Recommendation for 3 1/2" paring knife

[Tdog]

I've been using my old Victorinox 3.25" parer's for many years. Got a deal on a dozen about 10 years ago. Through the years, they've broken tips, melted on stove and walked away / :D They don't hold their edge well and I'm looking to upgrade. Thought's, recommendations, on comfortable, good slicers that will hold an edge? Thanks

[Mad Mac]

My Spyderco Mini Paring Knife gets more "edge time" than any knife I own. 2-1/4 inches.

[Tdog]

Thanks MM, I have both the K05 and the K09 which is a true scalpel. Fantastic for cleaning strawberries, citrus and garnishes. Looking for something between these two. Must be a good slicer. Been looking at Shun, Global, Mercer, F Dick, Dragon, and others.
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[The Deacon]

If you like the feel of the K05, you could get another one and cut it down to 3.5".

[Tdog]

Thanks Paul, guess I could do that, I've reground several of my old Victorinox parer's. Made them into wharnie's when the tips got broken off by my wife and kids. In cutting the K05 down, the handle wouldn't be proportionate to the blade. It would work, but I'd just rather get a decent production parer. The MBS has a great balance of edge, retention, and ease of maintenance. My kids (now adults) use their K05's more than any of their other knives. I got them sharpmaker's but it seems I have to sharpen them when we get together. Hope you're not getting hit hard by Flo in your area. Be well.

[awa54]

http://www.wusthof.com/products/gourmet ... ring-knife

This is what I've settled on after trying *many* others... holds an edge better than "basics" like the Victorinox/Forschner Fibrox series (still great knives!), it's far less expensive than Japanese knives with better steels, it's still a low maintenance knife (though the aluminum handle rivets make it a poor candidate for dishwasher cleanup) with a stainless blade and durable waterproof handle and very importantly to me, it doesn't have an overly heavy forged/bolstered blade like so many other higher end European knives (and the cheap junk copies trying to look like them). I also prefer this sort of blade pattern with an acute symmetrical tip.

Edge retention is on a par with other mid to high end Euro kitchen knives, which is to say; it's OK and easy to refresh the edge, so works fine for kitchen use... no better than good AUS8 IMO.

Seems like $18 is the going rate, I paid a bit more ($25 IIRC?) and have felt is was enough better than the $10 and under crowd to justify the added expense. I still use my white steel 4" petty when I have time to spend on keeping the blade clean and dry between chores, but the Wusthof sees *much* more use and performs nearly as well for most tasks.

Of course YMMV

[Tdog]

After spending a couple hours (yes my wife thinks I'm crazy) looking at paring knives I've narrowed it down to 3. F. Dick 1905, Mercer Genesis, and Yaxell Mon. I've shopped and found the best prices on each and the Mercer is less than 1/2 the cost of the other two. Leaning towards the Yaxell, but I've had an F. Dick steel for years and it works really well, very quick for touch-up when cleaning a bunch'o fish. With a sheath I could also probably use the F. Dick as a B&T. Could buy a couple Mercer's and have a few bucks left. Anyone own one of these paring knives? Thx

[Tdog]

As a follow-up to this thread, I ended up getting the F. Dick parer. Nice knife, gets very sharp easily, and holds it's edge pretty well. I'm a sucker for B&T's and the F. Dick blade shape really has very nice lines. Just enough heft to the knife. Throw in a sheath and it becomes a nice little B&T.

[anagarika]

Is the F Dick the one in the middle?

Some experienced sharpeners over BF (I learned from them :) ) have very good things to say about F Dick. Glad you found something you like. My wife still enjoys her Victorinox paring and refuses anything else, the colorful plastic handle feels really great in hand.

Can I ask if during your research you found any info on Jamie Oliver’s kitchen knife series? I can’t find any info on the steel, except it’s Japanese. Local Supermarket chain is offering as loyalty program (steep discount if enough coupons are collected). They look similar (but different) to the one listed on Amazon, and also here they’re offered individually. Something like this but less fancy (smaller bolsters): https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Knives-Block ... B001U0O1CC