Victorinox Fibrox Chef's Knife, 5-Inch, Black

I was on a Victorinox knife bender, and bought a bunch of different Victorinox knives, including 10", 8", 6" and 5" chef's knives, boning, bucher, bar, paring, and other styles. Actually, out of all the sizes and styles I purchased, my favorite Victorinox is this 5" chef's knife. It's actually more like a slightly larger prep knife, or paring knife... which it works great as. However, my goto use for the 5" chef's knife is a steak knife. It is by far the best steak knife I use. Pros: It's has a bigger handle allowing for a solid grip, it's non-serrated so the meat has clean cuts, the knife blade is larger and very sharp so it can cut very thick steaks easily, and it keeps a sharp edge well. Also, being a bit larger blade, honing and sharpening is easier. The only con I can think of is that it's somewhat expensive for a steak knife. However, if you can catch it on sale for $15 or so, it's well worth it especially if you love steaks. That said, it's also a good size for a utility, prep, or large paring knife. At that price you should get a few since it does have multi-uses.

This has become my "go to" knife. It sharpens well and stays sharp; it can handle doing very thin slices, or heavy cutting. It feels good in the hand, it is NSF rated, and the handle's texture keeps it from becoming slippery. It is everything my 8 inch chef's knife is, in a smaller package.

***About Victorinox Knives in General*** For those who are completely new to the Victorinox (formerly Forschner) brand of knives, it's like this: These knives are NOT super high-end knives intended to impress cutlery snobs. They're workhorses that perform nearly as well as - and, depending on the knife - as well or better than high-end forged instruments costing three times as much. No joke. Q: Will they look as good as my super expensive Japanese or German knives? A: No. They will not. They're really simple-looking. Some might even say that they look crappy. Your high-end Japanese or German cutlery will absolutely shame Victorinox Forschner knives in terms of appearance. Q: Will they perform as well as my super expensive Japanese or German knives? A: Maybe. If not, it will be a very close race. Think 80%-100% of the performance at 30% of the cost. Additionally, the Victorinox knives - because they're not forged - are very light. (My mom has arthritis and I got her a bunch of Victorinox knives after trying them myself. She LOVES them, and experiences much less fatigue than she did with her previous knives, which were 15 year-old Henckels.) Q: Will they perform better than my KitchenAid, Cuisinart, or other knives that came in a set costing $30-$100? A: Those knives will run in terror from Victorinox Forschner knives. You will find yourself using far less muscle when slicing things with Victorinox Forschner knives, if you're used to a crappy $50 box set. Q: What's the deal with the handle? Fibrox? What's that? A: Fibrox is Victorinox' name for a specially-textured handle material, which I'm pretty sure is just a proprietary plastic compound. This is going to sound weird, but Fibrox kind of has the texture of a cat's tongue... meaning it's a little rough. The weird thing about Fibrox - and the one reason - aside from durability and cutting performance - that so many line cooks rely on these, is the fact that they do NOT become slippery when the knife or your hands are damp. (Again, my aging mom loves that about these knives. She routinely cuts with wet hands, so she feels that these are safer than her Henckels.) Q: So... what's the difference between the Victorinox Fibrox knives and the Victorinox Swiss Classic knives? A: The only difference is the handle; the blades are identical, from what I've seen. (I have Fibrox-handled knives, and we bought my mother-in-law Swiss Classics.) I recommend Fibrox, to be honest. The Swiss Classic handles are good, but they are not quite as grippy-when-wet as the Fibrox knives, so I like the Fibrox ones for the extra margin of safety. That said, you'll find that the Swiss Classic knives are more likely to come as a set, which can save you a little money over buying individually. Q: What about durability? Some people are saying they don't hold an edge. A: In my own experience, they hold an edge commendably well. Put it this way: My wife and I cook dinner 4-5 times per week, and on top of that, these knives also get the brunt of our general, daily use (cutting bread, etc.). We mainly spread this workload across just *three* Victorinox Fibrox knives, and we've had these knives for just under a year. During that time, I've had to run them over a honing steel (also a Victorinox item) just twice, and after honing, they are good as new. I'm sure that eventually, they'll need professional sharpening, but it's been almost a year, and I can imagine going another year before they really need professional work... and even then, they might be okay with just a honing steel. ***About THIS Knife*** Okay, so *this* knife is a bit odd. It has a full-sized handle (pretty much the same as the rest of the Fibrox line), but the blade is a chef's knife blade that looks like it got hit with a shrink ray. To be perfectly honest, I find that this knife gets WAY more use than our chef's knife; it seems like for 70% of kitchen tasks, this is *just enough* knife. Actually, I really like it's middle-of-the-road size, and I HIGHLY recommend it as a first Victorinox knife, for someone who just wants to "see what's so great about" them. In a sense, it's a "gateway" knife. You can get a feel for the brand, their handles, and their blades, and then make your future buying decisions with your experience in mind... and if you hate it... then it's not like you're out a ton of money.

This 5” Chef’s knife fits a niche that’s between a full sized Chef’s knife, a Butcher’s knife and a general purpose knife or medium paring knife. The knife is lite and has great balance on two fingers just behind the finger guard. The handle provides excellent grip wet or dry. The blade is thin but not flexible which aids it to slice without much effort or resistance. It’s incredibly sharp and very easy to touch up the cutting edge by any honing technique. The price point is right and it’s going to last.

I recently purchased the **Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 5-Inch Chef's** and I am thoroughly impressed. This knife is a perfect blend of **quality, convenience, and affordability**. The **5-inch blade** is the perfect size for a variety of kitchen tasks, yet compact enough for travel. The knife is **lightweight** and easy to handle, making it a great choice for those who need a reliable knife on the go. The **quality** of this knife is evident in its sharpness and durability. It cuts through food with ease, making meal preparation quicker and more efficient. Despite its compact size, it performs just as well as its larger counterparts. One of the standout features of this knife is its **portability**. It's easy to pack in a travel bag or even a picnic basket. This makes it an excellent choice for camping trips, picnics, or any situation where you might need a good knife outside of your kitchen. In conclusion, the Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 5-Inch Chef's is a **great purchase**. It's affordable, high-quality, and portable, making it a valuable addition to any kitchen or travel kit.

The only reason that this didn't get 5 Stars is because the handle is at a really odd angle to the blade which makes this knife impossible for me to mince or chop with. Pros: Sharp out of the box Easily touched up Good edge holding Easy to clean Comfortable grip Fantastic Price Cons: Really odd blade angle Handle prevents using for mincing or chopping as my (large and hairy) knuckles get in the way

My video shows the 5-inch blade chef knife peeling and cutting a ripe tomato. The blade is very sharp and the size allows it to cover paring and chopping chores. The blade-to-handle angle makes is very easy to do chopping tasks and the knife is light weight enough to use for many tasks without getting tired. The blade steel is good quality and the knife is easy to clean. I use it to prepare veggies, fruit, and meat. Easily peels and slices large apples. Currently my favorite kitchen knife.

This thing is a weird size...it has what's nearly a full-size handle (as in one on an 8" knife). That is probably good thing so that your hands continue the memory from knife to knife if you have several of these great Victorinox knives with the Fibrox handles. We haven't used it much so far, but it is great for tasks other than slicing/chopping, such as cleaning up large vegetables (cutting/slicing bad spots/etc.), getting fat and silver skin off of raw meats and scraping/trimming large roasts from excess fat when cooked. This would also make a great trim knife for trimming cut meats, vegetables/fruits, especially when creating garnishes. Overall, a fair value. **UPDATED** After using this sweet little knife for 4 BBQ Competitions, a huge wedding cater and a great deal around the house, it IS my go-to knife for 90% of meat trimming, small vegetable tasks and most anything. It's always in my hand. I love it to trim pork butts, ribs (St Louis style) and fine-trimming of brisket for BBQ competitions. It is easy to maintain a razor-sharp edge and is an absolute pleasure to use when trimming pork butts. Precision trimming is almost too easy with this thing. You can easily knock off some too-thick parts of the ribs, clean up any of the leftover brisket meat on the bone side of the ribs and get as accurate as you want on brisket trimming after knocking the huge chunks of fat off. Don't get me wrong, I still love an 8" chef's knife for general vegetable work. But this knife is very nice. Someone at Victorinox hit the hammer on the head with this design. Yes, I would and am going to buy again.