A knife is a tool that has a sharp blade and a handle used for cutting. In the kitchen utensil, a knife is an important part. Every activity is incomplete without the use of a proper knife.
The knife has a long history and was invented by Homo sapiens. Knives were used as weapons, eating utensils and as tools. So, apart from using them for cutting food items knives were also used to kill the animals or even the enemies.
Some of the commonly used knives are Chef’s knife, Santoku knife, Steak knife, Paring Knife, Utility Bread & Butter Knife.
A Paring knife is a small knife used for multiple purposes. It is a plain edge knife ideal for peeling fruit and vegetables. It is also used for small or complex tasks like removing the seed from a jalapeno or de-veining a shrimp.
The size of the Paring knife is 2½ to 4”. Peeler is also used as an alternative way to peel vegetables and fruits.
The paring knife is a general-purpose knife that you can find in almost all kitchens. It is very useful and available in a variety of colors and sizes. You can choose any one of them as per your need.
However, so many varieties of paring knife can cause a lot of confusion in choosing the right one for your purpose.
To help you make the right choice we have conducted a thorough study of several paring knives considering their features, pros, and cons. And based on this study we have shortlisted the top 10 best paring knives available in the market.
We hope that this helps you in selecting the best paring knives for your requirements.
Overview: Best Paring Knives
Product Image | Product Name | Features | Price | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mercer Culinary M23930BL Millennia Paring Knife | $ | ||
 | Mercer Culinary Genesis Paring Knife | $$ | ||
 | JapanBargain 1563 | $ | ||
 | Kai Wasabi Black Paring Knife | $$ | ||
 | KitchenAid KKFTR3PROB Classic Forged Series Onyx | $$ | ||
 | Okami Knives, Japanese VG10 Stainless Steel | $$$ | ||
 | TUO Paring Knife 3.5 inch | $$$ | ||
 | WALLOP Paring knife | $$ | ||
 | Utility Paring Knife FANTECK Damascus Stainless Steel VG10 High Carbon | $$$ |
Top 9 Best Paring Knives in 2020
1. Mercer Culinary M23930BL Millennia Paring Knife -Best Overall
When it comes to having a paring knife, Mercer is one of the first names that strike our mind.
The quality, service, and features that it offers, are purely unmatched. And the manufacturers have taken a giant step in the food industry with its Millenia series.
The Mercer Millennia Paring knife is made with a high carbon Japanese steel blade that quite efficiently resists corrosion, as well as discoloration.
Moreover, its razor-sharp edge offers extremely smooth cutting and chopping.
Besides, it has an ergonomically designed Santoprene handle blended with polypropylene for extra durability. The textured finger points allow a firm hold over the handle even with wet hands. The blade handle junction is safe and provides a comfortable and protective hold for the index fingers for long hours.
But a question arises… “Why should I trust it?” Well, fortunately, the Mercer Millennia is certified with the NSF certificate by meeting the most stringent safety requirements.
Another special feature that this high-quality knife offers you is the super easy maintenance.
The best part of these top-quality knives is its exceptionally affordable cost. In total, the quality of these knives is a class apart and that too at a price that won’t load your bank at all.
Pros
Cons
2. Mercer Culinary Genesis Paring Knife -Runners Up
Another extraordinary product offered by Mercer is the Mercer Culinary Genesis 3.5”.
Do not base your judgment about the performance with the size of this mini knife, for its impeccable features would leave you totally astonished.
It comprises a sturdy high carbon German steel blade that effectively resists corrosion, stains, and moisture. Moreover, the rounded spinal edge along with a congenial and unique one-piece precision-forged construction enhances its value a great deal.
The long-lasting sharpness and easy honing add on to the convenience. It also has a taper-ground edge and a tough blade handle junction for extreme stability.
Besides, it offers an ergonomic triple-riveted handle made with Delrin for extra strength and durability without compromising with comfort. The mini-sized bolster gives a greater blade exposure for easier sharpening along with better stability and durability of the blade.
Like most of the reliable products manufactured under these impressive brands, the Mercer Culinary Genesis is also trusted and certified by NSF.
The overall quality of this mini-knife is spectacular, as expected from the products under the house of Mercer. Yet, in terms of versatility much should not be expected from this short sized knife.
Pros
Cons
3. JapanBargain 1563, Japanese High Carbon Stainless Steel - Budget Pick
This JapanBargain 1563, Fruit Paring Knife comes with a brown sheath for protection of blade made by wood.
The sheath is very beautifully made. The blade of the knife is 4” long.
This Japanese knife has a pointed edge for very close cutting. The material can be resharpened.
Moreover, the knife is made of high carbon Stainless Steel blade with no rusting feature.
The sheath of the knife is made of oak wood. Moreover, this is a multipurpose knife and can be effectively used for all types of cutting, slicing and detailing work in the kitchen.
This knife is a beautiful and optimal combination of functionality and aesthetics. It has two bevels and is sharp but not scary sharp.
Overall, the quality of Steel used in the blade is pretty well. The cleaver has a decent edge holding capability.
Pros
Cons
4. Kai Wasabi Black Paring Knife
Kai is a famous brand for maintaining quality for about 11 years in the field of knife making company situated at Japan’s Seki City.
It is well-known for producing high-quality cutlery, cutlery accessories and other products with beautiful designs.
The product of Kai is a result of rigorous dedication towards maintaining quality by monitoring each & every step of the manufacturing process and keeping the product to the mark.
Like all other products, the Kai Wasabi Black Paring Knife is also designed with top quality and state-of-the-art Japanese technology.
Kai Wasabi Black Paring Knife has a traditional style handle with a razor-sharp blade that gives it an elegant look.
Due to its sharp razor, its performance is excellent. It comes in both Asian blade shapes as well as western styles. These blades are made from high carbon Japanese steel.
Kai Wasabi Black Paring Knife is different from European style knives. These Japanese knives are sharpened at a 16-degree cutting edge. This angle provides sharper and smoother cutting with single as well as double bevel blades.
Pros
Cons
5. KitchenAid KKFTR3PROB Classic Forged Series
This knife is very effectively used for peeling, paring and slicing purpose. It is also used for detailed cutting purposes.
Moreover, it is made from high carbon German 1.4028 Stainless Steel which makes it a unique and long-lasting razor-sharp edge.
The handle design is very good and ultimate for easy hand control. The knife has polished triple steel rivets seamlessly fitting the handle. Centre rivet is larger than other rivets for better firmness.
In addition, the handle is ergonomically designed for a firm and comfortable grip. And fortunately, this knife, unlike many other knives in the category, is dishwasher safe though hand wash is recommended for the best results.
The KitchenAid Classic Forged Paring knife has an attractive and beautifully crafted handle. The traditional aesthetics enhance its value. KitchenAid Professional Paring knife has a beautiful artisan crafted handle that is ergonomically engineered for proper hand control.
It has a limited lifetime warranty. The overall quality of this knife is unique with its extraordinary sharp-edged blades.
Pros
Cons
6. Okami Knives, Japanese VG10 Stainless Steel
Okami Paring Knife is one of the most versatile paring knives.
It is a very small knife used for delicate tasks such as cutting the cores out of apple quarters, hulling strawberries, etc
This knife is made of premium Japanese VG10 High Carbon Stainless Steel. It has razor-sharp light-weighted blades.
The blades have 8-12o cutting edge. Combined with modern techniques the light and hard steel provide an acute edge angle.
The extremely sharp edge allows less force to cut anything.
Due to this feature, it is very useful for the professional as it reduces wrist fatigue.
It comes with an elegant packaging with an Edge Guard and also a plastic cover for protection from sharp edges. An Okami Kanji is stamped at the end of the cap of the knife. A cleaning cloth is also available in the packaging for cleaning purposes.
The company is offering a Limited Lifetime guarantee against any manufacturing defects. This speaks about the confidence that the company has on its product.
In case you are somehow not satisfied with the product you can ask for the refund of your money. The company gives full refund on your purchase within 60 days.
Pros
Cons
7. TUO Paring Knife 3.5 inch
TUO Paring Knife is a sort of chef’s knife that is also useful in cutting meat, fish, and vegetables.
It is also useful in outdoor cooking, cooking competitions, catering, etc.
The HC Japanese AUS-10 Damascus stainless steel blade of TUO Paring knife makes it sturdy and provides toughness and ultra sharpness.
It has Ergonomic G10 Handle where G10 stands for glass fiber which is unaffected even under high pressure conditions.
The design of the handle includes modern as well as the traditional style.
The ergonomic design makes it very comfortable to hold, besides, it exerts less pressure on your wrist as well. So the slicing, chopping, and cutting are done very easily.
Pros
Cons
8. WALLOP Paring knife, Japanese Style German 1.4116 High Carbon Steel
Wallop is one of the most professional kitchen knives manufacturing brands in the world. It is a famous brand for sharpening and forging.
Wallop uses premium steel (a combination of Japanese Damascus steel, German 1.4116 HC steel, VG10, and Japanese AUS-10).
Besides, this easy to carry knife has great flexibility.
Its 8-inch blade is easy to operate. Its design provides strength, cutting control and full balance.
Pakkawood handles provide an easy and controlled grip. This makes a knife easily operable without any strain on the wrist.
Also, it has 56+ Rockwell hardness and a satin finish hand polish surface.
Its tall blade is useful in cutting, chopping, and slicing easily.
Design wise it is very simple and elegant. It is effectively used in every activity in the kitchen from breakfast to lunch to dinner in a very easy manner.
Pros
Cons
9. Utility Paring Knife FANTECK Chef Knife Damascus Stainless Steel VG10 High Carbon
It is a 6” paring knife made from 67 layers VG-10 high carbon Japanese Stainless Steel. It is very durable, sturdy and stain-resistant.
The Pakkawood handle with the acrylic rim has an excellent grip, full control and is very comfortable to work with.
Moreover, it comes with a sheath to protect from sharp edges. The packaging is very beautiful.
You can gift these knives to your parents and also to your friends.
Customer support is excellent. Besides, it has a limited lifetime guarantee with a 100% money-back guarantee so there is no risk to buy this product.
Overall, it is a complete value for money product.
Pros
Cons
Buying Guide: Best Paring Knives
So, we have shared with you the top 10 best paring knives available in the market. This list is the outcome of a thorough study of various knives on the basis of their features as well as customers’ feedback.
However, before placing the final order you must assess your requirement and check them against each of the top 10 knives shared here. And for the assessment of your actual need, it would be a good idea to learn about the important features of a paring knife.
To help you out on this aspect we are presenting here those vital features in our buying guide below.
1. Price
Ideally, everyone wants to have the best quality product at the minimum cost. Therefore, product price is always one of the major factors in buying any product. In the case of a paring knife also the price is an important factor for consideration.
You can get an excellent quality knife at a very reasonable rate. At times you may buy a paring knife at an extraordinarily low cost. However, you should never compromise with the quality of the knife only for its cost.
Sometimes a one-time investment gives you a long-lasting quality product. It gives value for money in the long run.
If you are a beginner you can go for a cheaper knife but as you are getting experienced and growing as a professional you should give proper consideration to all other factors as well.
2. Sharpness of Blades
This is the most important aspect while selecting any knife. The sharpness of the blades plays a vital role in determining the performance of a paring knife. A sharp blade ensures a smooth and split free cutting in a quick time.
As these knives are used regularly for general purposes sharpness becomes an even more important criterion for selecting the knife.
3. Grip Handles
The grip of handles is another very important feature for the smooth operation of any knife. A comfortable gripping prevents the wrist from strain & fatigue during our daily routine in the kitchen.
A handle with a firm grip makes cutting very easy and smooth. An ergonomically engineered knife provides extra comfort in long-duration cutting. Besides, a non-slippery grip allows a firm hold of the knife and also provides less pressure on fingers and wrists.
So while choosing any paring knife you should consider a well-designed knife with good material.
4. Durability of Knife
Yes! Durability actually matters a lot. You must factor in durability in your priority list. The material used to make blades should be rust-resistant and it should also be made from fine quality of Stainless Steel to make it durable.
Generally, A High carbon German or Japanese Stainless steel is preferred for making paring knives as it is much more durable than any other steel.
Final Words
After a thorough study, we have shortlisted 10 topmost knives and shared with you their features. We based our study of these knives on these features and also on the reviews of several users.
We further discussed the important features to be considered before finalizing the most suitable paring knife for your purpose.
This buying guide will definitely help you in finalizing the appropriate knife of your choice to fulfill your different culinary requirements.
Once you fully understand your requirement you may select the paring knife that best fits your exact needs.
If you are still not sure and are not able to decide on that final one, we would recommend you to go with Mercer Culinary M23930BL Millennia 3-Inch, Slim Paring Knife for its wonderful overall features and also for its high affordability.
There is one more knife which you would find highly satisfying i.e. Mercer Culinary Genesis Paring Knife, 3.5 Inch.
As a low-cost high performing option JapanBargain 1563, 4 inch Japanese High Carbon Stainless Steel makes a good choice for its state-of-the-art technology.
So you can select any one of them and enjoy the kitchen work with your favorite knife. In case of any query or feedback, kindly write to us in the comment section below.
Also, don't forget to check out our reviews on best electric knives for cutting meat.