Victorinox Oyster Knife 2-3/4-Inch Hooked Tip New Haven Style Blade, Red SuperGrip Handle

The Victorinox 44696 oyster knife is a masterclass in precision and durability, effortlessly handling both shucking oysters and delicately breaking into compressed teas like puer cakes. Whether you’re a seafood pro or a tea connoisseur, this tool is a revelation.The razor-sharp, high-carbon stainless steel blade is the star—sturdy enough to pop open stubborn oyster shells with minimal effort, yet slim and agile for carefully loosening tightly pressed tea leaves without shredding them. The blade’s slight flex provides just enough give to glide through tasks smoothly, reducing the risk of slips or mishaps.Ergonomics shine here: The non-slip, textured polypropylene handle offers a secure, comfortable grip even when wet, which is crucial for messy oyster prep or precise tea sessions. It’s lightweight but feels solid in-hand, striking the perfect balance between control and ease of use.I’ve used this knife for everything from weekend oyster feasts to daily tea rituals, and it’s held up flawlessly—no rust, dulling, or wear. The pointed tip is genius for prying into tea cakes cleanly, preserving leaf integrity for a better brew. Plus, cleanup is a breeze; a quick rinse and it’s ready for the next task.Sleek, professional-grade, and wildly versatile, this Victorinox knife is a kitchen (and tea drawer) essential. Five stars for its rugged reliability, thoughtful design, and ability to elevate two very different crafts. A must-buy for anyone who takes their oysters or their tea seriously!

Looks and feels great. Highly recommended. Can't wait to start shucking!

I am a lover of all things shellfish with oysters being my favorite. I have had an old school oyster knife for a long time and figured it was time to upgrade. Quite frankly my old one was as close to unsafe as you could get. I can't tell you the number of times that I ended up stabbing myself that bordered upon needing stitches.I looked into all of the different types and shapes (Boston, Galveston, Providence, Frenchmen....) and finally settled on the New Haven. Once the knife arrived I immediately ran out and bought 20 oysters of varying sizes and shapes. The knife performed admirably and opened all of the oysters much better than my old knife. It appears very sturdy and shucked through all of the oysters without trouble. It worked just as well on the very small west coasters as it did on the larger east coast ones. The knife fit well into my hand and gave me a confidence that I had been lacking with my previous knife. There was no slipping or need for bandages. I got through all 20 of these oysters in half the time as I would have with my previous knife. Better yet the knife showed no signs of distress after it was all over. The upward curved tip was just the thing to pop the lid on these bivalves.I am looking forward to many more shucking sessions in the future!

I bought 3 knives to compare. (1) This knife. (2) OXO Good Grips Oyster Knife. (3) Dexter-Russell 2.75-inch Oyster Knife, New Haven pattern.Here's my take broken down by various aspects:HANDLE: OXO had the most comfortable handle. The Victorinox was a close second. But the Victorinox handle felt secure and durable. The OXO felt a little cheaper.BLADE: OXO has a wider blade. It's shinier than others, but there were some visible dents after use. It didn't feel as rigid/sturdy as others. The Dexter and Victorinox blades were narrower and felt a lot stronger. I felt that the Victorinox was slightly more rigid. I was able to pop open some very tough-to-open oysters. The Victorinox was more angled at the tip than the others, which gave it added functionality (i.e., scraping). My friend preferred the Dexter more. Suffice it to say, they were similar in performance.

The very thin blade tip of this variation on Boston style oyster knife does seem vulnerable - my knife tip is ever so slightly bent after first use on a dozen oysters. That said, this unique knife does have a lot of merit, if you slightly adjust the shucking technique ...I believe this is can be a solid, reliable knife if you're willing to take some care to work the blade directly into the hinge a bit more that you might usually do -- using a slight side-so-side motion, instead of twisting round the handle -- the thin blade slides *directly* into the hinge much more easily than typical knife with thicker blade. This is particularly so, if the hinges on the batch of oysters are typically pretty even/straight. At about 1/4" in from the tip the blade gets more substantial and seems less likely to chip, so can then be used to pry open the hinge.The knife also seems thin enough to be useful for side-entry method of shucking, though I have not yet tried that with it.**I'm glad to have it as an option among the few knives in my oyster kit, and will probably buy another one if mine ever chips... but would not recommend it as your only knife. Instead, recommend you think of it as a good option for certain types/sizes of oysters.Like any specialized tool, if you use it in a manner consistent with its special design, it can work well, just takes a bit of finesse.**Update: Tried side-entry shucking with this knife on 1/2 doz oysters and it works really well due to the very thin blade tip -- as always, if you can find the side seam, something which still eludes me on some oysters.***Update #2: After shucking at most a dozen or so oysters with this knife, I did chip the very tip on some larger, tough-to-open blue points; small ding about 1/16" that I was able to fix easily in a few minutes with a file and a sharpening stone... so net/net, still a fan of this knife for what it can do with such a uniquely thin blade. I would caution that you should acquire this knife primarily if you value a very thin profile blade, and note that it probably cannot reliably be your only oyster knife. The thin blade is indeed a trade-off but given the modest cost, I've ordered another as a backup.