The original Swiss army knife has become a legend because of its unparalleled versatility. The knife was originally created in the 1890s to supply the Swiss army with a multi-functional tool that could be used in the field for repairing equipment, opening cans, and generally accomplishing any task at hand. The soldier's knife was such a multipurpose success that the phrase "Swiss army knife" has come to be used in popular culture to describe someone or something that can do it all.
When you are looking for a multipurpose knife to use around the home, Victorinox continues to be one of the best options around. In fact, one of the main reasons that you see us using the Victorinox boning knife so often in our YouTube videos is because of the versatility this knife offers. Like the iconic Swiss army knife, the Victorinox Knives 6-inch boning knife is a multipurpose masterpiece that goes from kitchen to field with ease.
How the Victorinox Swiss Army Knives Came to Be
In the late 1800s, the Swiss army wanted to equip soldiers with a tool that combined several functions into one easy-to-carry design. A German company initially began making the original design, but in 1897, Karl Elsener began making a competing design that became a commercial success.
The Original Swiss Army Knife featured a drop point blade, a flat screwdriver, a can opener, and an awl. It was issued as a rifle maintenance tool, but quickly became an indispensable part of many people's outdoor gear. Over time, numerous other gadgets have been added to the original design. From a nail file to scissors, and even survival tools like a wood saw.
What Makes Victorinox Knives Handy
There are tons of knife manufacturers out there all clamoring for your hard-earned money, so why trust Victorinox? The company has been at the task of making versatile knives for a very long time and has built a worldwide reputation for quality and affordability.
Let's talk about some of the features that have made Victorinox knives reputable and popular with professional chefs and home cooks alike.
Blade Materials
Most knives in the world have metal blades, but not all metals are equal or good for making knife blades. When a manufacturer selects a type of metal to make a knife, they are doing so in order to get particular characteristics. Some types of metal are more suitable than others, while many types of metal require special processes and care in order to make a good knife blade.
Carbon Steel vs Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is a type of metal that contains a high level of chromium that gives the metal its characteristic stain-resistance. Carbon steel is high in carbon and is typically dark or even black. Beyond the basics, these two materials also perform differently when used as knife blades.
Carbon steel is softer and can be sharpened to a razor-sharp edge. There are two downsides to carbon steel knives: they require frequent sharpening and the metal will become discolored. Carbon steel knives require oiling and special care to prevent rust from forming that can damage the knife blade.
Stainless steel is a harder metal that can also be sharpened to a razor edge. Stainless will hold a sharp edge far longer than carbon steel, but is also more difficult to sharpen. The harder metal means that you'll want to use different sharpening tools to get the perfect edge. Stainless steel knives generally require very little care beyond sharpening, though, and you won't have to worry about rust.
What are Victorinox Knives Made From?
Victorinox uses a special type of metal called martensitic steel. Victorinox uses a variation that includes about 0.5-percent of carbon that makes the steel stronger, but also brittle. To alleviate this characteristic, Victorinox hardens and tempers the steel. The resulting metal is both hard and flexible when the process is finished.
Forged vs Stamped
There are lots of properties about both forged blades and stamped blades that make significant differences. Briefly, forged blades tend to be heavier and stronger, making them ideal for heavy use. Stamped knives are lighter weight and are the most common type used by professionals because the knife won't tire the hand out as quickly.
Most Victorinox knives, including the six-inch boning knife, are stamped knives. This reduces the cost to manufacture and speeds up the process. Victorinox has only one collection of forged knives. The Grand Maitre collection are all forged knives.
Handle Material
Just as there are many types of metal, there are also numerous options for handle materials. For example, Victorinox uses four different synthetic handles and three different wood handles on their knife collections. Each type has certain properties and disadvantages, and some people will prefer one type over another.
The knife that we like is available with both synthetic and wood ergonomic handles, and we prefer the rosewood for the look and warm feel. They fit well for us and are easy to keep clean.
Victorinox also uses walnut for some blades and a product called modified maple. Modified maple is a heat-treated maple wood that is more durable than typical maple wood but keeps the beautiful grain.
Blade Length
The blade length of a knife impacts its practicality and usefulness. Too large and you won't have the control you need to make precision cuts. Smaller blades end up making ragged cuts and you won't have enough power to get through tough cuts.
The Victorinox boning knives that we like has a six-inch blade. This is an excellent compromise between a large butcher's knife and a smaller paring knife. We have found that the boning knife works great for removing bones, making primal cuts, and filleting. It even works surprisingly well as a skinning knife.
What Makes the Victorinox Boning Knife Versatile?
Victorinox combines a high-carbon stainless steel blade that is stamped and tempered for strength with ergonomic handles that provide a comfortable and stable grip. The six-inch curved blade is semi-rigid and has a very sharp drop point tip.
What this adds up to is a knife that is easy to handle and has a unique design that is ideal for almost any cutting task you'll encounter. Let's take a look at some of the tasks this multipurpose knife can handle.
Boning
Given that this knife is called a boning knife, we'll start by discussing this important task. The Victorinox boning knife shape and flexible blade make it perfect for working close to bones without cutting into them. The sharp tip lets you easily remove bones without making a mess of the meat.
Cutting
If you've ever tried to separate the flat and point of a brisket, you know how important it is to have the right knife. The size and curved edge of the boning knife work perfectly to make clean cuts through thick pieces of meat and tough muscles.
Slicing
The boning knife works surprisingly well for slicing meat, vegetables, and fruit. The high-carbon stainless steel blade can be sharpened to easily make paper-thin cuts in grapes, tomatoes, and onions while also being the perfect choice for slicing roast beef or pork.
Chopping
Even though this knife is lightweight, it works great for chopping herbs. This is one of the times when we really appreciate the wooden handles. they make it perfect to hold with the thumb and forefinger on the blade while letting the rosewood handle sit comfortably in the palm. It's perfect for chopping and dicing cilantro, parsley, and garlic.
Breaking
Typical breaking knives gave heavy blades very different from the lightweight blade of this boning knife. What this knife lets you do with ease is to work between the bones, finding the joints and quickly separating them. The slightly flexible blade works to the advantage because it resists chipping and breaking when working to break through joints.
Skinning
Skinning knives are typically small and sharp. While the boning knife is longer than a typical skinning knife, the stable wood handle and gracefully curved blade work perfectly for quickly skinning wild game. We like this knife so much that we always have one in our field dress kit.
Other Features that Make These Great Knives
Many knife manufacturers will play funny tricks, like using a name that sounds German or Japanese, even though their knives are produced in China.
All Victorinox knives are made in Ibach, Switzerland, in the same town where the company's founder first started making knives. Whether you are purchasing one of the company's Swiss army knives, or if you are looking for a great kitchen knife set, all of the products from Victorinox have the same high level of Swiss craftsmanship that makes them dependable and high quality.
Even the steel used to make the blades of Victorinox knives is made in Europe, primarily in Germany and France.
Final Thoughts
If you are searching for the perfect knife to use in the kitchen, at the smoker, or in the field, Victorinox provides the best knives for multipurpose uses. A big part of the reason is that the company has been building the original multipurpose tool for a long time, so they know what they are doing. Plus, all of the knives they make have great features that let the knives perform far beyond the original purpose, like the way we use our Victorinox boning knife for skinning deer in the field.
