com.
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Skip anything out of carbon steel. Not suitable for 99% of the people in the kitchen.

Wustof is probably best, followed by Henckels and anything else German.

Skip wooden handles if Mom is likely to put in dishwasher... they'll shrink over the years and pull away from tang.
 
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