VictorinoxSwiss Army 5.2063.20-X14 Fibrox Chef's Knife Black 8 in

I liked the Victorinox chef knife instantly because it feels remarkably similar to my old Chicago Cutlery chef knife which unfortunately is no longer made to the same standards. I like the Victorinox lightweight (165gm), the weight distribution, and the non-slip handle. It feels like a natural extension of my hand.The knife is mostly used on medium to soft produce like potatoes, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. The knife weight and balance inspire confidence which allows me to process a pile of vegetables quickly. I have a block full of knives but tend to use only chef a knife or a bread knife. The Victorinox chef knife has become my go-to slicer and dicer for daily food preparation. However, on those rare occasions when processing extremely hard vegetables like some large beets and Kabocha squash I do feel more confident using a knife with a little more weight for better control. So, I switch to my Mercer Genesis chef knife when needing to force a wedge through a tough exterior with two hands.The Victorinox blade holds up well. I sharpened the blade edge to an angle of 15 degrees with a roller sharpener. After each use, I realign the edge with a couple of swipes on a honing steel and slide the knife back into the knife block. It is always sharp and ready for the next assignment.

I’m not a professional chef, so take my statement with a grain of salt. I am, however, an obsessive researcher. So before dropping the $40-ish on this knife, I spent way more time than I should have, doing my due diligence on this purchase.First off, this knife is replacing a Farberware Edgekeeper 8-Inch Forged Triple Riveted Chef Knife in High Carbon-Stainless Steel. In the picture I posted, you see both knives side by side, the Farberware on the left, the Victorinox on the right. That Farberware runs less than $20 on here, or in stores. And to be honest, it feels like a sub twenty-dollar knife. When compared to this Victorinox knife, however, it feels like there’s more than a twenty-to-thirty-dollar difference.The Victorinox came highly recommended by America’s Test Kitchen, which, in all honesty, was enough for me to pull the trigger on it, but my compulsive nature had me go down the rabbit hole of even more reviews, message boards, Reddit, YouTube etc.The Victorinox is lighter, coming in at 5.7oz to Farberware’s 6.8oz. The spine on the Farberware is thicker, but not by much, at a little over 1/16th inch, where the Victorinox looks to be right at 1/16th inch. While the Farberware is a forged steel, and thicker and heavier, it also has more flex and bend to it, which is surprising.I have larger than average hands for a man, and the Victorinox feels better in my hand than the Farberware does. It’s also much easier to wield, possibly due to balance and weight, but also due to the edge. The shape of this knife also means that when I use it, even with my big hands and banana fingers, I can chop straight down, and my knuckles won’t hit the cutting board, whereas they will on the Farberware.I watched a video of Gordon Ramsey dicing an onion, and then did what the video showed. With the Farberware, even though it was sharp enough to shave the hair from my arms (this is not an exaggeration, I have the Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition powered belt sharpener, it will make a butter knife sharp enough to shave with), it was not as low effort to dice an onion as Chef Ramsey made it out to be, and that extra effort means pushing the knife through the onion, needing to make wider cuts, and an overall messier experience. I won’t say the Victorinox was as smooth as Chef Ramsey is, but it was MUCH closer to that level of low effort, slicing through the onion without having to exert much force at all, making very clean, close together slices.The Victorinox came out of the box exceptionally sharp. In the two and a half months I’ve been using it, I’ve yet to sharpen it at all, and it still feels the same as it did right out of the box. The Farberware was not sharp when I bought it, and I have to sharpen it every couple of weeks to keep it usable.The Victorinox knife also claims to be dishwasher safe. I don’t know, I don’t own a dishwasher. But I also wouldn’t put it through the dishwasher if I did have one. I just wipe the knife as I use it, and then give it a gentle soapy hand wash and rinse, hand dry it and hang it up on the magnetic knife thingy. It doesn’t take that much effort and the knife doesn’t sit wet (or moist) for a while and increase the likelihood of rust forming.I will add a caveat to my overall buy-it-now review. My girlfriend doesn’t like this knife. Her dislike of this stems mostly from its size, though, this is a pretty big knife. She prefers a much cheaper, Kiwi brand knife we also have, because she feels it is easier to use, due to its shape and overall size.If you need a new chef’s knife, or just don’t love the one you have, or, if you haven’t ever tried this knife, and think chefs on TV effortlessly slicing through fibrous vegetables like a hot knife through butter isn’t realistic, get this knife, and prepare to be shocked.*I bought this knife with my own, hardly earned money. I wasn’t compensated in any way for this review. HOWEVER, if, say Victorinox, wanted to send me one of everything they make, I wouldn’t complain.

For the money, you can't beat this knife. I have other knives that cost many times more, but this knife is just as good. I use a steel before I use it and it's always sharp -- even cutting something like a tomato.If you're on the fence, and need a good, sharp chef's knife, buy it!

After watching American Test Kitchen using the same chef knife and calling it old faithful. I had to purchase, plus a local butcher in Chino California sell Victorinox brand.This is my own opinion and I am not compensated in any way.I have really no comparison to make because I always bought the inexpensive block set.That being said you will have to take the words of other reviewers.Maybe down the road I could do an update.

Feels balanced in the hand, it was sharp, and it seems to be very good quality. It was recommended by the Test Kitchen

I shopped for a knife for a long time. Finally took a chance on this one. Have had it a couple weeks , and so far I love it. I would give it 5 stars, but waiting to see how long the edge holds! Great knife, easy to handle!

Knife arrived razor sharp. Easily sliced vegetables and cuts of meat like butter. Well balanced for effective cutting and dicing. Will buy more of this brand in other sizes. Really an amazing knife.

I bought two of these knifes about 3 years apart from each other. Good used to them and I love the grip and the fact that they stay sharp for a long time! Totally recommend!