Dan
Vancouver, WA

Jan 14, 2016

Pros: Sharpenability, Material Quality, Overall Quality, Construction, Durability

Cons: None

Typical Spyderco build quality - excellent. I love the ergonomics but it may be polarizing for some and lower ratings will likely reflect preference rather than quality. If you know what you are looking for you will be happy. I have had one for around 15 years. It gets used more often than my Shun and other more expensive and larger paring knives. This is because it excels at peeling and other delicate tasks due to the ergonomics and agile blade shape and size. The description compares it to a scalpel; or I would add,it handles like a wood carving knife. While it does not have the large handle of a wood carving knife, I wear male large gloves and do not find the handle too small. The handle is larger than the popular Victorinox paring knife (another low cost excellent choice for a paring knife). I also have the Victorinox but prefer the handling quality of the Spyderco and do find the Victorinox handle too small. Like some other Spyderco kitchen knife models the handle is very grippy due to the material and the irregular surface which not only grips your hand but food particles. It requires a periodic brush to clean the handle when it gets "gunk" in the textured grip. I do not remember having an issue with the factory edge grind, but it was long ago and the factory grind is a distant memory. I like the knife so well that when it was discontinued I worried what I would do to replace it if I lost it. I can't think of any other knives that I have that thought about.

Patrick D
WA state

Aug 29, 2020

Pros: Sharpness, Sharpenability, Material Quality, Overall Quality, Construction, Durability

Cons: None

Excellent knife

I've used one of these for almost 20 years, and am getting a spare. It's a fantastic small parer for things like coring strawberries, using it in an upside-down hold and cutting against the thumb. Perfect detail knife too. Once you learn how to use it (and I wear an L or XL glove) it's not too small. I have the Spyderco serrated 4", 6" and their Santoku, too (excellent). They are all a perfect complement to my Wusthof knives.

Kara
Colorado

Dec 27, 2015

Pros: Sharpness, Material Quality, Overall Quality, Durability

Cons: Sharpenability

Great knife at a bargain price

I have used this pretty much exclusively for meat prep as well as for butchering rabbits, it has exceeded expectations in all regards. This knife is very sharp and fits well in my hands (average woman's hands). The blade is very sharp and stropping has been sufficient to maintain its edge over the course of a year and a half. This is my go to knife in the kitchen, I love it!

Jerome
Denver, Co

Jan 26, 2023

Pros: None

Cons: None

Favorite paring knife

I have a lot of paring knives of different sizes, shapes, and prices and enjoy the different qualities of each, but this one is my favorite, by far. The small blade gives me a ton of control and it's super easy to maneuver. The wharncliffe shape works surprisingly well as a paring knife and just cuts better. Though small, it's very sturdy. Using a strong magnet, I found that the tang goes far into the handle. Much more than it does on Victorinox paring knives. I have XXL hands, but the size of the handle works just fine. The handle texture also gives me a secure grip. I typically hold it with the blade facing toward my thumb and it's very comfortable.

Kevin
Nebraska

Jan 30, 2015

Pros: Sharpness, Sharpenability

Cons: Material Quality, Design

Nice knife, but tiny grip

This is very small paring knife. I know the description tells you the blade is 2 inches, but what it doesn't tell you is the grip is tiny. Would be great for a 10 year old who needs a really nice paring knife.

If
Bay Area, Ca

Feb 07, 2015

Pros: Construction, Durability

Cons: Sharpness, Sharpenability

This knife deserves a zero grind!

I have been waiting for Spyderco to release this knife, as it is an inexpensive western style very short 50mm parer/peeler made in Japan with a decent steel. It fills a real void in the market, as it is hard to find J-utility knives shorter than 80mm! The ergonomics are great for my medium size male hand. It is lightweight, has good grip and is maintenance free (stainless steel, plastic handle). As expected it does not have a distal taper. For a kitchen knife made in Japan it has a pretty thick 60/40 grind. (But not unusual for a Spyderco.) Unfortunately the 60% is on the wrong side (namely potato - not peel), at least for a right handed person. Which means the knife won't readily dig into vegetables when held at a shallow angle. Spyderco could have avoided this by giving the knife a zero grind + micro bevel (or a Japanese one sided 10/90 bevel). All I can do is assume they are afraid somebody could start making batoning videos with it. Now in theory it would be trivial to regrind a blade this tiny. The edge is mildly concave though (maybe 1.5mm hollow), which protects the edge during normal use. At the same time the hollow makes reprofiling on stones more of a challenge. Overall not a bad knife, but a bit disappointing. I will try locating a 65mm Herder windmill parer.