Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Grip Colored Paring Knives, Set of 4

At first I was turned off by the bright (gaudy) colors. However, I have learned to appreciate that these knives are color-coded! They stand out in the knife drawer, and you can always find the one you are looking for. Consequently, the right knife is used to get the job done.

The knives are indestructable and durable. We have owned ours 4-5 years and they show no unusual wear. Put them into the dishwasher! We don't do that with another knife (regretted it when we have), but these can take it. The knives are well-designed for function, comfortable to handle, strong, & sharp.

We love them and gave sets to our adult kids who always are commenting on how useful they are. Friends that visit and use ours comment favorably on them.

These aren't showy knives for formal dining nor will they impress anyone with your classy style. However, they do impress everyone who uses them. And, the price is nice.

These knives are very sharp and sturdy. In addition to all the other reviews, I wanted to point out a few things that may not be apparent prior to purchasing:

1. The handles are all the same size and length for all four knives. If you're used to handles that are about the same length as the blade, this may come as a surprise. It's not a bad thing; it just takes some getting used to (especially with the smallest curved blue knife.)

2. The blade is on the opposite side of what a novice might first think. (I don't know why, but many people think the curved side of the blade is the sharp side. It isn't. Don't cut your fingers.)

3. There are two versions of this color four-piece paring knife set. One is made by J.A. Henckels (the higher quality brand made only in Germany) and the other by Henckels International (the value brand made in China.) They are not the same set of knives, but they look almost identical and come in similar packaging. I noticed that some of the reviewers had some negative comments, and I presume that they might have mistakenly been referring to the Henckels International version, widely available at Target, or possibly one of the many copycat versions not made by Henckels at all.

Hope this note is helpful for those looking to purchase the right set of paring knives.

Happy cooking!

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Update 6/22/2011: After nearly three years of daily usage, the knives are still sharp without having sharpened them. We don't specially treat them, so they get tossed into the sink or washed in the dishwasher. As a result, or in spite of that, there's a tiny bit of rusting on the flat side of the blade where it meets the handle. Most of it can be scrubbed off. We tend to use the longer red and green knives for cutting sandwiches and fruit--small jobs. The yellow and blue ones are used when the others are not available. I'm thinking about getting the Kuhn Rikon Classic Serrated Utility Knives, Set of 3, as a replacement to the yellow and blue knives in this set, and to supplement the red and green.

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Yellow knife: The "low point" knife. If you hold the knife edge to the cutting board, the handle gets in the way and most of the blade does not touch the surface. In fact, if you wrap your hand around the handle, only the point of the blade touches the cutting board. To cut, you draw with the point and pull toward you onto what you're cutting. The blade is straight, no curves. I read it's good for apples.

Green knife: The 4" paring knife. Similar to the yellow knife -however, the front 20% of the blade can make contact with the cutting board and there is a small curve. I read that this is the most used knife, and it's the paring knife, so that's accurate.

Blue knife: Bird's beak knife, good for peeling fruit (although a peeler is safer), decorative work, and cutting small fruit.

Red knife: Serrated, for sandwiches and tomatoes.

All knives: The blades are German-made, flexible, and extremely sharp. A bit light in your hands. These knives scare me the most as far as the potential for accidental pokes. There is no bolster (meaning no protective curved dull area which separates the handle and the blade). Only the red knife doesn't scare me.

Other thoughts:

The handles leave virtually no space between your knuckles and the cutting board. The situation is worse for those with larger hands. If you look at other paring knives, you'll see that there is more space for your knuckles, that the blade is angled such that you can make full contact with the cutting board if you want, and that there is a bolster to protect your forefinger. Look elsewhere if what you are looking for is a single, go-to paring knife. If what you're looking for is what I've described for the four knives, then it's a great price for a set of super-sharp knives.

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Well, what do you expect for such a reasonable price? Sure, there are Henckels out there which are probably sharper and better constructed, but these little cute and colorful knives do a great job of cutting up food, and seem perfectly sharp enough for fruit or the odd piece of chicken.

I'm no gourmet, nor do I expect $200 quality from a $20 set of knives, but these Henckels are efficient, easy to see/find, and quite adequate for my simple needs.

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I love giving handy gifts as apartment-warming, thank-you or hostess gifts. Among my favorite little items to give is a set of paring knives. They are just so handy, and you'd have to have a LOT of paring knives before you could say you had too many.

With their colorful handles, these make a very cheery and useful little gift. I have also used them myself and they are sharp and useful. I definitely recommend!

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