Victorinox 4-Piece Knife Set with Fibrox Handles

Love these knives. The set is just perfect, having every knife you REALLY need. Yes, you can get sets with 2-3 more knives, but these 4 are the ones you will use the most by far. First impressions were Wow, they're big, wow, they're razor-sharp, and wow, that bread knife is huge! The handles are large, making them perfect for a man's hands, yet not too fat for the ladies. Unless you're a pro, the 8" chef's knife is perfect. I split a couple of large chuck roasts with no effort at all. The 6" utility knife is perfect for disjointing a chicken, and I THINK I can even use it to fillet fish. Can't wait to try! This is a lovely knife with a sharp point, and it just feels right. The 4" rabbit knife is a little large for use as a paring knife, but you get used to it. Just choke up on the handle, and it works like a smaller paring knife. The bread knife works great for not only bread, but also tomatoes, cabbage, and large bundles of celery. Purists will carp about the bolster-less cold rolled stainless steel construction of this set. Ignore them. The thin, flexible blades and large Fibrox handles create a nice balance and feel. Rolled steel is easier to maintain consistent temper and grain quality. Having worked in metallurgy labs for years, I appreciate the hardness and temper of these blades. I have no doubt the edges will last a very long time, and routine steeling and honing will restore them to razor sharpness. This is a can't-miss buy for budget buyers and gourmets alike.Followup:I like these knives so much I made a premium honing and stopping system involving leather and diamond lapping paste for them. Well guess what? After 2 months of everyday use, they are still screaming sharp. There are complaints about the Fibrox handles, but I like them too. Unlike wood and silicone handles, they always feel clean, sanitary, and stable in the hand. When a knife is this sharp, slipping is something you want to avoid. I wanted a Victorinox tomato knife I found on Amazon to compliment the set. However, all 4 of these knives stay so sharp you can easily slice ripe tomatoes with any of them. Maybe 1 of the kids will try to cut a brick so I can try out my honing system.

I gave 5 stars because for a knife to work this well at this price point and not be junk is a feat in itself.Can you compare these to knives costing $300 a set? Cutting probably, but construction? Probably not.How they arrivedThe knives came in a cheap card board box without any writing in plastic generic sleeves, packed with brown paper. No frills.ConstructionThe knives have a mirrored appearance on the blades.The blades are thin, but I have had no issues cutting, chicken,steak, pork or veggiesThe handles are plastic with texture (tiny bumps, fissures)The knives are very light, but handle fine with the non slip handle grip.SharpnessMost of my knives where sharp.I used steel on the 8" chefs knife and then it was as sharp as the others.For the price point i don't think these knives have any competition.Are the draw backs? Yes.How they workedThe knives are light weight, although I believe they will last.I have used them for one month and I am enjoying them over my wooden handle 15 year old henckles. I do not dish washer my knives, I hand wash them, mirrored appearance is the same after daily useWhen cutting potatoes that were wet I notice the mirrored blade would suction/grab against the potato. That was using the 8 inch chefs knife. When I used the 6" chef utility, it had no sticking and was like cutting through butter.The bread knife and paring knife are great as well.If you're looking for a cheap sharp knife and can get past that they aren't full tang high quality chef knives then these are for you.Side note, I have the old henckles 4 star? 3 star or less quality wooden handle knives that came with the wooden storage block, these will not all fit in it. The 8" chef knives blade is taller, and the bread knife did not fit into the old 8" utility knife holder. So, if you have an existing knife block these might not fit.I don't have the cash for a $300.00 plus knife set so this is perfect for me.

This is the second set of these knives that I've purchased. Got these for my summer home. I love to cook and these knives were one of those "where have you been all my life" kind of purchases after reading an equipment review in Cooks Illustrated a few years ago. These come razor sharp so be warned. I was astounded how good these are, albeit a bit thin when compared to my other knives which tend to be German Wusthof knives. Those knives are more appropriate if you want to cut a butternut squash or pumpkin in half. So, as with many of my kitchen tools they have their place but they have become what I reach for when I have everyday slicing and dicing chores. And the Fibrox (whatever that is?) handles have much better "grip" than my German knives whose handles tend to be rather "slick". The Germans should adopt something similar for their knives!If you use them as I do, you will want to get a good sharpener. Be aware that they have the 15 degree Asian edge (my German steel knives tend to have the 20 degree blades) so I got the Chefs Choice Diamond Hone 463 Asian sharpener that will quickly restore the razor sharpness.I must also say that their price when compared to the German knives is amazing. This set's price is about what I spent for one of the German 10 inch chefs knife.