I am usually against knife sets; they tend to contain useless knives and suboptimal versions of useful knives, but I absolutely love this set of paring knives1.

For $22, it includes a small (paring) knife (useful whenever you want a small sharp knife, i.e., perfect for onion), a serrated slightly longer (tomato) knife (great for smooth vegetables, like tomatoes, as well as a surprising array of small bread, sandwich, and pastries), and a small serrated knife (the least useful of the set, usually used when one of the other two is in washing).

The knives are useful; I use at least one whenever I am cooking, they handle well thanks to their small size and handle design, and they stay sharp with no real effort2.

Victorinox Paring Knife Set

  1. I have also heard that their chef’s knife and bread knife deliver good value for their price, and arguably if you have a good chef’s knife and a good bread knife, then you need only one paring knife, but I have yet to test them. ↩︎

  2. You do have to follow the basics of knife care: handwash your knives (no dishwasher), use them on soft surfaces (never ceramic or stone), do not use them to cut harder things than they can handle (no bone or steel wire), and sharpen the small paring knife every few months. ↩︎