A Knife for Toots

[Porthos]

I can not speak to the comparative quality between Wustfof and Victornox but I do have a slightly more general observation.

My leaning in knives is towards Victornox. I have never owned a Wustfof but that is because I am a rather cheap guy when it comes to many things for the kitchen. I figure that if Victornox knives are found in the knife drawers of line cooks in "good" restaurants then I will go with that. Back in '83 my sweet wife bought a 10" knife from a maker I have never heard of since, Mighty Oak, but 30 years later it is still my workhorse knife, even in deference to my Spanish Henckels.

[Shel_B]

I bought my first Victorinox from my butcher (Leonardo de Meatci, Butcher to the Gods - AKA Lenny's Quality Meats) in 1971. The shop, which had a staff of about six or seven butchers, used primarily Victorinox, and one of the guys there had a little side business selling and sharpening the knives. I still have that first one, and cherish it. In fact, it was the first "quality" knife I ever owned, and probably was the first knife I ever bought. A bunch of egotistical butchers and forty years can't be too wrong.

Over the years I have added Wusthof, one or two Henckels, and a couple more Victorinox to the knife block. I am happy with all of them. For each task that I wanted a knife, I made a choice based, not on brand, but suitability to purpose and how easy or comfortable the knife was to handle.

[Mjx]

I'd second the Fibrox, mentioned above. We have the 8" chef's knife, and although my hands are quite small (a bit short of 6.5" from the base of the palm to the tip of the middle finger), I have no problem with either the size or weight. It was recommended in Cooks Illustrated, and although I had intial reservations about the plastic handle, the price was low enough that is seemed worth a go, just to satisfy my curiosity. The handle is actually very comfortable in the hand, the blade holds its edge well, and all in all, I'm really happy with it.

[Ashen]

I see that wiltshire doesn't seem to be sold in the USA but will still put it out there for anyone else that ends up looking through this thread for ideas.

I would recommend a wiltshire steel contour cooks knife.

it looks like the third knife down on this link.

http://www.wiltshire-online.com/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&cPath=62_63_70&products_id=629

My wife has very small hands, and loves it because it is light, has a fine edge, has no bolster and a comfortable handle. very affordable.. I think we picked ours up 5 yrs ago for under 10$ .

It takes a good edge and holds it reasonably well.

If I am not using my shuns , it is the one I will grab ahead of the medium range henckel we were given as a wedding present.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Ashen (log)