The Best Paring Knives

Our top paring knife is solid, well-made, and agile, excelling at every task we gave it. We were particularly impressed with its blade, which was sharpened to a razor-like finish that rivalled that of much more expensive knives. The shape was great too. It’s got the triangular profile of a classic paring knife, so it minces shallots and slices fruit on the cutting board nicely. But because the blade is relatively narrow, it’s still nimble and easy to control for peeling fruit or hulling strawberries. (The one downside to the blade? Because it’s narrow, there isn’t a ton of room for knuckles when we’re mincing or slicing on the cutting board.) Testers liked its weight, which made it feel substantial but not heavy in hand. The moderately long handle was easy for hands of all sizes to hold, though a few users found the smooth plastic slippery when wet. Best of all, you don’t have to pay too much for great performance and durability; it’s one of the least expensive models we tested.

Testers loved this beautiful, expensive knife. Its blade is thin and exceptionally sharp and makes clean, precise cuts. Most testers also liked its especially short blade length, which brought our hands extra-close to food for finicky tasks such as hulling strawberries or peeling apples, though when slicing larger fruit or cheese, a few wished the blade were a little longer. Its handsome, two-tone wood composite handle was finished perfectly, with rounded contours and just enough natural wood texture to give some grip. (The handle is also a tiny bit shorter than we prefer, but all but the largest hands found its size to be adequate.) If you have the means and would like a stellar performer with a more luxurious feel and more visual pizzazz than our top pick, this is the model for you. Note The blade angle is asymmetrical and ground for righties, which can sometimes mean that lefties have trouble controlling it. That said, our leftie tester had no issues with it as is; if you are concerned, however, Korin, the retailer, allows the blade to be altered for lefty use.

With a short, relatively sharp blade, this paring knife offered superior control when performing detail-oriented tasks such as hulling strawberries or making supremes from lemons and oranges. The blade itself has a fairly tall heel, providing decent knuckle clearance too. Its composite handle was easy for hands of all sizes to hold, though it proved a touch slippery when wet, and the metal tang stuck out a little on top of the handle, rubbing roughly against our palms. Note Like our upgrade pick, this knife has an asymmetrical blade angle that is intended for right-handed use. While our lefty tester had no problems using it as it is sold, lefties may prefer to have the edge reground by Korin.

This inexpensive paring knife has proved its value again and again over the years. Weighing just 21 grams, it’s the lightest model we’ve ever tested, and while some users found it a bit insubstantial or toy-like, others loved how easy to wield it was as a result. Its blade could have been a touch sharper but was still keen enough to execute all tasks well. And the blade’s thinness, flexibility, and narrow, spear-point shape meant it was particularly good at off-the-board tasks such as hulling strawberries and peeling apples. The knife’s utilitarian handle is long and made from grippy plastic, which makes it easy to hold; because it’s offset slightly from the blade, it provides a little more clearance for knuckles than other spear-point models when slicing or mincing on the cutting board. This might not be the most attractive knife you own, but at its incredibly low price point, it offers extraordinary value for your dollar.

With one of the sharpest blades we evaluated, this paring knife sailed through tests, making clean, precise cuts throughout. Measuring 3.8 inches in blade length, it was a little longer than some testers preferred, though that length meant that it was particularly good at quartering large apples and slicing blocks of cheese. Despite being made entirely of metal, it wasn’t overly heavy, either, with a pleasant weight that testers liked. Testers had mixed feelings on the handle, though. It’s short, so larger hands felt cramped; a few folks found that its length made the knife feel less well-balanced on the whole, given its longer blade. And while some folks liked the ergonomic bumps on the underside, others felt that it limited the ways that they could hold the knife. The divots in the handle helped us keep our grip on the otherwise slippery metal but were prone to getting little bits of food stuck in them.

This Japanese paring knife had an unusual, sheep’s foot-like blade that users generally liked, though it took a little getting used to. Although the tip is blunt-nosed, its edge is still pointy and sharp enough to do delicate tasks such as hulling strawberries, though it was best for on-the-board tasks such as mincing shallots or cutting cheese or fruit. Its relatively tall heel height gave users a bit more knuckle clearance for these tasks too. Its plastic handle was similar to several others we tested long enough for most hands to hold comfortably, if a touch slippery when wet.

With a very sharp, slightly flexible, and fairly narrow blade, this classic paring knife excelled at off-the-board tasks, hulling strawberries and peeling apples precisely and effectively. It also did a good job with on-the-board tasks, slicing and mincing well, though it provided a little less knuckle clearance than we’d prefer. We just wish that its handle were a bit longer—measuring just 3.5 inches, it didn’t give much room for large-handed testers to operate—and that its plastic build was a touch less slippery when wet.

Large-handed testers loved this paring knife’s extra-long handle and tall heel, which gave their knuckles a bit more clearance when using the knife to slice or mince foods on the cutting board. Smaller-handed testers found it a touch unwieldy, however, especially when they had to choke up on the blade for detail work such as hulling strawberries; the long handle often hit their wrists awkwardly. Users were also divided on this knife’s blade. While very sharp, it was on the long side—great for cutting larger foods but less precise for fine tasks such as peeling or hulling. And it had a fairly classical triangular shape; some users found that its large, curved belly got in the way during off-the-board tasks, but others liked that they could rock through cuts when mincing shallots more easily. As with other plastic handles, it got a bit slippery when wet.

This paring knife did a good job on most tasks, with its very sharp, short, narrow blade doing an especially good job with off-the board tasks such as hulling strawberries and peeling apples. But because it had a fairly thick spine, it sometimes wedged into foods, which made it harder to quarter apples or slice blocks of cheese. It also didn’t provide much knuckle clearance for on-the-board slicing and mincing. Its plastic handle was long enough for hands of all sizes to hold comfortably, though it got a little slippery when wet.

We really liked this little, inexpensive knife at first. It looked and felt just like our Best Buy, with a spear-point blade and a similar black plastic handle. But the handle was a touch broader and less grippy than the Victorinox, which made it less comfortable to hold. And the blade wasn’t quite as sharp as we wanted it to be. Like our Best Buy, its narrow blade means it shines brightest for off-the-board tasks such as hulling strawberries or peeling fruit, though it can serviceably execute on-the-board slicing and mincing, too, albeit with slightly less knuckle clearance.

This knife’s long, narrow blade was very sharp, but its thick spine meant that it wedged into foods we cut on the cutting board—apples, shallots, and blocks of cheese. Worse, its handle was off. It was too long and bumped into our wrists when we had to choke up on the blade when peeling apples or hulling strawberries. It was also awkwardly shaped, with a broader end that tapered toward the blade, forcing our hands to slide toward the blade as we worked on the cutting board. And its somewhat smooth plastic was a bit slippery when wet.

“Is that an oyster knife?” asked almost every person who walked by this knife in the kitchen. The answer is no, but it does look like one—and much like an oyster knife, its blade was extremely dull, so it couldn’t slice, hull, or peel very effectively at all. Its textured plastic handle was long and grippy but so thick that most testers found it uncomfortable to wield for long periods.

Several testers commented that this inexpensive, lightweight knife looked like a toy, better for a picnic or a vacation home rental than for serious use. “Alas,” as one user said, “Sometimes looks are not deceiving.” The knife’s blade was extremely narrow, so it might have been good for off-the-board jobs such as peeling apples or hulling strawberries—if only it had actually been sharp. Unfortunately, it was exceedingly dull, making every task a chore. The blade also has a bolster that renders part of the blade unsharpened and unusable, which testers found annoying. The handle was not much better. Made of poorly varnished wood, it was shorter than we prefer and the nails holding it together stuck out slightly, digging into our hands unpleasantly as we held it.