One chef’s knife has been a champ in our kitchen for nearly two decades. Can any other blade come close to offering what it does—and at a bargain price? by Hannah Crowley

1. S E P T E M B E R & O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3
25
D
uring the past 20 years, we’ve con-
ducted five chef’s knife evaluations.
Those tests have covered dozens of
blades in styles ranging from tradi-
tional, to innovative, to hybrid knives combining
Western and Asian features. And at the end of
every test, we’ve told the same story: One bargain
knife, the $27 Victorinox Fibrox, has typically
trounced the competition—including knives cost-
ing 10 times its price tag.
While it’s hard to imagine a factory-made knife
that could surpass this one—either in price or
quality—every so often we revisit the category to be
sure. This time we sought out 8-inch chef’s knives
(the most all-purpose size) and capped our budget
at $50. Ten models met our criteria—including a
new Victorinox knife called the Swiss Classic that the
company considers to be the “consumer” version of
the Fibrox, a model that will eventually be available
only commercially. We enlisted six testers, male and
female and with varying hand sizes and kitchen abili-
ties, and got each of them to spend weeks hacking,
dicing, and chopping their way through 10 whole
chickens, 10 butternut squashes, 10 onions, and 10
bunches of parsley. What we’re always looking for:
a strong yet agile blade that feels comfortable and
secure in our hands.
By the time we wrapped up testing, we’d found
one standout favorite and a couple of other knives
that passed muster, but the rest of the models lagged
behind, many of them by a considerable margin.
While the top performers capably broke down whole
birds and slid through dense squash, the bulk of the
lot struggled—and at the end of testing, we had
piles of ragged onion pieces and bruised parsley
leaves to prove it.
The obvious question: What was it about our lone
winner that made it a stellar performer? Its design
wasn’t radically different from that of other knives,
and it was one of the least expensive knives in an
already low-cost lineup. We decided to get to the
bottom of what made this one knife so much better
than all the others.
Degrees of Separation
The top priority for a good knife is razor sharpness.
Right out of the box, some knives were sharper
than others. Still others started out fairly sharp and
quickly lost their edge. Either way, a dull knife turns
a small pile of potatoes into a mountain and makes
for sloppy food. (“I can hear the cells bursting,” said
one tester as a dull blade sprayed onion juice across
the cutting board. “Chicken, I feel sorry for you,”
said a second frustrated tester, vainly hacking away
with another comparatively blunt edge.)
Sharpness is partly determined by the thinness of
the blade’s cutting edge. Any material can be sharp
if its edge is thin enough—this is why an otherwise
harmless piece of paper can deliver a paper cut.
Traditionally, Western knives have been sharpened
to 20 to 22 degrees on each side of the blade, while
Asian knives are thinner—just 15 degrees on each
side. However, those style markers appear to be blur-
ring in favor of Asian knives: All the knives we tested
are considered Western-style, yet when we asked the
manufacturers, it turned out that half of the models
sported 15-degree (or narrower) blades, including
our top three favorites.
But a razor-thin cutting edge isn’t everything:
If the metal is too soft, it will easily develop micro-
scopic chips, dings, and dents, and the edge will
wear down quickly. So what makes one type of blade
harder than another? It begins with the composition
of the steel.
Steel is an alloy that always includes iron and car-
bon, but it may also contain other elements chosen
to add particular characteristics to the metal. We
were able to find out that the products in our lineup
used one of three basic steel alloys: x50CrMoV15,
x55CrMoV15, and 420. (To make the first two
alloys easier to reference in this story, we’ll refer
to them simply as “x50” and “x55” steel, respec-
tively.) When we checked the steel type of each
blade against our ratings, we saw that knives made
from the 420 steel were clearly inferior to blades
made from the other two alloys, as they landed at
the bottom of our rankings. These included the
“dull,” “flimsy” model from Dexter-Russell, which
produced crushed, not diced, onions. Another blade
made from 420 was the last-place OXO, which
struggled to cleanly slice through sheets of copier
paper (our standard sharpness test) and dulled rap-
idly as testing progressed. Meanwhile, the blades
that started out sharp and stayed that way were
crafted from x50 and x55 steel—and our top three
models all used the x50 alloy.
These results suggested that the 420 alloy pro-
duced blades that weren’t as hard as those made
from the other two metals. When we consulted Bob
Kramer, a master bladesmith, and Merrilea Mayo,
a materials scientist and former president of the
Materials Research Society, both experts confirmed
our hunch: 420 steel is indeed a softer metal than the
other two alloys. This is because it usually contains
less carbon and no vanadium, elements that act as
hardening agents. So why would a manufacturer
select for this quality? A softer steel is easier to
cut into blades, lowering production costs. As for
differences between x50 and x55 steel, their steel
makeups are very similar, so we could only assume
that something else was giving the x50 a literal edge
over the others.
That something turned out to be how the metal
is heated and cooled. Just as baking time and
temperature affect the crumb of a cake, the “cook-
ing” process determines the grain of a metal. For a
harder product, small, close-knit grains are the goal.
“Large grains,” Mayo explained, “are functionally
useless for knife blades because they are so soft.” All
manufacturers start the knife-making process the
same way: by slowly cooling the molten metal. Next
comes the proprietary part: a multistep tempering
process of reheating and cooling the metal to help
shrink the grains and/or encourage new, smaller
ones to form. According to Mayo, tempering can
have infinite variations, which in turn can lead to
differences in grain size and pattern. We’re betting
that the specific way it was tempered helped give
our front-runner superior hardness. (Heat treatment
might also explain why some blades made from the
same x50 steel didn’t perform as well.)
Get a (Good) Grip
As for the other half of the knife—the handle—we
figured that preferences would be a dividing point
among testers. After all, the comfort of a grip is
largely subjective and depends on variables from
the size of your hand, to how you hold the blade, to
your knife skills, to whether you prefer a brawnier or
more svelte handle or one that’s crafted from metal
rather than nylon or wood.
Surprisingly, though, all six testers unanimously
preferred one handle: that of the Victorinox Fibrox.
This handle boasted no ergonomic grooves or
bumps; compared with other models that we tested,
it actually lacked design features. How could one
grip—particularly one so basic-looking that it almost
What Makes a Great Cheap Knife?
One chef’s knife has been a champ in our kitchen for nearly two decades.
Can any other blade come close to offering what it does—and at a bargain price?
j B Y H A N N A H C R O W L E Y k
See How They Slice (and Chop)
Video available FREE for 4 months at
CooksIllustrated.com/oct13

2. seemed underdesigned—feel like a “natural exten-
sion” of so many different hands?
We showed the knives to Jack Dennerlein, pro-
fessor of ergonomics and safety at Northeastern
and Harvard Universities, who offered a one-word
explanation: “affordance.” This term, he explained,
is what ergonomists use to describe the versatil-
ity that we ask of our chef’s knives. Cutting is a
complex task, and a well-designed handle affords
multiple grips for the range of angles and forces
required, allowing us to confidently drive the knife
downward through a chicken bone just as easily as
we make precise cuts in an onion. Dennerlein said
that when knife makers add grooves and curves to
a handle, like those on some of the less comfort-
able handles in our lineup, they are telling us how
to hold the knife instead of allowing us to choose
what’s most comfortable. Sharp square angles on
many of the knife handles and blade spines were a
prime example of this (the Henckels International
knife was a chief offender). They limited where our
hands felt comfortable, as did pronounced bolsters,
both of which dug into our palms when we used the
so-called pinch grip, for which you choke up on the
knife and grasp the back of the blade between your
thumb and forefinger for control. Other handles
(like Wüsthof’s) were either too thin—“like holding
a tube of lipstick with a sharp blade at the end”—or,
like the Victorinox Swiss Classic’s handle, too wide.
We also knocked points off the Swiss Classic for
a “bellylike” curve to its grip and an indented ridge
along the top. Victorinox claims that these features
are tailored specifically for the home cook, but we’re
not sure why any cook would like them; we found
that they made our fingers splay out as we grasped
for a better hold, causing fatigue and decreasing
control. Furthermore, the handle is made from a
hard, slick plastic that didn’t offer a lot of friction
between our hands and the handle. As a result, it felt
slippery, especially during messy tasks like butcher-
ing a chicken.
But even when a handle was specifically designed
to provide friction, it sometimes had other flaws.
The plastic grip made of open ridges on the Dexter-
Russell knife, for example, stayed put in our hands,
but the deep grooves also dug into our palms. To
some testers the wooden grips on the Schmidt and
Cat Cora knives felt much better in hand, as the
natural grain offered some traction, but to other
testers these grips felt “rough.”
Any Way You Slice It
After nearly two months of testing, we tallied our
results—and we can’t say that we were shocked to
learn the winner. Once again, it was the Victorinox
Fibrox that effortlessly ascended to the top spot for
its exceptional cutting ability and a grip that all test-
ers found particularly comfortable. Don’t be misled
by its unprepossessing design: The Fibrox embodies
a number of subtle features that have helped propel it
to the top of our rankings for the past two decades.
For one, there’s its plain-Jane handle. Made from a
bumpy, grippy nylon material called polyamide, it
has enough traction to stay put in your hand, and
its basic design boasts the so-called affordance that
makes it well suited for any kind of grip. Second,
its blade is made of hard x50 steel—an alloy that
Kramer agreed is likely put through a very fine-tuned
heating and cooling process to develop the optimal
hardness.
Third, the blade is sharpened to a thin 15 degrees.
Given how easily the knife cuts through food, that
discovery made sense, but it also raised another
question: What’s the best way to maintain that nar-
row edge? Victorinox originally designed the knife
for chefs and food industry professionals with the
assumption that such users would be maintaining
the edge on a sharpening stone. However, now
that Asian-style sharpeners have become more
widely available to consumers in Western countries,
Victorinox also recommends these for keeping
the Fibrox’s edge at a factory-sharp 15 degrees.
Going forward, we’ll sharpen this knife on our win-
ning product, the Chef’s Choice Diamond Hone
Asian Knife Sharpener, Model 463 ($39.99; for
more information on Asian knife sharpeners, go to
CooksIllustrated.com/asianknifesharpeners).
Also worth keeping in mind is Victorinox’s plan
to move the Fibrox out of retail stores in 3 years
and make it available only to commercial outlets
and restaurant supply shops, while its Swiss Classic
product line will be available for retail sale. We hope
that the company reevaluates that decision. Though
the Swiss Classic shares the Fibrox’s outstanding
blade, we’re not as enthusiastic about the former due
to its less than perfect handle—and its $10-higher
price tag. We will continue to monitor and report
on the Fibrox’s availability.
C O O K ’ S I L L U S T R A T E D
26
The Blade: What Makes It
Sharp and Keeps It That Way
Creating the sharpest, most durable knives is
a bit like baking a cake: Manufacturers have to
start with the right ingredients and then treat the
metal just so.
THE RIGHT MIX OF METALS
Because steel is an alloy, it can come in countless
forms, depending on what metals it contains and
in what proportion. Certain elements, such as
carbon and vanadium, increase a steel’s hardness
so that it can hold its edge and resist chipping,
denting, and folding over. The alloy used in our
top-performing knives, x50CrMoV15, contained
both elements in favorable proportions.
PRECISE TEMPERING
How the steel is heated and cooled helps deter-
mine the grain of the metal. Harder blades have
a finer, tighter, more dense structure, softer
blades a looser one. To achieve the target grain
size, manufacturers put their steel through a pro-
prietary multistep tempering process. The more
exacting the process the smaller the grain and
the harder the metal.
THIN CUTTING EDGE
The narrower the angle of the cutting edge
the sharper the blade will be. Each of our top
three knives was factory-sharpened to a slim
15-degree edge, an angle that once mainly
defined Asian knives and is increasingly found
on Western knives. (Our winner, the Victorinox
Fibrox, has actually had this edge for decades.)
Maintaining it requires an Asian sharpener; a
Western sharpener will keep the knife sharp but
not as thin.
The Handle: One Style Fits All
The knife with the most basic handle—no grooves or bumps—was also the most comfortable for all our testers.
In fact, experts confirmed that the Victorinox Fibrox’s lack of pronounced ergonomic features was precisely
the reason that we favored it. Its neutral rectangular body, smooth edges, and rounded base made a variety of
gripping positions comfortable, whereas other more contoured models with sharper angles forced our hands into
unnatural positions or were too long and pointed and dug into our forearms when we choked up on the knife.
COMFORT GRIP
Without pronounced curves or angles, the handle on the Victorinox Fibrox
is comfortable for a variety of grips—the so-called “pinch” and “power” grips,
for example—and hand sizes, as seen below.
ILLUSTRATION:JAYLAYMAN

3. TESTING INEXPENSIVE CHEF’S KNIVES
Six test kitchen staffers subjected ten 8-inch chef’s knives, priced at $50 or less, to a range of kitchen tasks and also assessed comfort and edge retention. Scores were
averaged and knives are listed below in order of preference. Prices were paid online. A source for the winner appears on page 32.
BLADE DESIGN
We preferred slightly curved
blades that rocked nicely and
spines that didn’t dig into our
hands.
KEY
GOOD:
FAIR:
POOR:
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED CRITERIA TESTERS’ COMMENTS
VICTORINOX 8" Swiss Army Fibrox Chef’s Knife
Model: 47520 Price: $27.21
Blade Angle: 15 degrees
Steel Type: x50CrMoV15
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
Still the best—and a bargain—after 20 years, this knife’s “super-sharp” blade was
“silent” and “smooth,” even as it cut through tough squash, and it retained its edge
after weeks of testing. Its textured grip felt secure for a wide range of hand sizes, and
thanks to its gently rounded edges and the soft, hand-polished top spine, we could
comfortably choke up on the knife for “precise,” “effortless” cuts.
RECOMMENDED
VICTORINOX Swiss Army
Swiss Classic 8" Chef’s Knife
Model: 6.8063.20US1 Price: $37.62
Blade Angle: 15 degrees
Steel Type: x50CrMoV15
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
Marketed as the consumer version of the Fibrox with an identical blade (and a higher
price tag), this sibling made equally sharp, agile cuts. The downside was the handle, which
exchanges the textured grip for a “hard,” “slippery” one with a “bigger belly” curve and
an indented ridge. Testers complained that their hands were “pulled open wider” and
that they were forced to grip “too far back,” resulting in less comfort and control.
MERCER Renaissance Forged Riveted
8" Chef’s Knife
Model: M23510 Price: $31.99
Blade Angle: 15 degrees Steel Type: x50CrMoV15
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
½
½
This knife’s blade was “sturdy” and “plenty sharp”—splitting bone is “no problem,”
one tester said—and its curve “rocked well.” However, we deducted minor points
for a semisharp spine that dug into a few testers’ hands. Some testers liked that the
“heavier handle” felt “solid” and “nicely balanced”; others did not prefer the “heft.”
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
MESSERMEISTER Four Seasons 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
Model: 5025-8 Price: $42
Blade Angle: 20 degrees
Steel Type: x55CrMoV14
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
½ “Chunky” and “fat” is how testers described this blade—the thickest and broadest
that we tested. As a result, it “wedged” through squash instead of slicing it, but it
made for a “solid butchering knife.” Its “sharp” spine drew some complaints from
testers using the pinch grip to choke up, but the handle was “comfortable.”
NOT RECOMMENDED
SCHMIDT BROTHERS Cutlery Bonded
Teak Series 8" Chef Knife
Model: SBOCH08 Price: $49.95
Blade Angle: 19 degrees
Steel Type: x50CrMoV15
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
½
½
½
The “maneuverable” blade made “quick work” of a whole chicken, but its “dull” edge
sprayed onion juice and got stuck, marooned halfway down a butternut squash. Testers
wanted to choke up on the knife, but its sharp spine forced them to hold it farther
back on the “rough wood” handle, decreasing leverage. Larger-handed testers struck
their knuckles on the cutting board due to the lack of clearance underneath the handle.
HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL
Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
Model: 31161-201 Price: $49.95
Blade Angle: 17.5 degrees Steel Type: x55CrMoV15
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
½
½
½
This knife’s squared-off, “uncomfortable” handle dug into testers’ palms, the blade’s
spine into their fingers. Though the blade was “reasonably sharp,” the last bit of edge
near the handle was left unsharpened (the bolster blocks sharpening); as a result, we
lost a centimeter of cutting real estate.
WÜSTHOF Silverpoint II 8-Inch Cook’s Knife
Model: 4561/20 Price: $38.72
Blade Angle: 14 degrees
Steel Type: modified 420
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
½
½
This knife features a “thin,” “lightweight” blade attached to a “skinny,” “super-cheap”
handle. Most testers found the knife “sharp” and “agile” but lamented that the blade felt
“flimsy” and “wobbly” when cutting dense squash. Gripping the “pencil”-thin plastic han-
dle was like holding a tube of lipstick—in other words, we “couldn’t get a good purchase
on it.” Also, there wasn’t enough clearance underneath the blade for our knuckles.
CAT CORA by Starfrit 8" Chef Knife
Model: 070301-006-0000 Price: $31.65
Blade Angle: 17.5 degrees
Steel Type: x50CrMoV15
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
½
½
½
Some testers appreciated this blade’s upturned tip and pronounced curve for chicken
butchering and rocking over herbs, respectively, but many found the angle uncom-
fortable, as it forced them to lift their elbows to direct the tip. The wooden handle
was “secure” but “too narrow” and long—the end “hit my forearm,” multiple testers
complained, and it lacked sufficient clearance underneath for larger knuckles.
DEXTER-RUSSELL V-Lo 8-Inch Cook’s Knife
Model: 29243 Price: $40.25
Blade Angle: 16 degrees
Steel Type: modified 420
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
½
“I can hear the cells bursting,” one tester said as the knife crushed the onion she was
chopping. This “dull,” “flat” blade made from lower-quality steel “smushed” parsley
rather than making precise cuts, while its spine dug into our hands as we choked up.
The handle’s rubber ridges were designed to be grippy, but they cut into our palms.
There wasn’t enough clearance underneath for our knuckles.
OXO Professional 8" Chef’s Knife
Model: 1064648 Price: $19.99
Blade Angle: 15 degrees
Steel Type: 420
Blade Design
Handle
Kitchen Tasks
Edge Retention
Brand-new copies of this blade struggled to slice paper. It was “flimsy”; cutting chicken
and squash felt “unsafe.” It shared the same design issues as other models: a sharp
spine and not enough knuckle clearance for larger hands. OXO’s usual grippy handle
was “comfortable” when dry but became super slick when held by wet hands.
S E P T E M B E R & O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3
27
HANDLE
Handles that felt comfortable
and secure for a range of
tasks and a variety of grips
rated highest.
KITCHEN TASKS
We butchered whole chickens; chopped unwieldy
butternut squash; diced onions; and minced pars-
ley, carrying out each task 60 times. We averaged
scores from each test to get the overall rating.
EDGE RETENTION
We evaluated each blade fresh out of the
box, during testing, and at the end of testing
by slicing through sheets of copier paper—
our standard sharpness test.