Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife
by Victorinox
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List Price: Our Price: $24.95 You Save: $15.05 (38%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $17.99 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife
Customer Review: Do not expect a "cheap" knife
Summary: 5 Stars
My requirements of a knife is simple...it needs to be able to cut things. Until recently, my view on knives were that you can pay around $100 for a decent knife that will cut better or just saw through the item with what you have. There wasn't enough of a jump in quality for the price to me...so I did a lot of sawing. Well, that has all changed now after finding this brand that has actually proved to exceed the quality of those low end Henckels or other knives I've tried in the $100 range (or even my friend Joe's Japanese folded steal one that that is priced in the $400 range). It may not be a knife capable of cutting down a tree with a single swoop, but it will very likely impress you...or at least make you begrudge the several multiples more you spent on your only very slightly better knife.
I started with the 8" chef knife, and based on the quality have since purchased 3 other products from this line (7" Santoku, 5" Chef, and a 3 piece set). All of the knives arrived "scary" sharp and have maintained a solid cutting edge after a few months of use. I use a sharping steel after every few uses, and try to get them cleaned and dried quickly after each use (although I often fail in that task, sometimes leaving them overnight before getting to the cleanup). The fibrox handle is quite functional, but some could find it possibly too light for the larger blades and maybe a bit cheap if used to or expecting a rosewood handle type of feel. I do not have any complaints, the weight and feel work for me (especially at the under $30 price point).
I most often reach for the 7" Santoku, and then the 5" chef if the Santoku is dirty or in use. I usually reserve the 8" Chef for bigger jobs now, since I find it is often more knife than I need for our daily cooking (butternut squash, cabbage, and trimming chicken breasts would be the only tasks I'd prefer it to a smaller blade so far). It is versatile enough to chop just about anything, but I'd likely start with something smaller than this if it was my first knife (I'd hesitate to say the Santoku if it is your only knife purchase just because the shape is only really better suited for quick chopping vegetables...maybe a 7.5" or 6" Chef although I have not yet used either blade yet). Based on the 6 knives I have tried from Victorinox with the fibrox handles, I'd easily recommend them to anyone...the question is which one will suit your needs best. You'll be hard pressed to be disappointed at this value.
Customer Review: Another glowing review
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this knife. For starters, Forschner made the very smart move to grind it properly in the first place so that when it arrived, it was hair-shaving sharp right out of the box. Good first impression. I loved the feel of the handle and the wide blade -- both good for someone with big hands.
But before writing this review, I wanted to wait for the blade to dull and then resharpen it, to get an idea of its edge retention. So I waited. And waited. (Note that I am not a professional cook, but I am a serious home cook who makes almost everything from scratch and routinely throws multiple-course dinner parties for 10-20+ guests.) About 4 months later, with only occasional stropping as blade maintenance, I noticed the slightest drop in performance -- the blade still shaved hair, but needed more passes to clear a patch. So I busted out the whetstones and got an arguably sharper-than-the-factory edge with only minor effort and my quite meager sharpening skills. This is without reshaping the edge or taking down the fairly conservative factory angle.
Now here I am to write the review. This knife is fantastic. The only complaint i could begin to muster is that it looks like a cheap knife. If i could, i would give it a 4.9 star review on that basis. But as I prize function and value over form, it's certainly no biggie.
I actually prefer the forschner to my old roommate's Henckles (though certainly not to his Hiromoto gyuto - that thing was a lightsaber). But comparisons to high-end knives are beside the point. Compare this knife to any other $20 piece-of-junk knife I've seen and used in kitchens. The difference in blade quality is downright hilarious, forged or not. Heck, compare this knife to anything whatsoever in your kitchen that you paid $20-$25 for. In terms of bang for the buck, I have not seen a better deal available in kitchenware.
Edit: One other minor drawback of this knife that I only remembered after posting the review --
The knife doesn't come with a sheath, even a cheap cardboard one. And it's too wide to fit into most wooden knife blocks (the width is a good thing otherwise). Making your own sheath isn't hard at all, but I would advise people to either do that or get a magnetic knife strip rather than let it bang around in your drawers uncovered. A blade this nice deserves better.
Customer Review: Incredible value for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a professional chef, but I know my way around a kitchen. One thing I never stint on is knives. Cheap knives are a waste of time--good knives are a joy forever. By "cheap" I mean badly crafted knives, not inexpensive knives, because it's always possible to find a moderately-priced knives that outperforms knives double or triple the price.
This is one of those knives.
I haven't been able to determine whether this knife is forged or stamped. The price makes me think it must be stamped, but the Victorinox site implies it's forged. No matter--either way, this is a fantastic knife.
It weighs a bit less than my Calphalon 8" chef's knife, and while I don't think the Calphalon is too heavy--many people do--I find that the Fibrox knife just feels better over the long haul--easier to manuever and control. It doesn't have a traditional bolster (another reason I wonder if it was stamped) but I find that it makes little or no difference--it's so well-balanced that gripping the front of the handle is perfectly adequate for control. (And you know what? The fibrox handle is very, very comfortable.)
Sharp? Yes, very. The reviewer who found hers to be dull must have had a knife that was damaged in some way, or somehow got past quality control, because out of the box this knife was exceeded in sharpness only by my Shun santoku.
Over the last two days, I've used this knife to trim and cube chuck steak and Boston butt, chop kale, slice chorizo, and dice roasted red peppers. I used it to carve our turkey at Thanksgiving, and it's equally at home doing a chiffonade of basil or dicing carrots. At this price, I'm likely to buy duplicates to keep both at my parent's and in-law's houses for when I cook there, because it's rapidly becoming the knife I can't work without in the kitchen.
Yes, I paid more for that santoku, but I think I like this knife better.
Customer Review: Awesome Chef's Knife. 6 stars!
Summary: 5 Stars
This came in a set I bought from [...] (looking for discount cutlery or kitchen stuff? Shop here).
First off, I am very impressed with the knife's quality. These are made by Victorinox (who also make Swiss Army Knives). The fit and finish are on par with knives costing two or three times as much. The blade is nicely polished, and razor sharp out of the box. I ususally sharpen new knives to make them really sharp, but not this one! The price is ridiculously low for such a great knife. Henckels, Wusthof, Mundial, Shun, and other knife-makers need to learn a thing or two from Forschner about making a low-cost, but high-quality knife.
This is a stamped knive, so it isn't as heavy and balanced differently than a forged knife, but Victorinox have done a great job of weighting the blade and tweaking the balance point. I've used forged chefs knives for a while, and stamped knives (Henckels, Cutco's, Kershaw's), but the Forschner equals the forged and surpasses the stamped. The thin blade makes it easy to glide through food, and the thin kerf makes precision cuts possible.
The Fibrox handle is amazing. It's non-slip, even when my hands were wet and slippery, fits the hand well, and seems to be about indestructable. My POM-handled knives (Cutco, Henckels) have all cracked or been scratched up. The comfortable, non-slip handle, lightweight blade, and razor-sharp edge makes the knife easy to control, but watch your fingers when using it. This knife is so sharp, it will cut you before you have a chance to say "ouch!"
My verdict? If you aren't picky about how your knife looks but want a great-performing knife without spending $80-100 on another brand, give Forschner's Fibrox a close look. I think this will be the last chef's knife I'll ever buy!
Customer Review: Fantastic Value!
Summary: 5 Stars
Looking for decent knives to replace an inefficient knife set that was given to me years ago, I started with this Forschner Victorinox Fibrox 8" Chef's knife (model # 40520) based on the high recommendations from Cook's Illustrated. At first I was turned off by it's appearance, preferring the look of wooden, riveted handles, but I decided that function was more important than looks and gave it a try.
I am blown away! I have owned this knife for over a year now and it still seems as sharp as the day I bought it, yet I have never done anything more than use a conditioning (sharpening) steel on it every few uses. It's light and well-balanced... an exceptional value!
I then bought a Forschner Victorinox Fibrox Paring knife, a 10" Slicer, the Conditioning Steel, and just to fill in my old knife block, a 7" Serrated Edge Chef's knife and a Boning knife (same brand). I love each and every one of these tools and highly recommend this brand, especially the 8" Chef's knife!
It is extrememly satisfying to find such incredible tools at such a reasonable price; restoring hope that there are still people/corporations in the world that understand it is possible to be successful by giving consumers a superior product at reasonable price.
p.s. This exact knife (model # 40520) can be confusing to find with Amazon's search engine. Several other model numbers also appear in the search results... some listing the model number in the description, while others can be found only by enlarging the picture. Also, I have had good experiences with Allsparestools.com, including their return policy/function, and their current pricing of this knife is considerably cheaper than other websites.