List Price: $42.00
Sale Price: $41.95
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Among my assorted bird's beak paring knives, this one has a special place. There's no hiding place for any transfer of salmonella bacteria from poultry to produce, for this knife is made of a single piece of steel, and the solid handle has good weight. (Not all knives in this line have a solid handle.) Furthermore, it stands up to use and abuse, unlike any other knife I've ever had.
I bought mine in a specialty knife store (which has since gone out of business) close to ten years ago. After a nameless family member helped out in the kitchen, it seemed to have disappeared, and I mourned for this little knife. Turns out said family member had accidentally dumped it in the composter, along with a small mountain of vegetable waste. I boiled it and it rejoined the household.
Comfortable to hold, it does a variety of paring tasks well in the kitchen. Slipperiness mentioned in reviews of other knives in this line has not been a problem. Weight and balance are excellent. I like the completeness with which it can be cleaned.
If you have a kitchen or flower garden, you'll find good uses for it outdoors as well. I grow edible ginger, as well as the kind with flowers. For cutting the rhizome from the plant, this can't be beat. I also use it when it's time to thin the heliconias and strip old leaves off lilies.
In perusing reviews about other knives in this line, there appears to be concern about sharpening the Japanese-made steel. I use a Chantry knife sharpener and find it brings this knife back to an acceptable edge.
BOTTOM LINE: If you like the bird's beak style of paring knife, you are likely to find a use for this one. Amazon's price is excellent. I paid about twice the amount and would recommend it even at that price. If you've never tried a bird's beak paring knife, this one is reasonably priced and especially versatile for the reasons mentioned.
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First thing to note, if you've not used a bird's beak before, is that this is a specialty function knife. Don't buy it before you get (at least) a few other kitchen knives, especially a parer/utility and chef's knife. Some relatives have come over and tried to use it in conjunction with a cutting board and quickly set it aside--which is fine because they were getting ready to slice a finger off.I've used it for fluted mushrooms, which is still more work than I'd like, and it does the job fine. It also works well with paring hand-held fruits and vegetables, but not being an expert, I still prefer the conventional gizmos for that.
Where it excels for my wife and I is in cutting up poultry. We usually buy our birds whole. The only time we carve is Thanksgiving. The rest of the time, whether before or after cooking, the knife of choice is this Global bird's beak. It is a veritable joy to disencumber our fowl of their appendages and such. "A hot knife through butter" as the saying goes, applies perfectly here. A whole bird is easily sectioned into six to twelve pieces in seconds. A cleaver can work as fast, but we're more joint-finders than makers, and the small knife and no-cutting board approach works great for us--less space taken, less washing, less mess. The curved point and shorter blade make the non-cutting-board approach such a good choice--I sure wouldn't recommend this technique using those 10-inch "broadswords." Of course a good chef's knife can work well too--you gotta have them, but this Global is perfection.
Sharpening takes extra time and care, but it rarely needs it--keeping a razor edge for at least half a year with about once-per-week use.
Best Deals for Global GSF-17 - 2 1/2 inch, 6cm Bird's Beak Curved Peeling Knife
I'm not going to spend a lot of time discussing this knife as it is very much the same quality of knife that you would expect from Global. Just like all Global knives, it is a solid, one piece knife that has a razor sharp edge that stays sharp longer than most other brands of knives.I originally bought this knife for use in culinary competitions, and it's one of those knives that really doesn't get a whole lot of attention, but sure is handy when you need it. I use it primarily to tourne potatoes. The shape is designed for that purpose, and the knife is therefore often described as a "tourne knife". Sure, you could use it to complete many different tasks from food to general house hold needs, but I wouldn't pay $30 to use it as an all purpose knife when there are so many cheaper options out there.
If you're less interested in the uses of the knife and more curious of the quality of the knife, feel free to read one of my other reviews on Global knives. I use them every single day at work, and I have very little interest in exchanging them for any other brand.
