6-Inch Chef’s Knife

In our review of 8-inch chef’s knives, we gave top marks to the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 8" Chef's Knife, praising its supersharp 8-inch blade and comfortable textured grip. The company also makes a smaller version, the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 6" Chef’s Knife. Could it perform as well as its cousin? To find out, we tested it in a lineup of chef’s knives for kids and named it our top pick for pint-size cooks. However, we noticed that adult testers also liked the knife. Could a 6-inch chef’s knife work for the entire family?

We’d asked testers in our kids’ testing to use the knife to chop celery and slice cheese, but this time we put the blade through everyday kitchen tasks that we expect a good knife to ace: slicing tomatoes, chopping onions, mincing parsley, peeling and cubing butternut squash, and breaking down a whole chicken.

Putting the Knife to the Test

As we did with the 8-inch version, we liked the secure grip of the 6-inch knife. Testers also commented on the knife’s flexible blade, which made it feel similar to a boning knife. When we used digital calipers to measure the blade’s thickness, we found that it was actually half as thick as the 8-inch version. Coupled with the knife’s smaller, more dexterous size, this bendy blade easily broke down a whole chicken.

Lightness and flexibility came with two trade-offs. First, it took us longer to finely chop a large onion and to mince parsley with the smaller knife since it didn’t cover as much surface area as the 8-inch version. Second, the 6-inch blade was more flexible than the 8-inch blade, so peeling and breaking down a butternut squash was a daunting task. Testers found not only that it took them longer but also that they had to apply more force, which meant the knife’s blade dulled more quickly. After breaking down a butternut squash and a whole chicken, our knife could barely slice through paper—a test we use to gauge sharpness—and made jagged, squished slices of tomatoes.

The Best 6-Inch Chef’s Knife: Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 6" Chef’s Knife

Ultimately we still recommend an 8-inch knife for most adult cooks, but we’ve found that the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 6" Chef’s Knife makes a great knife for both kids and adults who are new to the kitchen or for adults who like working with a smaller knife. Since its blade is more flexible than the 8-inch version, more seasoned cooks can use this knife as a heavy-duty paring knife or a boning knife, but it really isn’t ideal for most prep work. For most cooks, we recommend the Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 8" Chef's Knife.