There’s a reason why paring knives are one of the top two culinary tools chefs (both, executive and commis) always have on hand. Paring knives are used for comparatively inconsequential tasks. So how is it one of the top two? Well, these ‘inconsequential’ tasks include jobs like hulling strawberries, peeling garlic cloves or onions, halving limes/lemons, and other such.
Loved for its steerability, Mishry reviewed six of the best knife brands in India. From the sharpness and length of the blade to the grip and cuts, we chose Victorinox as the Top Pick. We also recommend the knife by Kai Honcho.
Details down below.
Table of Contents
Quick Comparison of Knife Brands
A tabular comparison of the brands we tested.
| Paring Knives | Mishry Rating | Buy Now |
| Victorinox | 4.5 | Add To Cart |
| Kai | 4.25 | Add To Cart |
| Crystal | 3.75 | Add To Cart |
| Glare | 3.75 | Add To Cart |
| Bergner | 3 | Add To Cart |
| Godrej | 2.5 | Add To Cart |
Our Review Factors
What is a paring knife? What are its uses?
Paring knife, more commonly known as an everyday knife, is a versatile, priceless kitchen tool. Equipped with a small and sharp blade, this is ideal for sharpening, cutting, peeling, and other tasks that call for precision.
The uses of a paring knife are, in essence, unlimited. Hence, the name ‘everyday’ knife. Peeling, slicing and mincing, coring (apples), segmenting (citrus fruits), trimming (peppers), hulling (strawberries), deveining (shrimp), scoring (double-crusted baked goods), releasing (cheesecakes), decasing (sausages) are certain uses of a paring knife.
What makes the best all purpose kitchen knife? The blade? The grip? The look? Is this something you must splurge on or can you get by with an inexpensive one too?
The sharpness of the blade, the grip of the handle are among the key parameters we gauge when it comes to paring knives. Detailed explanation in the following sub-sections.
1. Performance
The sharpness of the knife is the most crucial parameter, be it a paring knife or a chef’s knife. Paring knives are typically used for jobs like hulling strawberries, peeling apples, to core a tomato, and other delicate tasks. In such cases, a sharp blade doesn’t just ensure precise cuts but also saves time. Imagine peeling using a round-tipped knife!
Another aspect is the length of the blade. Pro chefs prefer blades between 3-3.5 inches, or a maximum of 4. This length is ideal for cutting over a chopping board and in-hand work too.
2. Design
This speaks of the overall size, balance, and grip. The knife must be comfortable to hold as the user would have a pretty tight grip on it. The blade to handle ratio must be balanced or it may be a challenge to use and control the knife. For this, ensure the size and weight of the blade are more or less the same.
Stamped blades, color of the handle are other related sub-parameters.
3. Other Parameters
The price, packaging, durability, appearance and finesse are some other parameters we took into account.
Why Paring Knives are called Everyday Knives?
It is not uncommon in Indian kitchens to use the same knife for a variety of tasks. Be it dicing or julienning, peeling or coring- there are two (or three) knives at most. Switching between knives for small, everyday tasks not only increases the time spent in preparation, but also creates a larger load of dishes to be washed.
Best Paring Knife – Detailed Review
How did we find the best paring knife in India?
Our review process included cutting, chopping, peeling an array of fruits and veggies that are often used in Indian kitchens. The testing’s were conducted over a period of weeks. This not only enabled us to record our observations, but also experience how each knife worked with variety of ingredients and how quick the sharpness of the blade is impacted.
We used the six paring knives for jobs like peeling hard and soft veggies (potatoes, tomatoes, onions, beans, carrots), chopping/cutting the same, peeling and chopping ginger, garlic, and herbs (coriander), and cutting fruits like guavas and apples.
Our detailed experience with each brand is explained in the following section.
1. Victorinox Swiss Classic Paring Knife – Mishry Top Pick
Our Experience
We were surprised. We were delightfully surprised by Victorinox Paring Knife. This looked like a fragile and filmsy knife but the experience was poles apart from what we expected.
This was quite lightweight but it had the MOST comfortable grip. Equipped with a slender handle, the blade join is coherent. You could chop or peel large quantities of groceries with this knife and feel no discomfort whatsoever. The blade is sharp enough to tackle all your kitchen-related peeling, chopping needs. It is sized appropriately for all in-hand and board chopping. Its pointed blade made all our tasks easy which is why Victorinox is our Top Pick.
Product Features
This ultra-lightweight knife weighs 22 grams and is priced at Rs 390/-. It is 8 cm long with the following dimensions- 18.9 x 2.1 x 1.1 cms. This knife is dishwasher-safe.
- Clean cuts
- Comfortable grip
- Ideal for cutting AND peeling
- Dishwasher-safe
Though priced slightly higher than other contenders, Victorinox is the knife you must invest in.
2. Kai Hocho Kitchen Knife – Also Recommended
Our Experience
Kai Hocho is the paring knife we Also Recommend taking into account several factors. In terms of design and construction, this knife is slightly larger than our Top Pick. The grip is not as comfortable or as natural-feeling as Victorinox, but works just fine.
When this knife was put to the test, it performed quite well. The blade is was sharp enough and gave us clean, precise cuts. But in case of peeling, this lagged a bit. It may be due to the comparatively bulkier design of this knife.
Product Features
This paring knife is priced at Rs 130/- and it weighs 36 grams. With a size of 94 mm, this has a 1.4 mm thick blade.
- Lightweight
- Fairly comfortable to work with
- Smooth cuts
- Not the best for peeling
If you’re looking for something within your budget, Kai Hocho should be it.
3. Crystal All purpose Plain Edge Knife
Our Experience
Crystal All Purpose knife does the job of chopping and peeling in a fairly decent manner. However, it did not get the first or second place due to its grip. Yes, the cuts are neat and precise but if you’re manually chopping a kilogram of potatoes, you’re bound to experience some discomfort within the first few minutes. When compared to Victorinox and Kai Hocho, this did require a little more effort during cutting.
Product Features
This knife is priced at Rs 75/- and weighs 17 grams. It is 18 cm and labelled as a ‘multipurpose knife, surgical stainless steel blade.
Crystal 8-inch All Purpose Plain Edge, CL008, Plastic & Steel, Silver
4. Glare Paring Knife
Our Experience
This scored exactly like Crystal, so why isn’t the third position a tie?
As we mentioned above, the most crucial parameter when reviewing knives is the sharpness of the blade.
Despite having a better, more comfortable grip than Crystal, Glare lacked in its ability to provide clean cuts. It asks for a lot more effort to cut fruits and veggies, which in turn, will increase your time in the kitchen. Moreover, since the blade is larger, peeling is challenging.
Product Features
Priced at Rs 199/-, this knife weighs 34 gm and has a 220 mm length. It is equipped with an ergonomically-designed handle and an anti-slip grip with corrosion resistance.
Glare PARING Knife - 200 MM
₹105.00 (as of December 2, 2024 17:58 GMT +05:30 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)5. Bergner Stainless Steel Paring Knife
Our Experience
The phrase ‘do not judge a book by its cover’ fits perfectly here. Bergner knife has a marble finish and looks quite elegant. But when it comes to the functionality, it was a no-show. The blade was blunt and it didn’t give smooth, precise cuts. In fact, we had to go over twice or thrice.
So, thumbs up for the appearance but big thumbs down for its blade.
Product Features
This 54-gram knife is priced at Rs 249/-.
6. Godrej Cartini Perfect Paring Knife
Our Experience
The description of Godrej knife reads it is meant for peeling, but it is labelled as a paring knife. Paring knives, as we know, are versatile and serve a variety of purposes including cutting, chopping, and peeling.
When put to the test, this knife performed in a decent manner for peeling but for chopping- this was a fail. Neither was the grip comfortable, nor was the blade sharp. Moreover, this is suited only for peeling small to medium-sized fruits and veggies.
Product Features
This is priced at Rs 115/- It weighs 34 grams and is 18 cm in size. The blade is 1.25 mm thick.
Our Top Picks & Recommendations
Victorinox was the clear Top Pick as it not only performed exceptionally in the cutting and peeling tests, but also had a super comfortable grip. Smooth, clean cuts, this gets a big thumbs up.
We Also Recommend Kai Hocho for the sharp blade that provides precise cuts. This was slightly larger to hold and does not peel as well as Victorinox.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some interesting FAQs on best paring knife
1. Is this paring knife handy?
Victorinox Paring Knife is lightweight and offers a comfortable grip. If you’re required to chop or peel large quantities, this should be your pick.
2. Is this knife dishwasher safe?
Yes, Victorinox is dishwasher-safe.
3. Is this knife also useful to make gashes on meat and fish?
Though we did not try this, the blade is sharp enough for gashes.
4. Do all these paring knives have a marble coating?
No, Victorinox has an elegant black handle.
Bergner comes with a marble finish.
5. Does this knife provide a strong and comfortable grip?
Yes, Victorinox has a textured plastic handle which enhances the comfort.
Final Words
Be it butter, soft veggies or hard ones, and even fruits that need to be peeled, paring knives are one of those versatile kitchen tools no one can do without. Of the six brands we tested, Victorinox aced each parameter. Be it the grip or the design and construction, the sharp blade on this knife made it our Top Pick. We Also Recommend the knife by Kai Honcho.
One knife fits all or one knife for each job, how do you manage cutting and chopping at home?
Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.
