Which knife do you pick up first when you start cooking? Probably it’s the paring knife, because you start with the basic things like trimming the bad spot out of the potato. What’s the worst knife most people own? The same one. Paring knives are cheap and many people don’t think about upgrading.
A good paring knife makes the prep go so much easier and faster that buying a good paring knife should be basic. Look for a blade with a common sense shape — the spear point with a straight plain edge is already familiar to most hands and for everyday tasks does the best work. Straight edges peel accurately and the plain edge — without serrations — is easily controlled and leaves a smooth surface behind.
Large handles help. The fingers wrapped around the handle orient the blade to follow tricky curves — closing the grip moves the knife through the work. If the knife has enough handle to provide torque, your hand doesn’t get nearly so tired.
Most of the time the cutting edge of the knife faces your thumb — this is one instance when serrated edges and magically sharp ceramic blades aren’t the best choice. An old-fashioned taper ground bevel won’t be so likely to split your thumb open if you squeeze a little harder than usual.
Since many of us use paring knives wherever we need a short blade and lots of leverage, strength helps. Ceramic blades aren’t good for that, but stamped or forged blades can take the stress.
One of the best for the budget conscious cook is the Victorinox 3″ Paring Knife by R.H. Forschner.
A good choice that’s heavier and almost bullet-proof (for those who use paring knives for nearly everything) is the Wusthof Classic 3.5 inch Paring Knife.
And for those who dream of good knives there’s our choice for “Best Paring Knife” — the Shun Classic 3 inch Knife. Expensive, but the best of both worlds — the sharpness of high end modern steel combined with the strength of traditional damascus layering. The handle hasn’t been ergonomically redesigned (it was already right).
If you're the sort of chef who loves a beautiful knife but also wants a knife to use, you'll find them both in one knife when you buy the Shun Bob Kramer Pro paring knife. Beautiful enough to display, the Kramer Pro was also made for work.
Bob Kramer, a ...
If you like hand-forged knives, the Shun Premier 4-Inch Paring Knife will catch your eye and work better than most custom forged knives. Still using the best of Shun's high-tech methods, the Premier series added a hand-hammered tsuchime finish to the blade and won Blade Magazine's award for 2010 Kitchen ...
The Miyabi 600-S Vegetable Knife or Kudamono pares and preps vegetables and fruits. That sounds like a paring knife to me, but the Miyabi Morimoto vegetable knife actually tries to be something more.
Forged with a full bolster and full tang, the 3-1/2 inch kudamono knife uses the riveted black polymer handle ...
The Shotoh knife from the Miyabi Morimoto Edition of the 600-S series fits neatly between the paring knife and the utility knife with a slender point and fine edge well designed for wide paring tasks and delicate piercing work. The Morimoto Edition knife combines a Japanese style of blade with ...
Now and then it's nice to just get a good deal, and the Boker Arbolito Peeling Knife qualifies. The construction is simple, and the materials are of good quality.
Bird's Beak paring knives play a part in complex sculpting of fruits and vegetables but also make working with convoluted produce easier ...
For one of the best values in good kitchen cutlery, consider the three-piece Paring Knife Set from R.H. Forschner Victorinox of Switzerland. These knives couldn't be simpler, but Victorinox provides everything you need in a good paring knife at one of the lowest prices you'll find.
There's very little ...
This set of three 4-inch Spear Point Paring Knives from Mundial could be one of the best deals you find this year. These professional-grade knives meet NSF sanitary standards, are light and comfortable to use, and should fit into anyone's budget.
If you're like me, paring knives disappear ...
The Henckels Twin Signature 3-Inch Kudamono Hollow Edge Paring Knife adds the hollows of a santoku to a thin, sheepsfoot-style blade. This would be a great paring knife even without the hollows.
Made from laser-cut high carbon stainless steel, the Henckels Kudamono fills out the full tang handle with slabs of ...
The Henckels Twin Pro S 3-Inch Paring Knife with serrated cutting edge should be teamed up with a good plain-edged paring knife, but there definitely are kitchen tasks where the serrated blade excels. Just don't expect peeling cuts to be smooth and flawless when clawed by this little beast.
Where you ...
The Wusthof Ikon Blackwood Paring Knife shows definite improvements compared to Wusthof's older styles, but one thing that hasn't changed is the steel.
This full tang knife with forged bolsters at the blade base and the butt of the handle makes an already strong design even stronger. Perfectly fitted handle slabs ...
This four-inch Shun Paring Knife is the all-steel version of one of the best paring knives available today. While the D-shaped handle may seem a little slick to some, it completely eliminates worries about crevices where bacteria could hide and gives the knife an unmistakably clean look. The four-inch blade ...
The Birds Beak Paring Knife from Shun handles difficult tasks many chefs don't find essential. If your cooking includes sculpted fruits and vegetables, exotics like Bride's Tears potatoes, or even the common ginger root, you'll find the Shun Birds Beak Paring Knife very handy.
Peelers are built for straight and ...
The Henckels Gourmet 3-Piece Starter Set of three high carbon stainless steel knives pares back the complications of J.A. Henckels manufacturing to the bare minimum but still provides three very useful blades of good quality. The alloy steel matches Henckels' usual standards, but construction methods are much simpler ...
This Asian santoku and paring knife set comes from the Wusthof Classic series of hand-forged cutlery. The Classic Santoku combines traditional German craftsmanship with the light and efficient santoku pattern from Japan. Use the seven-inch santoku for fine slicing of vegetables and meats and the three-inch paring ...
This bird's beak paring knife from J.A. Henckels features the same rugged slab handle build and full tang high carbon stainless steel as the larger knives in the Henckels line. The bird's beak has a very specialized function. Designed for curved peeling and shaping of garnishes and fruits, the ...
Paring knives are often the worst knives in a kitchen. We use them for such ordinary tasks that it's easy to ignore this basic rule: a good knife makes the work go faster. Anything that makes peeling a sack of onions (or even just one) faster is a ...
Despite my predisposition to frown on ceramic knives due to their brittleness and the need to be sent back to the factory for sharpening, I really wanted to like this little knife. Unfortunately, it just didn't bring me around.
By virtue of their hardness and structure, ceramic materials can make for ...
Looking at this knife I thought, hmm, that's familiar--and of course it would be, because it's an old design, the "nothing fancy" kind of knife that used to be common, dependable and reasonably priced. The reason I remember it, though, is that my grandmother had one just like it -- ...
I've always liked Global knives. The futuristic look has always appealed to me and they always feel comfortable and well balanced. Additionally, the steel used by Global is significantly better than that used by comparable Western makers like Henckels and Wusthof, so it can take a more acute edge and ...
We've reviewed some pretty impressive paring knives recently. Check out the Shun Paring knife for a gorgeous, if somewhat expensive, top-of-the-line model. Or read up on the Forschner Black Fibrox Paring Knife for a decent budget model.
But, if you want a great balance between performance and ...
If you're going to spend decent money on a knife, make sure it's one that you'll use frequently, feels comfortable in your hand and is made of premium materials.
This Shun Classic Paring knife earns our recommendation as the "Best Paring Knife" by fulfilling those three criteria.
For starters, any paring ...
Forschner makes the best value knives you can find. And this paring knife is no exception.
For five bucks, you get a screaming sharp blade, a comfortable non-slip fibrox grip and an edge that can easily be resharpened.
So, if you're looking for value, don't hesitate -- you won't find any paring ...
The Anolon Advanced Collection 3 1/2-Inch Parer Knife is perfect for many kitchen jobs such as cutting and peeling fruits and vegetables or even trimming and cubing meat.
The blade is crafted from German high-carbon steel, known for it's superior quality and for being resistant to staining and rust.
It has an ergonomic grip ...
This is part of Wusthof's "Gourmet" series. Intended as an entry-level set, this set would be a good start to any aspiring chef's kitchen.
They might not be quite the bargain that Forschner knives are, but they do feature a decent steel blade at a reasonable price.
This knife set features ...
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