Unlike a chef’s knife or santoku, your paring knife is a small, light, and preferably sharp knife that’s going to be used in a lot of particular situations. Great for peeling, light shopping, and cutting around bone, a solid paring knife is essential for use in any home chef’s kitchen.

What to Look for in a Great Paring Knife

There are a few things that you want to look for when you’re considering what paring knife to buy. These are relatively few and simple rules, but for a great paring knife they’re non-negotiables to us!

• Weight – You want a light paring knife, and something that is easily maneuverable. You want something you can generally feel like you can “whittle” with.
• Flex – Since you’ll be cutting around corners, and etching around bone when you’re cutting meats, you want a little flex with a good paring knife. This all comes with maneuverability, but if your paring knife is super stiff it’s going to be hard to use.
• Price – You shouldn’t have to spend much, certainly under $50, to get a good paring knife. We replace ours regularly, and have probably 8 in our drawer currently. It’s not as much of an identity purchase as a chefs knife, but you really need to make sure you have a solid paring knife at your disposal at all times.
• Sharpening – Paring knives shouldn’t need to be sharpened very often, but as with any knife, you’ll want to replace it once you notice that it just isn’t sharpening like it used to, nor is it cutting as well.

Consider all these factors when you’re considering your next paring knife, and feel free to start your shopping below!

Mercer Culinary M22003 Millennia 3.5-Inch Paring Knife, Black

Victorinox 1 4-Piece Set of 3.25 Inch Swiss Classic Paring Knives with Straight Edge, Spear Point, 3.25″, Pink/Green/Yellow/Orange

Paring Knife – PAUDIN 3.5 Inch Kitchen Knife N8 German High Carbon Stainless Steel Knife, Fruit and Vegetable Cutting Chopping Carving Knives

Mercer Culinary Genesis Forged Paring Knife, 3.5 Inch

J.A. HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL 31160-101 CLASSIC Paring/Utility Knife, 4-inch, Black/Stainless Steel

KitchenAid KKFTR3PROB Classic Forged Series Triple Rivet Paring Knife, Onyx Black, 3.5″

ZYLISS Paring Knife with Sheath Cover, 3.5-Inch Stainless Steel Blade, Green

J.A. Henckels International 19480-000 Cutlery Paring Knife Set, 2-pc, Silver

ZYLISS 3-Piece Peeling & Paring Knife Set

Rada Cutlery Paring Knife Set – 3 Knives with Stainless Steel Blades And Brushed Aluminum Handles Made in the USA

Paring Knife Fruit Knife Peeling Knife 4 Inch German HC Stainless Steel Small Sharp Knife with Non Slip Ergonomic Handle for Kitchen Cutting

Kuhn Rikon COLORI Straight Paring Knife with Safety Sheath, 4 inch/10.16 cm Blade, Set of 3, Red, Yellow and Blue

Chicago Cutlery 102SP Walnut Tradition 3-Inch Slant Tip Paring Knife

Cuisinart C77TR-3PR Triple Rivet Collection 3.5″ Paring Knife, Black

Chef Craft 2.5 Inch Blade Multi- Color Paring Knife Set Of 4

Enjoy some of these great paring knives, and add one or two to your kitchen collection!