The story of the lost knife :) Details below. This tiny knife was the part of spring 2008 kitchen knife upgrade program, that I have to admit, failed miserably. Mainly due to really dull edges on the shiny new Global knives and partly because I've discovered the realm of high end Japanese kitchen knives. I got GSF-15 mainly out of curiosity. Very small knife, probably, it's the smallest that Global offers. I've decided that it could be useful for delicate works, such as destemming the strawberries and other tasks of the sort. Plus, I figured it was a good candidate for can be used by non knife folks too category. So, I got it with the rest of the knives in the batch. Besides, it was real chip too, ~35$. Now, one could argue that 35$ was too much for the knife with 75mm(3") blade. Perhaps that argument has some merit, but on the other hand, paring knives, for whatever reason tend to be more expensive, that is, if we go by $$ per inch ratio. Just, in that particular case, total bill was several hundred USD, so GSF-15 wasn't making any significant impact on the total price. Another reason for getting this little knife, to compare, how it would stack up against GS-40 Paring Knife, which is just an inch longer - 100mm(4").
Initial inspection
- GSF-15 comes with standard Global packaging, which I have to admit is very nicely designed and done. Upon opening the box, I've inspected the knife as usual. No visible flaws in terms of fit and finish were detected. Initial edge, well, you already know it, sucked. Really sub-par and that was unexpected from Global. I've checked the edge with a magnifying glass, pretty rough finish. My guess was that, the blade was quickly given initial bevel on the rough belt, or whatever they use to sharpen, and then sent to packaging. That wasn't the case before, earlier Globals I had, were very nicely polished and razor sharp. On the other hand, the edge on that knife was still very comparable, if not better than those on so many western knives.Steel
- The steel is the CROMOVA 18 used by Global for all their knives as far as I am concerned. I've already commented regarding this steel in Global GF-33 Forged Chef's knife review and in Fallkniven White Whale review, thus there is no point in repeating all that in here. Follow the link to see the info regarding CROMOVA 18.Blade
- Small, only 75mm(3") long blade is quite thin, around 1.5mm at its thickest section, and very symmetrical shape. Also, GSF-15 has a very narrow blade. Obviously, narrow blade will come very handy when you need to work on small, delicate items or get into some tight spots. Whatever edge it had initially was around 15°-17° per side. In general, I'd consider that pretty thin for a factory knife, but for such a small knife, it's probably too thick, especially given its designated use.Handle
- The handle is famous Global signature style, stainless steel with black dimples. Easy to maintain and provides quite positive grip, without tearing your palms. What is different on this knife and not so typical from Global knives is that the handle is pretty much flat.Sharpening
- As stated above, the edge wasn't sharp, at least, not as sharp as I wanted it. Also, 15° edge per side is too thick for such a delicate use knife. So, I've proceeded with 15µm Silicon Carbide(SiC) abrasive film, to thin down the edge a bit, and smooth the edge as well. Then the , standard procedure, 5µm SiC, followed up with 2µm CrO abrasive film, then with 0.5µm Chromium Oxide(CrO) powder loaded strop and finished with 0.3µm Aluminum Oxide(Al2O3) abrasive film. I ended up with the edge that was around 10°-12° per side. If you think, that's too thin for the paring knife, consider that many Gyutos and Nakiris have the edges more acute than that, let alone Yanagibas or Fugubikis. Like I said in other reviews, 56-58HRC steel doesn't really allow for low angles.Usage
- Remember, I said, the story of the lost knife, in the beginning. Well, what happened is that because the knife is so small, one day it simply dropped inside the Sabatier glass knife block I was using back then. I never remembered this knife, had bunch of other paring knives to deal with. Plus, that time, I gave away all of the Global knives I've had, except for the GF-31 Boning Knife, GS-40 Paring Knife and GS-10 Cheese Knife. So, I just thought I gave that one away too. Besides, as it turned out, from whatever use I managed to get out of GSF-15, before its disappearance, I concluded that 100mm(4") paring knives work better for me.In short, later in 2009, I got the new custom knife block from Dave of Board Smith. Sabatier block was cleaned thoroughly, and that's when I found this little one. I haven't used it a lot since then. However, still keep it in the kitchen, for now. Works as a guest knife, i.e abused one, in that, the knife is abused by guests. I personally, still prefer longer paring knives. GSF-15 is too short for larger onions, bell peppers and other vegetables like that. One thing I have to note, as a pro, is the flat handle. For paring grip it's very convenient. Other than that, the answer to the question, which paring knife to get, is more like up to you and your cutting preferences.
Specifications:
- Blade - 75.00mm(2.95")
- Thickness - 2.00mm
- OAL - 175.00mm(6.89")
- Steel - CROMOVA 18 56-58HRC
- Handle - Stainless Steel
- Weight - 60.00g(2.03oz)
- Acquired - 04/2008 Price - 37.00$
Related reading:
- Watanabe Small Knife Review
- Tojiro Flash Paring Knife Review
- Global GS-40 Paring Knife Review
- Watanabe Small Nakiri Knife Review
Last updated - 05/19/19