I really like this cheap knife.

A few days ago I bought the Victorinox 15cm general purpose kitchen knife for when you don't want to a more expensive knife. It's not the best steel (stamped high carbon SS), nor the hardest but it sharpens easily and takes a very nice edge. The blade is also very thin with 2mm at the spine. I especially like the Fibrox handle. It has a nice shape and a grainy texture which makes it very non-slip. Not a bad purchase at €23.

I have a similar knife that I use for boning lamb and chook (although I've started using Mert deba for the chooks, just becsuse I love the knife). I like it because I dont care if the edge gets bent- I just run it over a steel.

It's a lot of knife for it's price point. I tend to prefer the Victorinox/Fibrox knives to the Henckels/Wusthof knives I've used. They are easy to sharpen as well.

I will tell anyone willing to listen to get a Victorinox and an Ikea ceramic rod. Great performance on the cheap.

Lars

If you look at my profile you will see I list a few Victorinox knives right there with the $1k+ ones. Great knives for the money.

Hi my name is Marston I really like cheap knives

They sell that as a boning/utility knife, yes? I have the wood handled version. Love it. Useful for so many things and never complains about abuse. I think it was $26 US a few years back.

Nothing wrong with Vnox, et al , for the price. I've had a Dexter Russell filet knife in my tackle bag for 30+ years. Prefer the Wustie Pro series for kitchen stuff.

These cheapies have intrigued me of late:

http://www.rueducommerce.fr/m/ps/mpid:MP-56A41M18185956
http://www.laredoute.fr/ppdp/prod-500387118.aspx
http://www.couteaux-services.com/co...r-sandvik-manche-bi-matiere-ultra-confort.htm

12c27 steel, kinda blows the Germans and the Swiss out of the water. Same company makes some snazzy conventional handled knives in their Zen line 14C28 for decent prices.

rick alen said:

These cheapies have intrigued me of late:

http://www.rueducommerce.fr/m/ps/mpid:MP-56A41M18185956
http://www.laredoute.fr/ppdp/prod-500387118.aspx
http://www.couteaux-services.com/co...r-sandvik-manche-bi-matiere-ultra-confort.htm

12c27 steel, kinda blows the Germans and the Swiss out of the water. Same company makes some snazzy conventional handled knives in their Zen line 14C28 for decent prices.

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This rue du commerce site has some crazy “spy tech”. I just clicked on your link, 5 minutes later I get an email from them: “Thank you for visiting our website.”

No clue, how they got my email adress.

bennyprofane said:

This rue du commerce site has some crazy “spy tech”. I just clicked on your link, 5 minutes later I get an email from them: “Thank you for visiting our website.”

No clue, how they got my email adress.

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funny, my script blocker wouldn't let the site load

No email here, I do have ad-block on though. I gave up on script-blocker, too much of a pain having to give permissions for sites to load.

I have never understood whats so special about the Victorinox kitchen knives??? I've tried several, but no matter how often I try them I just don't get it? They just don't suit me in any way. I'll grab almost any knife over what Victorinox offers.

I don't mean to knock anyones knife. Different strokes and so on... I'm probably quite alone with this sentiment. I've really tried to like them.
Did I mention I just don't get it??? :dontknow:

JaVa said:

I have never understood whats so special about the Victorinox kitchen knives??? I've tried several, but no matter how often I try them I just don't get it? They just don't suit me in any way. I'll grab almost any knife over what Victorinox offers.

I don't mean to knock anyones knife. Different strokes and so on... I'm probably quite alone with this sentiment. I've really tried to like them.
Did I mention I just don't get it??? :dontknow:

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Not my first choice either but I think they are great knives for what they are and an upgrade from what many have, at least my family members who have knives they bought in the dollar closeout bin at Big Lots. You want to talk about crowbar thick behind the edge and no edge holding ability whatsoever, pickup one of those monstrosities. I happily bought my grandfather some Vic's so there there is a decent knife in the house when I am over there that I don't need to take with me every Sunday. I could have got him something nicer but as he uses them on a granite counter, I figured cheaper was better. >.<

JaVa said:

I have never understood whats so special about the Victorinox kitchen knives??? I've tried several, but no matter how often I try them I just don't get it? They just don't suit me in any way. I'll grab almost any knife over what Victorinox offers.

I don't mean to knock anyones knife. Different strokes and so on... I'm probably quite alone with this sentiment. I've really tried to like them.
Did I mention I just don't get it??? :dontknow:

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It's straight utility, need a beater who will take an edge? Vic
Line cook salary? Vic
Lost your knife roll during a night of heavy drinking? Vic

They're locally available in most of North America and extremely reasonably priced. Good quality build and materials. NSF certified. It's not that they're great knives they just tick every box at a heck of a deal.

Nice profile on the chef knives as well..

Lars

I heard the Opinel kitchen knives are quite nice, very cheap and made of modified 12C27. From the Opinel website: "Its carbon and chromium content are respectively 0.5 and 14.5%. We aim for 57 to 59 HRC on the Rockwell hardness scale for our blades."

http://www.opinel.com/en/the-brand/know-how/blade

bennyprofane said:

I heard the Opinel kitchen knives are quite nice, very cheap and made of modified 12C27. From the Opinel website: "Its carbon and chromium content are respectively 0.5 and 14.5%. We aim for 57 to 59 HRC on the Rockwell hardness scale for our blades."

http://www.opinel.com/en/the-brand/know-how/blade

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Interesting, less carbon more chrome, aside from being softer and more stain resistant I wonder exactly how that affects performance. Anyway nice to see there are several French companies now offering something in Sandvik steel.

I don't care for the profile on the chefs but I do know someone who'd really like that ham slicer

What's the best way of sharpening these Vics?

Rub it on a stone, of course.

Definitely conservative primary bevel and microbevel that sucker. The steel doesn't like to hold an edge compared to even cheap Japanese knives

I would leave it kinda coarse.

ThEoRy said:

I would leave it kinda coarse.

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Like 400?

Yeah but I might strop in on a 1200 after and then on felt with diamond.

You could sharpen them up to 1200 even. 400 is going to eat alot of that soft ass steel don't you think?

But it doesn't take much to set a new edge then. All that's left is to deburr with the 1200 then felt.

After grinding in a good distil taper from tip to 3.5" back, thin the edge to 0.010", sharpen to 10deg/side them MB at 20/side. Not everyone has diamond loaded felt handy so if that's the case use a slightly roughened up Translucent Arkansas and stropping strokes for the MB. Will cut like crazy for cheap stainless and hold its edge fairly well too. But cutting through a cooked turkey leg tendon will deform the edge. Ya just can't get anything for free.

Oh yeh, forgot, 5deg/side secondary bevel to break the edge of the shoulder of the 10deg primary.

I just run mine across a stone...no measure, no microbevel, just sharpen it and maintain it with a steel (a real steel steel). I have the boner and it's a great knife.

Lars said:

I will tell anyone willing to listen to get a Victorinox and an Ikea ceramic rod. Great performance on the cheap.

Lars

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I can only second the IKEA ceramic rod. Mine came in couple days ago, my first sharpening rod actually. Livens up my edges in seconds. As for the Vic..... might as well go for the IKEA 365 knives once you there. I have yet to discover the benefits of german steel over the chinese made swedish steel IKEA stuff. Hardness isnt listedbut it is definitely 55+ and thickness is comparable with the vic too.