In Praise of the Little Vicky paring knife

[David Thomas]

A month ago, I was in the Aleutians on a caribou-infested island (really, they’ve over-populated Adak since the Navy left and the State is concerned about the quality of the browse and that they are swimming to adjacent islands).  Anyway, once again, THE most popular knife anyone had brought BY FAR was my “Little Vicky” Victorinox paring knife.

I prefer the non-serrated one ($4-9) in the hard plastic sheath that comes with in a set with some of the serrated ones ($11).  So for $15-20, you get a ridiculously capable, pretty light (23 grams combined) hunting / camping / kitchen knife.

How capable?  Well, somebody was a damn good (and quick) shot, and suddenly we had 5 caribou to butcher.  All animals were skinned and all 20 front and hind quarters were removed with my Little Vicky plus many of the backstraps and tenderloins.  All without resharpening it.

Back in Adak town, while dressing the meat, trimming it off the bones, and removing the silver skin, it was again the most popular knife.  Whenever anyone put it down, someone else would grab it for their task.  After the last trip out there, I’ve pretty given up on insisting, “Guys!  It’s my knife!  Use your own!” but I now have a solution: I’ve bought a non-serrated knife and a sheath for each of them.

If you like a serrated blade, it’s even even cheaper.

Or, if you want the serrated version and plan to make your own sheath (you NEED a sheath, it’s very sharp and pointy) or to leave it in a knife block at home, I’ve got a bunch of serrated ones and I’ll PIF one to you.

Either serrated or non- makes a great knife for cutting herring up as halibut bait.  When on a boat (the quickest way to “raise anchor” if some goes overboard into the tidal current is to cut the anchor and buy another anchor later), or dog mushing (in an emergency, one may need to cut tug lines quickly), I wear their belt sheath to keep it handy, but it’s not UL.  $8.50 Amazon Prime.

[Nick Gatel]

+1

I like the serrated version.

[Gary Dunckel]

I’ll also praise the Little Vicky, and it’s slightly bigger sibling, the serrated ‘paring knife’. I’ve used one in my kitchen for several years, and it has performed flawlessly without any sharpening all that time, mostly for opening packages, cutting sausages, chicken, steak, and veggies. The entire selection of Victorinox prep knives can be bought from eTundra.com – check out their web site. I’m lucky in that they are based here in Boulder, so I don’t pay shipping but I do pay local sales tax. This restaurant wholesaler serves the whole country. Little Vickys rock! (by the way, a sheath, which is necessary, can be made from a 1″ piece of tubular webbing, scraps of which can be scored for free at REI; just cut it to length and seal one end closed with a Bic).

[Edward John M]

A great liitle tool.

I used to buy them by the dozen but I’ve never seen one with a sheath, must be USA only

[Matthew / BPL]

I have a Victorinox paring knife slightly larger than the Little Vicky. It’s a great knife. Thanks for reminding me about this version.

[DAN-Y]

I’ll have to get a few for the deer hunters in my clan.

[Kattt]

I have the serrated one and use it almost every night for dinner prep and eating. A great little tool and it’s a good deal.

That said….that’s impressive David.

[David Thomas]

Katharina, It was actually a different BPLer who dropped five caribou with a 4-shot gun.  HTF do you even do that?  I won’t name a Californian who probably works with lots of vegans, but I’ll point out that all the caribou were completely free-range, no-hormones, paleo/Atkins-approved, sustainably harvested, and gluten-free.

Further disclaimer: I wasn’t the one to butcher them all.  My local fishing partner who grew up on the reservation had dressed a LOT more critters than everyone else combined, so he went to it while the rest of us staged the quarters, set up camp, and prep’d the meat for transport.

Of the four people along, the two BPLers were by far the most capable hikers, so each day we’d make one or two round trips to schlep more meat out.

The thing I WILL take credit for is being a hell of a camp cook.  I even served a side of braised fern fiddleheads I gathered on our first day out.  There was caribou stew, caribou fajitas, and caribou hash for breakfast.  Turns out it tastes just like reindeer.

It also tastes just like cow.  If you feed the cow 100% lichen.

[Nick Gatel]

David,

Had you served grilled caribou steaks the serrated knives would have worked better as eating utensils :)

 

[Matthew / BPL]

It’s a bummer they don’t sell the blade cover with the non-serated version.

Does the blade cover snap on securely?

[David Thomas]

Nick: I’ve actually never dared try caribou as a steak.  All those friends who get a moose and invite me over for dinner to chew on some very lean cut of steak made me leery.  So I’ve done beef stew a la caribou, stir fry, fajitas, and such.  And then we take some to the processors to make pastrami and various types of sausage.  But that serrated Little Vicky would make an excellent steak knife.  Smaller than most steak knives but much sharper and due to its thin blade, very little cutting effort.

Matthew: Yes, that plastic cover fits very securely.  I’m not concerned with tossing the sheathed knife in a pack pocket or my pants pocket.  That’s why I go through these gyrations to score those sheaths.

[Ethan A.]

David I love the Little Vicky straight blade, it’s the perfect paring knife in length and width of blade, blade thinness and handle size (at least for me). However I’m amazed one could do that much tough cutting without resharpening. It just goes to show that most simple tools are underestimated until you actually see what they can do.

The indent in the handle just below the blade, which I’ve barely noticed before, probably helps prevent the hand from slipping up onto the blade when butchering.

[W I S N E R !]

Thanks for this oldie but goodie David.  I was going to buy a Havalon but I remembered this review and I think I’ll save some $$$ and try my luck with the Little Vicky first.

[David Thomas]

Craig,

I’ve still got a back stock of the serrated ones.   If you want, I’ll send you one.

[Philip Tschersich]

I once cut a walrus’s head off with a Vicky (note: the walrus was already dead).

Man that took a long time.

Those little Victorinox deck knives are UBIQUITOUS in Kodiak. I think I have at least 3 rolling around in my truck. I have a handful at home. Every boat in the harbor has at least a dozen. Once they dull on deck they move into the flatware drawer in the galley as steak knives. I have one in a pen holder right now on my desk as a letter opener. They are absolutely everywhere.

[David Thomas]

“I once cut a walrus’s head off with a Vicky (note: the walrus was already dead).”

My Earl Grey tea just came out through my nose!

Victorinox needs to use that quote on the Little Vicky packaging.

[Dena Kelley]

I was thinking of this thread over the weekend when I saw them on sale for a killer deal at the Sportsman’s Show.

[Jacob]

While researching why the lil’ Vicky is so cheap I’ve learned a few cool facts about the knives and Victorinox.

• The lil’ Vicky and all Victorinox knives are Swiss Made. Those plastic handles are injection molded in Ibach, Switzerland under strict EU environmental and occupational safety standards. I haven’t been able to verify this, but I think the ‘Swiss Made’ label is on the tang under/inside the handle. Ibach factory tour via Victorinox AG Youtube Channel.
• The plastic handle is either Polypropylene or Fibrox. (Unless you got yours in a Fibrox set, you have a PP handle).
• The alloy used for the blade is potentially a unique alloy developed by/for Victorinox. The Victorinox alloy is known for above average corrosion resistance, ease of sharpening, and to a lesser extent toughness. All the raw materials for the blades are sourced nearby from French and German forges. Internet hearsay is that Victorinox uses X55CrMo14 aka DIN 1.4110 steel.
• The blades are hardened at temperatures up to 1040 C and annealed at 160 C in a proprietary process to reach 55-56 HRC.
• The knives are sharpened in a proprietary process developed in house by Victorinox. Lasers are used to measure the edge bevel. Victorinox credits this process to giving the blades their edge retention.
• Cedric & Ada Gear and Outdoors Youtube Channel did a ‘Victorinox steel to the max‘ edge retention video in which a 12 degree edge lasts 2-3 times as long as the factory 17 degree edge while still being able to be quickly stropped back.

Victorinox is a family run business. The current President, CEO, and chairman Carl Elsener Jr. is the great-grandson of the founder. Since opening in 1884 they claim to never have laid off an employee. In a private financial deal, Victorinox bought their failing rival Wenger solely to prevent the brand from falling into foreign ownership, saving 150 Swiss jobs at Wenger’s facility in Delémont. “…keeps the Swiss cross in Swiss hands,” said Carl Elsener Jr. Victorinox still produces knives for the Swiss military and government to this day.

While I think the last two tidbits are interesting food for thought, the only real explanation I found for such a low price given the materials, construction, and responsible manufacturing practices is economies of scale. The Ibach factory produces 30,000 kitchen knives every day, and even more of the pocket knives! The paring knives are some of their cheapest products too.

[Daryl and Daryl]

+1

[Dale Wambaugh]

Commercial fisherman call them deck knives and use them all over for cutting line, preparing bait, and repairing nets. If you go in one of the commercial marine supply stores, they sell them by the box. The Little Vicky with the slip sheath is more of a consumer item. I recently picked up one at a West Marine store.

Most cooking stores have several variations. Similar designs are available from Wusthof and Henckels. Slightly thicker versions with sheaths are made by Zyliss and Kuhn. If you really want to step up you can get paring knives with forged blades and riveted handles– at 3-4 times the weight and mind boggling prices.

The AG Russell Woodswalker is a very high quality model with leather or kydex sheath options. https://agrussell.com/knife/A-G-Russell-Woodswalker-in-Leather-Hip-Pocket-Sheath–AGPRS

[bradmacmt]

Well, all the marketing BS aside, I’d rather carry an Opinel no.6, and I say that as someone that owns a lot of Victorinox stuff.

[R]

Epic knife geekery!

Thanks for the deep dive, Jacob!

[Dale Wambaugh]

I gathered up most of my small kitchen and camp paring knives for a group photo. I DO like a small sharp knife :)

 

[Roger Caffin]

@Dale

Have you asked your doctor about this addiction?

Cheers

[Dale Wambaugh]

@rcaffin

Only four are from my gear locker. The rest are daily users from my kitchen.

Come for dinner! You bring the Chianti and I’ll cook the f-f-f-fava beans.

[Author]

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