There are very few people in this earth that are as inept in the kitchen as I am. To illustrate, a quick story from Rybo history that family and friends enjoy bringing up from time to time, taking sick pleasure from my shortfalls. Back when my wife and I were dating, I thought it would be nice to bake her a cake for her birthday. I, never having baked a cake (or anything for that matter), asked my mom for help. She supplied me with a sure-fire plan of action: a boxed cake mix that had exactly 3 ingredients and 3 instructions. I made the cake. Well, I thought I did…until the oven went off. I somehow failed to add the eggs, even though they were only 1 of 3 ingredients.
So, to the store I went to pickup another boxed cake mix. I made the cake again. This time, I kid you not, I believe I left out the butter. Back to the store I went. Finally, on the 3rd try and with my moms supervision, the cake was successfully baked. So, to summarize…it took me 3 tries with a boxed cake mix to make my wife a creation that the average American would associate with a birthday cake. The kitchen is not my domain.
I wanted to provide that context before getting into this review, because this is the first kitchen knife I’ve reviewed, and I fall woefully short in even maintaining the kitchen knives in our house. You would think as a knife reviewer and gear head, we would have a respectable set of cutlery, but alas, we do not. As a meager attempt to begin course correction, I picked up 2 of these Spyderco Z-Cut’s several months ago – one serrated, one straight edge.
Overall, these things are amazing. They were immediately her favorite knives in the kitchen for an embarrassing reason: they were sharp. I know, I know. I have a Sharpmaker, I enjoy sharpening my stuff, etc. I know. But even beyond the fact that these would actually cut food, she immediately took to these 2 knives.
For starters, they’re very lightweight. The handles are slim, but substantial enough to get a good grip. The blades are incredibly thin – so much so that you get a little bit of filet-knife flex, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing with this type of utility knife.
The other main selling point to these – and in keeping with the classic funkiness of Spyderco – the offset profile really lends itself to use. It may look weird to some people, but man, it works. The knife is just right where you want it to be when you start cutting, and you don’t have to hold your arm up and bend your wrist at an odd angle like you sometimes do with a straight knife.
In terms of kitchen cutlery, this knife has convinced me that anytime you plan to cut standing up (think: food prep), you would do better with an offset. And any time you would cut sitting down (think: eating at the table), you should use a classic straight handle. Over time, I really started wondering why more classic kitchen knife brands don’t make more small knives in this design.
Lastly, the blunt tip has been a surprising delight. It may be a by-product of having littles running around, but I feel more free to move around the kitchen with the knife – there’s something about it that really does make you feel like you’re less likely to stab something/someone accidentally as you move from counter to sink, etc. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to any complacency – these hold a great edge and stay sharp, so proper safety is still a priority.
The Z-Cut series is a real winner, and a solid carry for me (and my wife). I’m truly perplexed why this series doesn’t get more attention. This brand remains one of my favorite brands because of their continued push to innovate and pursue excellence. Way to go, Spyderco!
