Victorinox Cutlery 3.25-Inch Paring Knife, Small Black Polypropylene Handle

Victorinox is made by the same folks who make the Swiss Army knives.  They have been in the knife business a long time, and make a good product.  I own a Victorinox Chef's knife as well.  Maybe the pro's need  a heavier knife.  As for me I am mostly a home cook, but also cook for church groups of up to 100+ people, and found it is more then enough knife for my needs.

I have plenty of more costly knives and I fought my knive-snobbery when I received this simple utilitarian knife as a gift some months ago.  I love how sharp it is and how well the blade's sharpness has held up over time.  Yes, the heft is quite light, but if you have a lot of small work to do, it won't tire your wrist.  I find it works great for making a clean incision for deveining shrimp, as one example.

The cost can't be beat.  Though mine was a gift, my local restaurant supply store has these at the checkout counter for only $5.  Fancy cups of coffee are $5 now.  Let's see:  cup of coffee which is done in a few minutes vs. a knife you'll have for years.  Skip a cup and buy one of these.

The blades on the Victorinox paring knives are pretty thin and easy to sharpen. I like this knife alot because I can abuse it and not feel to bad about it. I use it pretty often at work and have 2 more at home. From paring apples, potatoes, peaches, and on occasion to open boxes (I know shame on me) I use this for everything. Keep in mind you will have to sharpen it though it doesn't stay sharp for very long if you use it constantly. The handle is really small and thin and a little tough for me to hold because its so small. This is the knife to bring to work leave your expensive ones at home. The other day I walked in on our dishwasher trying to throw my paring knife into the wood cutting board and get it to stick (much to my dismay) My first reaction was to be very angry but as I thought about it I was glad it was the 5 dollar knife and not a more expensive one. If you work in a knife abusive kitchen where other employees won't respect your equipment than this is what you want it can stand the abuse and is easy to replace.