Victorinox 8-Inch Chef's Knife, Black Fibrox Handle Reviews

One of the two or three least expensive knives which actually takes a good edge.

The previous review is actually very good, but I felt it was a little enthusiastic.  If it's a four or five star knife, what are Masamotos, Tadatsunas, and Kikuichis?  Yes, Forschner Fibrox is an excellent knife for the price, but price aside, the chef's knives are just okay.

Generally, everything about the Fibrox and Rosewood lines (same except for the handle material) is generally "good to excellent for the price."  Two happy exceptions are the butchering knives which are the industry standard; and many of the parers.

However, the chef's knives, don't have mediocre to crummy "edge holding" characteristics.  That is, they dull easily -- rolling and waving (deform from impact on the board), and wear quickly.  Consequently the knives need frequent, almost constant steeling, and frequent sharpening as well.  For a home cook whose knife doesn't see much use, and who can tolerate a certain amount of dullness, it means steeling everyday and sharpening once a month -- no big whoop. 

For pros though, it's steeling as little as four or five times a service, or as much as every few onions; and a full on sharpening at least a couple of times a week.  PITA for sure.   

BUT they do have very good edge taking characteristics.  They take their edge very quickly, and are quickly and easily maintained on a steel.  Also, partly as a function of their thinness, they take one of the best edges of any mass-produced European or American made chef's knives.

Their profile geometry is also a function of their origin.  That is, the chef's knives are "German profile."  That means there is a lot of arc to the edge and belly.  In turn that favors a particular type of chopping style which requires rocking the handle quite a bit in order to not "accordion."  Whether you like that or not is a matter of taste and training.  However, it seems to me that most people with good skills prefer a "French" (which along the edge is also a Japanese) profile.  I certainly do.   

Nevertheless, because of its good F&F, comfort, and edge taking characteristics:  Highly recommended for the student, the cook starting his first job, or a budget minded home cook. 

Bottom Line:  Forschner represents the least amount of money you can spend for a decent knife.  By the time you get tired of its BS or wear it out, you'll be ready to buy better.   

Post Script:  I've edited my "Overall" score to balance the previous reviewer's score -- which I think is overly enthusiastic.  Yes, Forschner Fibrox is a good value, but no way is it a four or five star knife.  Two to two and a half is more like it. 

This along with the 7" santoku and 3" paring knives are my go to knives. The blade takes a good edge and keeps sharp. Excellent ergonomics. Size of the blade is adequate for most tasks.

I actually own quite a few pieces of Victorinox cutlery (fifteen or so in total acquired over the span of fifteen or so years, some duplicates like the 7" santokus and 8" chef's). So yeah, I do love 'em, they do what I expect them to do provided that I do my part which is keep them clean, sharp & abuse (namely dishwasher) free.

Are they absolutely the best out there? Price wise I would say they cannot be beaten, terrific value. For example, I love MAC knives but could not justify buying them when I can get to +95% of performance paying only third of the price. Maybe some day... I have had my eye on the SK-65 and SD-65 for a while now, they feel mighty nice in hand... ;)

This knife was a gift set. I've had it for years. Still works okay, just not as good as some and not as sturdy. However, compared to the more expensive one I have, this one stays clean, doesn't blacken. Not as good overall performance but I guess in the middle.

 The previous review is actually fascinating, but it has a lot of typos and jargon that I never learned ("...not to accordion.."?).  I have a variety of culinary knives, Masahiro, Wusthof Trident, and quite a few of the Victorinox/Forschner.  

I study and teach cooking and I've never cooked on the line in a production environment, so I will take on faith the concerns that the previous reviewer had about edge durability.  That said, the 8-Inch Chef is the knife I find myself grabbing for routine chopping.  I do hone the knife frequently but that is how I was taught.  I haven't found that it needs sharpening all that often, but I use a Chef's Choice electric 3-stage sharpener to do it.  Again, sharpening and honing may be a bigger problem in a production environment; I honestly don't know, so I'll accept that this knife may not be ideal in that environment.

I normally don't rate products 'competitively' with other reviews, but I was so amused by this reviewer's concern to 'balance' the other review that he thought was "overly enthusiastic" that I'm going to balance  his review by editing mine for the same reason.

Postscript: At least two of the reviewers, including me, own or owned this product but the tally indicated that there are 0 owners and 0 who formerly owned it.  How do I indicate that I own the knife?

What I really love about this knife is the value for the quality. It is very cheap and arrives very sharp. I bought this knife after asking my teacher what knife she would recommend to learn on and learn to sharpen on a whetstone with. I love it the only real con other than looking like cheap plastic is the blade is highly polished and veggies stick to it. That was easily solved on the side of a whetstone It may not look pretty but this knife is well made and great to learn on. If you do something really stupid with it like let a coworker try and cut open a can with it you can replace it for very little money compared to ruining a shun.  

This knife is like your favorite pair of Levi's - while you might have nicer pants in your closet, these are the ones you find yourself taking out of the drawer most of the time. 

 

It's durable, having held up through a few years of mild abuse and often the first knife I go for, for many different uses.  The knife itself is fairly plain, the fibrox handle looking much cheaper than wood, but it gets the job done.  The edge does get dull fairly quickly, but sharpens very easily. 

 

It's well worth the $30ish price tag.  Great value :)