Victorinox Cutlery 3-Piece Chef's Set, Black Fibrox Handles

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program In my kitchen, I try to practice the buying philosophy of "buy for quality ONCE". Yet somehow I have ended up with a drawer full of knives of varying quality, and I really only use 2 the most:

1) A surprisingly affordable (under $125) Santoku

2) A serrated 5 inch utility knife (indispensible for slicing tomatoes)

So I was a wee bit curious to try this Victorinox Black-Fibrox Handled 3-piece Chef's Set as part of Amazon's Vine Program. They are a Swiss Army Knife product (and thus there is an assumption of quality behind this brand name), yet their price was really affordable. Could these knives really live up to their name for the price? Would they knock my higher quality knives out of the park AND out of my knife drawer?

Here's what I like after using these knives for a week:

1) The blades are strong for being very thin; despite not having a full tang, they do not twist or flex very much.

2) The black Fibrox handle material has a grainy texture, making it easier to securely hang onto when it is wet.

3) The Fibrox material is highly sanitary, according to National Sanitation Foundation.

4) The Swiss Army Knife branding.

5) The lifetime warranty!! (Return to Connecticut for US customers or Ontario for Canadian customers.)

6) The price; If you wanted a 3-piece forged set with a full tang, you would expect to pay 3x the price of these knives (based other options on the Swiss Army website).

7) Of the 3 knives, the 8-inch Chef's knife is the most balanced in my hand, and most likely the only one of all three I will ever really use.

Now for what I do not like about this set, and why I felt I could not rate them more highly. (Please note: I feel it would not be fair to rate these harshly by comparing them with much higher quality knives that are forged and have a full tang; they are just different animals in my mind.)

1) The handles feel hollow, contributing to the imbalanced feel.

2) The thin blade's ultra-light-weightedness does not feel secure in my hands; I foresee a few accidents due to slippage and the occasional flailing and wringing of hands that occurs in my kitchen. (I tend not to flail as much if I have something heavier in my hands.)

3) The 4-inch parer is more handle than blade; it just feels silly and far too large in my hand to easily pare an apple. (I tried.)

4) The 8-inch Slicer is more blade than handle and feels ungainly in my hand, not at all well-balanced.

Neutral Observations:

1) I tried to cut into an acorn squash with the Chef's knife; no luck at ALL. Then I tried the slicer same problem. So before I attributed a negative rating to these knives, I also tried to cut the squash with my best knives still no luck!! So, the acorn squash is getting the negative review here.

2) These are steel, and steel can rust if damaged, so it is important to take special care of even your cheapest knives. Buy some good knife guards for each of them; these can be found in most kitchen stores and are cheap.

3) These knives should never be dishwashered, as with any other chef's knives. This is not uncommon; it is just a fact of life for users of kitchen knives. (Not only is dishwashing bad for the knife and handle but also potentially unsafe for your DW.)

4) At the time of this writing, the Swiss Army website does not seem very responsive to customer comments or questions. There were some questions posted 6 months earlier by other customers which have gone unanswered. I also have not received a response to my question as to how this product (identified on the box as # XS47892) differs from the earlier product incarnation # 46892. I consider this a neutral thing because the manufacturer has answered some, just not all, questions on their website.

UPDATE 3/1/2011: Swiss Army Customer Service responded to my question from 2010. Here is that emailed answer: "After reviewing the 2 different Chef's Cutlery Sets we have available, I found that 46892 which has the Fibrox handle has a paring knife of 4", a chef's knife of 10" and a slicing knife of 8", while the 47892 with the Fibrox handle has a 4" paring knife, a 8" chef knife and an 8" slicing knife." So, the different SKU is due to the size difference in the chef's knives.

Bottom Line:

1) These Victorinox knives are a pretty good entry-level set of knives, but not the best nor most complete option. They will probably get replaced by the user at some time, and supplemented with more useful knives (like a smaller parer, a really good 5 inch serrated knife, and an excellent Santoku)

2) Would I buy these for myself? No as mentioned I would really only ever use one out of the three knives, so this particular set is just not my ideal choice.

3) Would I buy these as a gift? Possibly, depending on the culinary aptitude of the recipient.

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Soon after I had the thought that I needed some new, better knives than the dull, not-so-great ones I have, this (Victorinox Cutlery 3-Piece Chef's Set, Black Fibrox Handles) popped up for me to try. How serendipitous indeed! As soon as I got them, I was surprised at the size of these knives, which are much bigger than I'm used to. I generally use a little paring knife for many things and the paring knife in this set looks gigantic next to it. I'm still getting used to the knives but the quality is remarkable and I have been very impressed.

Pros

* The three knives included: 8" Chef's, 8" Slicer, and 4" Parer are a nice selection and very useful.

* Very sharp, which makes them slice with very little pressure. I may start to actually cut veggies the "proper" way by using the Chef's knife now.

* The grip feels nice in my hand and doesn't slip, so there's less chance for accidents.

* I have nerve problems in my wrist and arm, so it's helpful that these are ergonomically designed to minimize tension.

* As far as knives go they are attractive looking, though not the best looking I've seen, but they have both substance and looks, which is preferred.

* Price seems reasonable, though I'm no expert.

* According to the description the handles have been approved by the National Sanitation Foundation.

* Made by the same company that provides Swiss Army knives, so you know this is a quality product.

* Lifetime warranty. Always nice to have.

Cons

* Purely a preference but I'm a vegetarian so I'm not sure how useful the slicer will be in the long run. I'll probably mainly use it for vegetables and odd jobs. For the average person and cook though, I'd say this is a good selection and a decent price.

* As mentioned above, the paring knife is pretty big and while I'll use this for some functions, I'll also still use my other paring knife because it's easier for smaller tasks.

Overall, I'm happy with the product and think this is a nice addition to my kitchen. I believe I'll be using these for many years to come and may even try out other Victorinox knives in the future.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Victorinox Cutlery 3-Piece Chef's Set, Black Fibrox Handles

You know the expression "You don't know what you're missing"? Well, I think that's an appropriate feeling about my Victorinox 8" Chef's knife, which is part of this 3-piece set, including a 8" 'slicer' and a 4 3/4" utility knife. On the positive side, the 8-incher is the perfect shape for a chef's knife and comes relatively sharp right out of the box with a killer "Fibrox" handle. No way, your hands will slip with this baby!

BUT, here's what I mean about my opening reference: For a chef's knife, I really miss the lack of weight. If you've ever owned a high-quality, German-steel chef's knife, you'll immediately notice that the Victorinox is a lightweight. For those of you who might tire easily, when having to dice those six onions for your gourmet dinner, the light weight is good. If you ever want to dissect a hard butternut squash, I think having a knife with some weight really helps. Again, if you've never owned or used one of these, you won't know what you're missing.

The 4 3/4 inch utility knife is very sharp, and makes for a great paring knife. In this regard, the light weight of this knife might be a plus. Easy to wield when coring an apple, I like it a lot.

Sorry, but I just don't know what to do with the 8" 'slicer'. It's not a bread slicer, as the edge is straight. It's not a meat slicer because it doesn't have the indented sides and thinness of a real meat slicer. I wouldn't use it for dicing anything, as it doesn't have the height of a chef's knife. I think Victorinox just threw this one in to make you feel better about buying the set!

I think in general, Victorinox kitchen knives just can't be beat for the money! But if I was just starting out, and had a limited budget, here are the Victorinox knives I'd buy:

1. The 8" chef's knife. Even with it's light weight, it's a no-brainer for those on a budget.

2. The 4 3/4" utility knife. Might be a little long for a paring knife, but it definitely does the trick.

3. The 6" boning knife. This isn't part of the set, but this is one killer knife! If you ever plan on butchering a chicken, trimming fat off meat, or working with delicate fish fillets, this baby is the ticket!!

4. A honing steel, some kind of block for storage and a sharpener (NOT electric).

I recommend you forget about buying those 10-piece knife sets, as you'll find that at least half of them will look like new after a couple years. Why??? Because you'll never use them!

I'm not a professional chef, but I do cook a bit. If I only had the four items listed above, it would satisfy 98% of my cooking needs. I'd really like to give 3.5 stars but can't. So I'll raise it a half for the overall good quality.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program You're trying to chop something large and hard--an onion, a potato, in my case it was a turnip--and your knife gets stuck. Like an axe in a tree, you can't finish chopping and you can't even pull it out! What I remember is that I had bruises in my palms for days after that turnip chopping incident. That's when you know that you need newer knives, better knives.

Now, I would not describe these Victorinox knives as top of the line products, but they are head and shoulders above what I've been using. I'm a serious cook, but live on a budget. Fine knives are not in that budget. This three-piece set that includes an 8-inch chef's knife for chopping, an 8-inch slicer for cutting and slicing, and a 4-inch utility knife for paring and other smaller jobs is an excellent and surprisingly affordable option.

The blades are sharp and so far seem to be keeping their edge well. The knives are thin and light-weight, which Victorinox considers a selling point. I'm not so sure about that. If anything, they feel a bit TOO light for my liking. The Fibrox handles are comfortable and easy to grip, but they have a sort of cheap, plasticy feeling that I don't particularly like. But other than that, no complaints.

These knives have a lot of bang for the buck. They're a good option for a home chef on a budget.

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I have owned these knives for several years now. They stay sharp readily, are the right weight for my taste (lighter than some of the other professional knives), and cut like a dream. I have bought them as gifts for friends because I love them so much. Why spend more? To me these are high quality at a great price.

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