Victorinox 48042 Cutlery 3-Piece Paring Knife Set, Black Poly Handles

Reviews of Victorinox 48042 Cutlery 3-Piece Paring Knife Set, Black Poly Handles

1.) Good knives
Reviewed by: QBraly Portland, OR United States
Rating:
I've ordered this set and other Foschner knives and I highly recommend them.

They are reasonably priced, keep their edge, and are balanced.

I think they are better than my high-priced, over-rated Henckels knives.

It's great to find a reasonably-priced quality product.





2.) Great knives
Reviewed by: Thomas P. Mcfarland
Rating:
I almost didn't buy this set because I figured I'd have no use for a gimmicky curved knife and a serrated blade, I only wanted the normal paring knife, but the set was only a little bit more expensive than an individual paring knife. As it turns out I use the curved knife more than any other knife I own, and the serrated one more than the normal paring knife- I was fully prepared to hide those two knives in the back of my drawer and never look at them again, but they are really great. I'm sure you can get better knives somewhere, but not at anything remotely close to this price. I am pretty picky about knives, and Forschner's are definitely the best I have used. I also strongly recommend the 8 inch chefs knife. I guess the best way to sum up my feelings about these (and the 8 inch chef's knife) is that I would have happily paid 4 or 5 times what they cost.


3.) Best for the money
Reviewed by: cat couple Columbus, Ohio
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This is a wonderful, very sharp, set of knives... perfect for cutting up anything from deli meats to put in a salad to veggies, etcc... Wash in the dishwasher... great price... Watch when handling... they are sharp

4.) Excellent value
Reviewed by: Bella Sarasota, FL United States
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I am very happy with these great all around knives, use them for everything, all the time, very handy

5.) My new favorites
Reviewed by: *~ Sunshine ~* Beautiful Iowa, the place to grow.
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I purchased these on somewhat of a whim as my older paring knives were getting worn. They have quickly become the first knives I reach for. The varied selection fulfill most of my daily needs. They are sharp and lightweight which is especially handy for a woman. I'm very satisfied with my purchase and it didn't "break the bank". I think they will sharpen easily when needed and last for many, many years.


10/09- I've used these knives now for over a year and they sharpen up quickly and easily with this handy little sharpener: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002JENO8/ref=cm_rdp_product I am very happy with both of these purchases and recommend them.

6.) Very good price for a bunch of handy knives.
Reviewed by: Steven NYC
Rating:
For about $10 you can have three great knives, one of which was rated by America's Test Kitchen as best paring knife hands down regardless of price. I use really just the paring knife as it is easy to use in many small tasks and is light and flexible. at around $4-5 a piece separately you are basically getting a free knife with purchase of two.

As for the wavy edge and the birds beak i do not really use that often. For fruit I sometimes use the birds beak parer but generally find the straight edge easier to use.

This set is not perfect though, the handles are not the same type of grippy fibrox used in the larger kitchen knives, I really liked that feature like in the chef's knife when things got wet or oily. another thing, though the knives were sharp out of the box, the thinness of the metal, which gives it flexibility, creates an edge that gets worn easily, for the straight knife thats not much of a problem, but for the other two sharpening I imagine would be a hassle. Then again you can always just get another set as they are priced so low.

7.) Great knives
Reviewed by: T. Houghton Missouri
Rating:
Great, sharp knives. Thanks to Americas Test Kitchen for the great review which encouraged me to purchase these knives. They are the best I have had and great value.

8.) If You Cook, You Need These Knives!
Reviewed by: Mrs Koehn WA State
Rating:
These are totally worth the price. There's nothing to dislike about them at all. I love the curved knife for pealing potatoes or fruit. The strait one is great for general purposes and small slicing. The serrated knife is great for tougher things or smaller portions of cooked meats. It would actually be an ace steak knife! Overall I LOVE this set! And it's used several times a day in this house!

9.) Love these
Reviewed by: S. Guo Renton, wa
Rating:
Though cheap, they are really worth at least 3 times their price. Would buy it again. Keeps the edge well. Light to the feel, plastic handle allows dishwasher usage. Well balanced. Swiss made, who can complain?

10.) I love Victorinox knives
Reviewed by: GAZE California
Rating:
My sister brought me my first couple of Victorinox knives as a gift when she visited me from Canada. Those little knives quickly became my favorite prep tools. Now I've ordered several sets and cleaned out my drawer so that I am only using Victorinox knives for my everyday cooking needs. They are very sharp, and they stay sharp. They are well designed, well priced, easy to use and satisfying.

11.) Don't let looks fool you!
Reviewed by: Red in Ridgecrest CA
Rating:

They actually look as cheap as from the 99cent store, but they really ARE a quality product! And the very best part....THEY'RE NOT FROM CHINA! They are well-made in Switzerland. It's the handles that make them look cheap...just as others have said. But we don't buy this kind of knife for what it LOOKS like, but rather how easy it makes our time in the kitchen, right? An excellent bargain for a very good product. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

12.) sharpest knives in the drawer
Reviewed by: Connie B. Gelfer
Rating:
I had gotten these for Christmas presents for my friends with crummy knives that I hate to use when I'm at their house helping in the kitchen. These are cheap, dishwasher safe, work beautifully! A real value.

13.) As good as Cook's Illustrated said
Reviewed by: chief0 Massachusetts
Rating:
I'd read Cook's Illustrated reviews about different knives for years, and in each review, the Victorinox knives always came out on top. Well I finally bought this one and I can feel why.

14.) The sharpest knives in the box!
Reviewed by: PT Cruiser CA USA
Rating:
These small kitchen knives might be inexpensive, but they're very good knives. I've started replacing all of my old dull knives with some better ones, like the Shun brand. While I was looking at those knives I saw the reviews for these and thought I'd give them a try. Quite frankly, I'm amazed at how sharp they are and how they hold their sharpness for such a long time. The sizes are handy. I especially like the little curved paring knife. It peels apples very quickly and efficiently. Each of the knives are getting used a lot around here for daily food prep. The handles are plastic but well made. That's the only part that looks a little cheap about them. But their performance is excellent, as good as my Shun paring knife that I paid a lot more for.

If you want a set of good, all around small paring and utility knives you can't go wrong with these. Victorinox makes a good product at a great price.

15.) I love victorinox knives
Reviewed by:
Rating:
My sister brought me my first couple of victorinox knives as a gift when she visited me from Canada. Those little knives quickly became my favorite prep tools. Now I've ordered several sets and cleaned out my drawer so that I am only using victorinox knives for my everyday cooking needs. They are very sharp, and they stay sharp. They are well designed, well priced, easy to use and satisfying.

16.) Ordering a second set
Reviewed by: couldbeanybody
Rating:
Had these for 8 months, now, and still haven't needed to sharpen. When they get "dull," a light steeling is all they need. Ordering another set tonight so I can always have clean ones at hand. These knives, and all the Victorinox/Forschner stamped-steel kitchen knives I've owned, are very sharp out of the box, of course. Some people say they dull quickly, and the ad copy says they're easily "sharpened." I've found that they don't "dull" quickly, but they do get "unsharp" somewhat faster than other knives I have. The remedy I've used over and over, and what I think the ad copy should have referred to, rather than sharpening, is steeling. My Forschner knives seem to need it more often than others, and seem to respond to it better, and more quickly, than others, including my high-quality forged knives from Wusthof and Henckels. I wouldn't be surprised if the Forschner blades are ground at a shallower angle than some. All I know is that they're sharp when I need them, even if it does take a few quick flicks on the steel.

17.) Crazily sharp!
Reviewed by: RPV Hayward, CA
Rating:
Careful now. I have used this for 1 month now and I cook a lot yet this set is still good as new! Great product.

18.) Great Everyday Knives!
Reviewed by: D. Lucier
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These knives are terrific! I especially love the little serrated knife that comes with the set. I rarely use my more expensive knives. These knives stay sharp, are a perfect size, and are very durable. I highly recommend purchasing this reasonable priced set.

19.) Super Sharp
Reviewed by: B. Shea Iowa, USA
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We wanted knives that were sharp and stayed sharp, and these knives are perfect for slicing tomatoes and chopping onions!

20.) About time I get a sharp knife!
Reviewed by: Pat Southern Rockies
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Great knives for the price. Durable. I have purchased too many knives in a lifetime that just didn't do it. I must say I will be back for more of these as presents.

21.) All you need
Reviewed by: Benigno E. Fiol miami, florida USA
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This set of knives will serve all your paring needs. Great knives for so little money

22.) Fantastic, Super Sharp, Great Styling
Reviewed by: Chris G.
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I love these knives. Use them every day, held their sharpness and they resharpen well. Quality material. Everything you want from a knife set.

23.) Great value general purpose set
Reviewed by: oenophile San Diego
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I ordered this 3 piece set to have a reliable set of pairing and small all purpose knives, and this set was just perfect at an incredibly reasonable price. Very fast shipping, well done to the vendor!

24.) Great, inexpensive but not cheap knives
Reviewed by: drcatty2 Raleigh, NC
Rating:
My only complaint about these knives is that I seem to have misplaced one of the set. Sharp as heck, easy to handle, dishwasher safe and did I mention sharp.

25.) great knives at low price.
Reviewed by: blanche dubois Mesa. AZ, USA
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These little knives are super. I am amazed at what a sharp and clean cut they make. Great value for small bucks.

26.) Sharp reasonable cost
Reviewed by: sensible buyer Indianapolis
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Knives are priced reasonably and are very sharp. I ordered 1 set and decided to order an additional set.

27.) Great little knives
Reviewed by: Rita Mitchell Marlton, NJ United States
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We love these little knives. I bought two of the paring knives and when my son, who loves to cook, went to college, he asked to take one with him. That gave me an excuse to buy this set. It's a great deal for very nice home cooking equipment.

28.) Great paring knives
Reviewed by: Healthier Cooking Michigan
Rating:
Victorinox paring knives are wonderful-comfortable in my hand and have great blades. I didn't think I would use the short curved blade much but it is perfect for many jobs. Very reasonable. I think I will buy them for wedding shower gifts in the future but will have to have something else because the set of 3 knives is so reasonable.

29.) Excellent Knives and Deal
Reviewed by: J. W. Byrn Fort Collins, CO USA
Rating:
In a kitchen that has many small knives these are the workhorse's. They very sharp and can get fixed up with the steel easily. A must have for cooking and great deal to boot.

30.) My mom.
Reviewed by: Cynthia R. Blackburn
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My mom swears by these knives. She has given them as presents to a few friends. The only reason we come back for more is that she shares them with friends and doesn't ask for them back.

31.) Excellent value, excellent knives
Reviewed by: Commonplace Book Austin, TX
Rating:
Knives are lightweight and do an excellent job of paring. I bought a chef's knife for my son. He is very pleased.

32.) Makes a nice gift
Reviewed by: M. Wietek Marquette, MI
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Useful, decent knives at a reasonable price, in a gift-wrappable box. What's not to like?

33.) Quality-Price is great!
Reviewed by: Amazon's Customer Houston, TX
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I just loved these knives to work with almost all kinds of vegetables. Just be sure that you look for that small size of knives.

34.) A bargain
Reviewed by: James Westbury Washington State
Rating:
The standard paring knife included here is wonderful. It's thin, lightweight, flexible, and sharp. It slides through vegetables as easily as it does through butter. It neatly conforms to the contours of what you're cutting, if you so desire. I cored some tomatoes last night, and didn't have any issues. Great, too, for mincing garlic.

Honestly, I haven't really found much use for the other two knives in this package, as they're specialty knives, and I don't do a whole lot of the peeling which they're useful for. The normal paring knife is fine for most non-peeling sorts of tasks.

But, for $10, you're not going to find a better paring knife. The only way you're going to get something better is to spend four or five times as much, and I'd rather just buy a new one of these every few years (under heavy use). (As another reviewer said, they're quite thin, so sharpening would be a pain -- I haven't had to do so, yet.)

35.) Excellent knivrs.
Reviewed by: GSH Virginia, USA
Rating:
The blades are very sharp out of the box. The assortment is very good. I like the Fibrox handle on the 6", but not as much on these; they are a little narrow. Otherwise, very happy and recommend them.

36.) Teeny handles
Reviewed by: P David Salt Lake City, Utah
Rating:
The blade is great, as expected. But.... the handles!!!! They seem to be sized for kindergarten-sized hands. If Victorinox put the same fibrox handles found on their larger knives on these paring knives, they would have an unbeatable winner. So be forewarned: if you have large hands, you will find these uncomfortable to use; otherwise they are a great addition to your knife collection.

37.) Great for Culinary School
Reviewed by: M. Hammonds Mechanicsville, VA
Rating:
This is a nice set; I added them to my Culinary kit for school, there sharp & light weight. I'm really happy with them. If one of them grows legs I would certainly buy again.

38.) good knives
Reviewed by: This IS my day job. Elkridge, MD
Rating:
I bought the set and gave the straight paring knife to my mom.

I kept the bird's beak and wavy edge. I don't know what the wavy edge is for.

So I essentially paid $6 per knife. Not bad. The handle is small, but I can keep a hold on it. The recessions in the sides are perfect rests for my finger tips. I get a good grasp on them. I use the bird's beak for most paring duties. It's especially good at hulling strawberries.

My mom uses the straight paring knife more than I use my bird's beak. She also doesn't care for her knives the way I do. So the fact that hers is still sharp after a year without sharpening or even honing is a testament to the blade's quality.

39.) Handy
Reviewed by: Eden Sullivan Pennsylvania
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This knives are handy for numerous jobs in the kitchen. They were inexpensive and sharpen well.

40.) Still fairly sharp after one year of heavy use
Reviewed by: Happy in Him Carlsbad CA
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I use these knives many times everyday. They were extremely sharp at purchase. They are still fairly sharp after a year of use and no sharpening. Will have to finally break down and try sharpening them.

41.) Fingers Beware
Reviewed by: valleyvittles Phoenix AZ
Rating:
For the money, these are killer knives. They're light in weight, which might bother some, but I don't mind. The handles are textured so your hands don't slip. I haven't figured out what the odd curved knife is for - if anybody knows, please tell me. I bought a knife sharpener when I purchased these and the chef's knife so I don't know how well or long they'd keep an edge on their own. I've cut myself twice while washing and drying them, but that's my fault.

42.) amazing for the price
Reviewed by: YourGo Astoria, NYC
Rating:
These are very good knives. sharp. nice build. great price.
the only reason i didnt give them a 5 star is cause im sure there are better knives out there . they just probably cost ten times the price.

43.) OK for smaller hands
Reviewed by: G. P. Brummett Herndon, VA USA
Rating:
The blades are nice but I find the handles are a bit petite for my hands - something more along the lines of the girth of the fibrox handles on the Victorinox Chef's knife would have been appreciated.

44.) dominica
Reviewed by: butterfly warren , mi usa
Rating:
i found these paring knives sharp but thin steel and plastic handles also thin. for the price they are okay. have not tried sharpening them as they are still sharp after several uses.

45.) Sharp knives...for about two weeks
Reviewed by: J. CHEN broomfield, Colorado
Rating:
People say these knives are sharp. I agree. They are sharp out of box. However, the sharp edge holds about a week or two, by only doing light duty work, such as peeling fruits and slicing meat. It doesn't become dull, but the the sharpness wears out. To prove my point, I took a few photographs on the edge of the 3.25-inch Straight Edge Parer. They are uploaded to the customer images section. Each one show a section of the blade. As you can see in the first picture, the edge near the black handle is least used. It still maintain the original sharpness. The edge is very smooth in the picture. The the left, you can see the edge becomes fuzzy through out the rest of the blade. Remember, this is only after two weeks of light use.
Update:
From a technical perspective, I stand by what I wrote about reduced sharpness in light use. But after a couple years of use, I have changed my mind about the value of this knife set. It is indeed one of the most handy tools in the kitchen. The advantages of the paper weight become clear. Even though I have another forged paring knife, I prefer to use Victorinox for ease of maneuver. The cutting edges, although losing the factory sharpness initially, never become too dull to use. For practical purposes, they are holding up very well. I'd be giving it a more positive rating today, and recommend it to other shoppers.

Features of Victorinox 48042 Cutlery 3-Piece Paring Knife Set, Black Poly Handles

The R H Forschner by Victorinox Paring Knife Set includes: 3.25-inch Straight Edge Parer, 2.25-inch Bird's Beak Parer and 3.25-inch Wavy Edge Parer. All feature high carbon, stainless steel blades, hand finished at Victorinox in Switzerland by skilled craftsmen. A special tempering process is used to produce an edge that can be resharpened over and over again, so the knife can keep its original sharpness throughout the entire life of the blade. Victorinox handles are ergonomically designed to minimize wrist tension. They provide a natural fit. A good heft and comfortable, positive grip are indications of a well-made knife. Although cutlery steel is naturally sanitary, materials and construction details of the handle minimize crevices what would offer hospitality to bacteria.

1.) High carbon stainless steel blade can be resharpened over and over;
2.) Ergonomically designed handle;
3.) Will stand up to years of daily use without undue deterioration or wear;
4.) Polypropylene handle is NSF approved;

Package Height x Length x Width: 13.4 in. x 13.4 in. x 3.6 in.
Package Weight: 0.05 lbs.