Paring Knives Reviews

After using this knife daily for several weeks, I have nothing but good things to say about its performance. The handle is the most comfortable of any brand I've tried and it seems to hold an edge better than my 3.5" Wusthof parer. But, without a doubt, the best feature is the 4.5" blade. The extra inch seems to make a huge difference in versatility and feel, especially when cutting fruit such as grapefruit, trimming meats and county ham, or slicing and dicing garlic. The blade also slopes downward slightly which really increases its value when making delicate cuts. It truly is a pleasure to use and the one I reach for most often. Now the bad news...it's made in China and the lack of quality control sometimes shows in this line of knives (and others such as Farberware's ProForged). I had to return a boning knife because the blade was significantly bent and I've rejected several others in stores due to the same problem. You can check for this problem by holding it out at arm's length with the blade pointing away from you and sighting down top of the handle and blade. Needless to say, any serious attempt to straighten a high carbon blade will cause it to break, so just return it or reject it. All that being said, this truly is a great knife and one that I highly recommend.

This is a small bladed knife. It also has a really useful handle. It is constructed of the same high quality materials of all knives in this series, and is a worthwhile addition to any kitchen. It's one of those tools that find more and more use with experience. It's a good buy.

I have been looking for a new knife set for our new home for awhile and saw these knifes were the right price and had a good rating so I went to the store to check them out but in the store they make it so you cannot remove the knifes I thought the handle looked cheap but again it had such a great review I thought I can't go wrong,Well I got them home and compared them to my old knifes they cut the same as my now rusted and dull knifes and the blade is very cheap I took mine back to the store and ordered a set from online for twice the cost but 5x the quality...Please Avoid These Knifes There A waste Of Money!

i bought these knives purely because they were inexpensive. i am getting married in a year and was planning on getting a set of really expensive ones for a gift. for $20 i wasnt expecting much, but these are so great! they work well, and i've been using them for 3 months so far and they have not rusted or dulled one bit, even when i put them in the dishwasher instead of handwashing. i recommend these for anyone, whether you are looking for a cheap set to last you a couple years or a decent set to last you years and years.

I bought this set of knives from target more than 5 years ago and still use it on a daily basis in my kitchen.

The secret to their longevity, I think, has been the regular use of an electric knife sharpener to keep the set on it's toes. So far, none of the knives has failed to stay sharp nor have any exhibited any sign of of rivet failure.

At this price you can't go wrong!

Of late, Calphalon has tried to extend their market by putting their good name on flatware, baking equipment, and most recently, knives. Calphalon made thier name by making one of the finest lines of anodized pans in the world - so one would assume their other products would be equally good.

I have purchased three sets of these knives, including a full block set, and I find them to be good, albiet heavy, general purpose knives of a VERY hard stainless steel.

I buy them as gifts for my up-and-coming chef friends because they are well priced and well made. They are not, however, truely fine knives.

Their particular type of stainless - which is not listed on the blade as is the case with most fine knives - is challanging to sharpen to a true beveled edge and does not stay sharp as long as my WMF knives.

They are heavier than many other forged knives and made of thicker metal which is fine for most uses, but they do sacrifice some flex.

One interesting note is that while the advertising on these knives proclaims "German Stainless", the stickers that are all over the box and knives say "Made in China". Perhaps the metal is shipped there...

Overall, I would say that they are perfect for the light duty serious cook. They'd make a nice gift for the just-out-of-college-and-I-want-good-knives kid. They wash well, they cut well (professionally sharpen them first - they arrive dull), and they are really well priced.

For the price, good knives....

The previous reviewer said these knives arrive dull. My thumb disagrees. Sliced very cleanly through it! In spite of my wound I really like these knives. I thought they were well balanced and had a nice edge on them. I have only Chicago Cutlery and Cutco to compare them to. Calphalon Cutlery beats them both by a long shot. Probably ought to professionally sharpen them once a year and use the sharpening steel before each use.

I bought this item and it was broken. Getting a new one was a pain in the rear. Nobody knew how I could get this item if the current store did not have this item. buying from Taget was a real lousy experience. I usually shop at Walmart and unless I get a response from the email I set earlier I will start doing all my shopping at Walmart. Better service when returns/exchanges are done is greatly in need of improvement. A dissatisfied customer. James Snow

I like my Calphalon pans, I needed a knife in this class, and it showed up in my Gold Box, so gave this Calphalon knife a try. It is a great disappointment. I should have realized that skill in making aluminum pots that conduct heat would not translate into making steel knives that stay sharp.

I am always reaching for my 6" Sanelli (Italy) or my 8" Dexter-Russell (USA), or my vegetable cleaver (Japan), even when they are overkill for the job, because I know they are sharp.

I keep all my knives extremely sharp; the sharpest (made by Buck, not used in the kitchen) can slice an 11" sheet of paper in two as it falls through the air (no joke). When I touch a vegetable with a knife, the knife is supposed to win. But the Calphalon knife has been bullied by so many vegetables I feel sorry for it.

I like to be able to sharpen all my knives on the stone at one time, then touch them up with the steel as necessary. The problem with the Calphalon knife is, despite seeing the least use, it is always the first to dull. After preparing one meal it is already dull enough that the edge is white to the eye (it should be invisible). At this point it's dull enough to slip, which makes it a kitchen hazard. It dulls so fast I don't even feel comfortable giving it away: it would just be a hazard in someone else's kitchen.

In short, when buying Calphalon, stick to the cookware. Get your knives from a manufacturer whose reputation has been built on cutlery.

While I got this knife as a gif and I don't know if it was bought at Amazon, nonetheless, I thought that a review would be helpful to potential buyers. The knife is well made and well balanced, holds its edge well, and does not stain easily. I recommend it for smaller cooking jobs where a chef's 6 or 8 inch knife would be an overkill. I also own other Calphalon's knives such as 8 inch cooking knife and like them a lot.