Forschner knives are some of our favorite, low-cost knives. They are not the highest-end knives around, but the value they provide is nearly unbeatable.
Many people know that Forschner knives are made by Victorinox — the creators of Swiss Army Knives. What most people don’t know is the origin of the “Forschner” side of the equation.
The Forschner Group was a well-known U.S. Company founded in the late 1800s as The Forschner Butcher Scale Company. Forschner began importing Victorinox knives in 1937 and coined the term “Swiss Army Knives” as a marketing technique. The knives were so successful that, shortly after the end of WWII, Forschner stopped selling butcher scales and focused entirely on knives.
Victorinox became a minority owner in Forschner when Forschner went public in 1981. In 1995, they acquired a larger stake and, in 2002, finally agreed to purchase the remainder. Though Forschner had by then changed its name to “Swiss Army Brands Inc.”, the name Forschner was still a recognizable one in the United States. So, when Victorinox decided to release their first kitchen knife set there in the mid-1990s, the Forschner name was resurrected.
The Forschner Fibrox line is one of Victorinox’s most successful. The series’ low cost coupled with their thin, razor-sharp, lightweight blades make them the favorites of many budget-conscious amateur chefs. Cook’s Illustrated has given the Fibrox set its recommendation many years running.
The Fibrox knives are forged in Solingen, Germany, home to many of the world’s most well-known cutlers. They are then finished and assembled in Ibach, Switzerland, Victorinox’s home for over 100 years.
The blades are made from a high-carbon, molybdenum stainless steel alloy that allows them to retain their edge. They are hardened to 55-56 on the Rockwell C Hardness scale. That allows them to be sharp without being brittle. This is similar to what high-end makers such as Wusthof provides, but at a much lower price point. Higher-end Japanese knives, such as those from Shun, are harder, sharper, and more expensive.
Each bears the distinctive “RH Forschner” stamp on the blade.
The Fibrox handle is a made of a synthetic fiber that resembles molded plastic. It provides a non-slip grip and is very wear resistant. For various reasons, we don’t normally recommend putting sharp knives in the dishwasher, but these handles could certainly stand up to that treatment.
Forschner sells their knives in a variety of different packages. We often recommend purchasing knives individually, since that allows you to pick and choose the best knife for any application. Buying a high-end Japanese Chef’s knife to be the workhorse of the kitchen and then supplementing with less-expensive Forschner Fibrox knives is a great strategy for equipping a gourmet kitchen on a budget.
For those who want the convenience of purchasing a set of knives, Forschner makes a reasonably-priced eight-piece set that contains all of the essential knives a well-equipped kitchen needs. Larger sets are available as well.
Forschner knives can be found at Amazon.com and at many other online vendors. Below you’ll find several reviews we’ve written of individual Forschner knives as well as a few of their sets. You might want to check those out before deciding what to buy.
This cut-resistant UltraShield glove from Victorinox Cutlery protects busy hands from cuts and scrapes while prepping vegetables and meat. It's not body armor, but it does add a safety margin to tricky work, and it's much easier to work in than the usual clumsy "chainmail" cutting glove.
Anyone who does repetitive ...
The Victorinox Ceramic Chef's knife outperforms not just steel knives but many other ceramic knives as well. The Cutlery Allied Trade Research Association tested the new zirconium oxide knives from Victorinox and judged them three times more flexible than other ceramic knives in the test, with a edge that last ...
For occasional sharpening of less expensive knives in the common European pattern, the Victorinox 49000 Firestorm could be a handy kitchen tool. Use a more advanced sharpening system on your best cutlery.
Two sets of ceramic wheels in the sharpener offer two stages of grit -- coarse for the four-wheel tan ...
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 ...
If you've not tried ceramic knives before, be careful when you work with this 4-3/4-inch Ceramic Utility Knife from Victorinox. The edge of the zirconium oxide blade is second only to diamond in hardness and so sharp you'll need some new knife skills.
Victorinox improved their current ceramic blade prep ...
One of three new ceramic knives from Victorinox, this 7-inch santoku's improved design gives the knife three times the flexibility and five times the edge-holding compared to a selection of other modern ceramic blades. Independent testing by the Cutlery Allied Trade Research Association confirms these claims.
The thicker blade of ...
The Forschner Victorinox ten-inch Breaking Knife combines the economical stamped steel blade of Victorinox's Fibrox-handled series with durable and natural handle slabs of beautiful, tropical rosewood. You'll get the practical quality you expect from the Fibrox version, but a more traditional look that's much easier to love.
This large butcher's blade ...
Forschner Victorinox is well-known for their practical series of stamped steel kitchen knives, but the company also produces fine forged steel knives like this ten-inch Chef's Knife. Forschner's forged cutlery is manufactured in Solingen, Germany, but receives finishing touches and quality control at the Victorinox facility in Switzerland.
The Victorinox ten-inch ...
From Forschner Victorinox, this 12-inch granton blade is designed specifically for accurate slicing of smoked salmon. You'll get the famous practical quality of Victorinox cutlery with this important knife, with performance equal to that of much more expensive salmon slicing blades.
Stamped high carbon stainless steel forms the blade and full tang ...
Assembled with the professional chef in mind, the Victorinox 24-Piece Gourmet Cutlery Set comes in a sleek black attache case with form-fitting internal pockets for each tool and knife in the set. Knives in the selection were chosen from the rosewood-handled Gourmet Victorinox series with stamped no-stain steel blades ...
This very sensible 14-piece Cutlery Set selects some of the most useful knives from Forschner/Victorinox's Gourmet series (with Fibrox handles) and fits each to a customized pocket in one hard-sided black attache case. If you're a chef on the go or a culinary student bound for school, you'll ...
This 8-inch forged bread knife from Victorinox is a perfect size for small loaves, bagels, and rolls, but not quite enough blade for large homemade breads. If you do a lot of sandwich prep, it's a handy tool and more than enough knife.
The serrated edge of this blade isn't ...
The Victorinox Curved Bread Knife with 8-inch forged blade and POM handle is a better size for rolls and bagels than large loaves. This is a slightly new approach to serrated edges and doesn't work the same way new owners may expect.
Instead of saw teeth, the Victorinox curved bread knife incorporates ...
This basic Victorinox 7-Piece Knife Block Set includes four useful knives from the stamped steel and Fibrox line of Victorinox cutlery. Lightweight but high quality, these practical knives are one of the best cutlery bargains available.
Aside from the standard block set tools of kitchen shears and honing steel, ...
This forged boning knife from Victorinox has some definite advantages over lighter, stamped steel versions. The boning knife is a tricky thing to get right -- the blade needs flexibility and a narrow style like a fillet knife, but also needs enough strength for twisting turning in tough ...
The Victorinox Cimeter brings back an older butcher knife design more familiar to hunters than to most chefs. This 14-inch knife has the blade length necessary for quickly dividing large carcasses and large cuts of meat, along with an upswept point well-designed for piercing.
The more familiar butcher knife pattern uses ...
The stamped blades of Victorinox knives match the performance of more expensive forged designs but come up short on looks -- unless you like black synthetic handles. If you'd prefer something nicer but with the same light, high-performance blades, consider this 3-Piece Chef's Set featuring handle slabs of genuine ...
The 17 items in this Forged Knife Block Set from Victorinox (maker of the famous Swiss Army Knife in its many forms) do cover most needs in the kitchen as well as during dining service. Eight fine steak knives make the major difference between this set and the efficient ...
Much of the work that produced this 8-piece Knife Block Forged set from Victorinox actually happened in Solingen, the cutlery capitol of Germany. Forged from German high carbon stainless steel, the knives undergo final shaping and polishing in Switzerland.
The fundamentals of these knives match the quality of ...
Part of the very practical and economical line of stamped steel knives from R.H. Forschner / Victorinox, the 10-inch Butcher Knife with black Fibrox handle now sports the granton grind of a modern santoku.
In theory, the multiple hollows of a knife's granton decrease surface contact between knife and food. Reducing ...
A chef's knife with a 12-inch cutting edge is a little beyond the range of most people, since a classical knife that large is too heavy for most to use comfortably, and a good forged knife of that size costs a pretty penny. The 12-inch Chef's Knife from R.H. Forschner/Victorinox ...
Victorinox's Chinese Cleaver with walnut handle isn't the butcher's cleaver western chefs know. This lighter version of the butcher's blade is the Asian equivalent of the chef's knife, the workhorse blade that an expert uses to dance through nearly every common kitchen chore.
Smaller than you'd expect a cleaver to ...
This Butcher's Knife from R.H. Forschner Victorinox uses the same simple and reliable construction as the rest of the Victorinox line, with laser-cut high carbon stainless steel blade and tang and a rugged handle of black Fibrox. Chosen by professional chefs as well as homemakers, the Butcher's Knife offers heavy ...
If you like Forschner cutlery but prefer the natural beauty of rosewood to the company's black indestructible Fibrox, the Rosewood Utility knife offers users the same economy and quality with traditional styling. With only slightly more care, the rosewood-handled utility knife should survive kitchen duty just as well as the ...
Victorinox's Restaurant Cleaver offers professional quality at a bargain price. The Forschner version of this traditional kitchen knife cuts back only a little on size and weight, resulting in a blade that matches the needs of modern home kitchens.
With a blade only 2-1/2 inches wide and 7 inches long and a ...
R.H. Forschner is a cutlery division of the Swiss Army Brands, Inc., which is basically the umbrella company for everything with the Victorinox name, and this is their 12-inch, high-carbon stainless steel Slicer. Like other Victorinox products, this knife is hand finished in Switzerland.
Ideally, this knife would be used to ...
If you're a butcher or a cook, you use a boning knife daily. If you're a casual home cook, you probably rarely use one, if at all. A boning knife is one of those knives which a lot of people think they need, but when it comes down to ...
I'm a fan of Forschner knives. Although there are many knives on the market with better steel which outperform them, they offer a deep selection of specialty knives which are effective, tough, and inexpensive, which is exactly what a casual home cook or a young cook starting out in the ...
Ah, our old friend Mr. R.H. Forschner. Is there anything he can't do?
We named Forschner's 3-piece set our best budget kitchen knife set a while back. Poke around OnlyKnives a bit and you'll see we're big fans of all of their knives. It's no surprise really -- made by ...
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 ...
We gave the Forschner 3-piece Fibrox Knives our recommendation as the best $50 knife set around.
But what if you've got a bit more money and are looking for a more extensive set? Does Forschner continue to provide value at the $150 price point?
Indeed they do. This 8-piece set includes the same ...
These Forschner knives really are exceptional. OnlyKnives named them the Best $50 Kitchen Knife Set a while back, and Cook's Illustrated has lauded them many times as well.
The Santoku fits right in. For thirty bucks, you get a very sharp blade, a non-slip fibrox handle and a dimpled granton ...
If you've hung around OnlyKnives in the past, you'll know that we love Forschner knives. They're sharp, well-made and inexpensive. What more could you ask for.
Check out our review of their Three piece Fibrox set for more details on Forschner.
Their bread knife fits right in. It's got a 10 inch ...
OnlyKnives' Best $50 Kitchen Knives
This is a great choice for anyone looking to start a knife set on a limited budget.
You get three "essential" knives -- a Chef's knife, a slicing knife and a paring knife. Limiting the number of knives in a set helps you to save money while focusing on ...
This knife is made by R.H. Forschner, a division of Victorninox -- maker of Swiss Army Knives. No pocket knife here here, though.
The accolades for this one are unending:
For starters, it is part of our Best $50 Kitchen Knife Set. Read that review for more details about the set.
Next up, ...
| CURL error code = 6. (Could not resolve host: rest.ebay.com) |
Twitter
RSS