Review on Victorinox Fibrox Pro 5-Inch Chef's Knife: Precision and Performance by Patrice Lippmann

***About Victorinox knives in general***For those who are totally new to the Victorinox (formerly Forschner) knife brand, here's what: These knives are NOT super high-end knives, designed to impress cutlery snobs. These are workhorses that perform almost as well - and depending on the knife - as well or even better than high quality forged tools that cost three times as much. In earnest. Q: Will they look as good as my super expensive Japanese or German knives? Oh no. will not. They look really easy. Some would even say they look lousy. Your high-quality Japanese or German cutlery puts Victorinox Forschner knives in the shade. Q: Do they work as well as my super expensive Japanese or German knives? O: Possibly. If not, it will be a very close race. Imagine 80% to 100% performance at 30% cost. In addition, since Victorinox knives are not forged, they are very light. (My mom has arthritis and I bought her some Victorinox knives after trying them myself. She LOVES them and is far less tiring than her previous knives which were 15 year old Henckels.) Question: Will they work? better than my KitchenAid, Cuisinart, or other knives that came in a set for $30-$100? Answer: These knives are terrified of Victorinox Forschner knives. You'll find that you'll use a lot less muscle cutting with Victorinox Forschner knives once you're used to a crappy $50 set. Q: What's wrong with the pen? fibrox? What is that? A: Fibrox is Victorinox's name for a specially textured grip material that I'm pretty sure is a proprietary plastic compound. It will sound strange, but Fibrox has the texture of a cat's tongue. that means it's a little rough. The weird thing about Fibrox - and the only reason - other than durability and cutting ability - that so many cooks rely on them is that they do NOT get slippery when the knife or your hands are wet. (Again, my aging mother loves these knives. She usually cuts with wet hands, so she thinks they're safer than her Henckels.) Q: So. What is the difference between Victorinox Fibrox knives and Victorinox Swiss Classic knives? A: The only difference is in the handle; The blades are identical from what I've seen. (I have knives with Fibrox handles and we bought my mother-in-law Swiss Classics.) Honestly, I recommend Fibrox. The Swiss Classic handles are good but not as grippy as Fibrox knives when wet, so I like Fibrox knives for the extra margin of safety. However, you will find that Swiss Classic knives are most likely sold as a set, which can save you some money compared to buying them individually. Q: What about durability? Some people say they don't hold the edge. A: In my own experience, they hold the lead commendably well. Let's put it this way: My wife and I cook dinner 4-5 times a week, and on top of that, our daily main work (cutting bread etc.) falls on these knives. We basically split that workload across just *three* Victorinox Fibrox knives, and we've had these knives for just under a year. In that time I have only had to run them through the honing machine (also a Victorinox product) twice and after honing they are as good as new. I'm sure they will need a professional sharpening at some point, but it has been almost a year and I imagine it will be another year before they actually need professional work. and even then they might be fine with a simple sharpening steel. ***About THIS knife*** Okay, so *this* knife is a little weird. It has a full-length handle (almost the same as the rest of the Fibrox line), but the blade is a chef's knife blade that looks like it's been hit by a shrink ray. To be honest I think this knife gets MUCH more use than our chef's knife; It seems that this knife is *enough* for 70% of kitchen tasks. In fact, I really like its medium size and I would highly recommend it as a first Victorinox knife for those who just want to "see what's great about them". In a sense, this is a "gate" knife. You can get a feel for the brand, their pens and blades and then make future purchasing decisions based on your experience. And if you hate, it's not like you don't have a lot of money.