Kitchen knives

[SacDuc]

If the OP doesn't mind me piling on I have a similar but more specific question: I'm looking for an 8" chef's knife that has a very narrow blade. Doesn't have to be pretty, just has to have decent steel.

I'm also looking for a 7" boning knife. I spatchcock chickens a lot.

sac


/get your mind out of the gutter you sick bastard   

[Charlief]

Try looking at these

http://www.mundialusa.com/

The 5100 series. An 8" chef knife with full tang blade for under$40

I have the whole set. They keep a great edge and sharpen easily.  I have my knives sharpened every couple of months.

My father in law was VP for this company and I was amazed by the quality.  The set he gave me replaced my Henckels hodge bodge collection.

[rgramjet]

I love my Globals.  Tend to be a bit on the light side.  Hold a razor edge until my wife uses them.  Nice not to have to worry about wood handles.

I checked out the Ken Onions before going Global and found them to be too bulky.  

[rgramjet]

If the OP doesn't mind me piling on I have a similar but more specific question: I'm looking for an 8" chef's knife that has a very narrow blade. Doesn't have to be pretty, just has to have decent steel.

I'm also looking for a 7" boning knife. I spatchcock chickens a lot.

sac


/get your mind out of the gutter you sick bastard   

I use a heavy bladed cleaver to butterfly my chicken, hack down each side of the spine.  How do you do it with a 7" boner?

You just like to say "spatchcock"............

[WarrenJ]

I agree that a sharp, heavy cleaver is the bees knees for disassembling chickens.  I picked up a heavy Chicago Cutlery cleaver at the outlet in Lebanon, Missouri for under $10 and it has degooched hundreds of chickens since.  Takes about 45 seconds per yardbird. 

One semi-fancy thing I do with chickens is debone them and roll them with a stuffing.  I think it is called a Gallintine or something on that order.  There is actually very little cutting involved and you end up with all the chicken skin in one big piece with all the meat stuck to it except for two small subparts of the breasts which you peel out and place in the proper spaces on the skin.  You can make any type of stuffing, (I usually make onions, mushrooms and cheese), roll up the bird and tie it with a series of half hitches.  You can bake them or do them on the grill.  Different and looks cool on the table. 

[Vindingo]

I have Globals, and use them every day.  My favorite Global was the santoku, but I gave it to my brother as a gift.  I was in love with the design, but I have had them for about 3-4 years and they don't thrill me anymore. 

A friend gave me a Japanese knife from a small hardware store in Berkeley ( http://hidatool.com/shop/shop.html ) and I love it.  I think it was reasonably priced, and it takes a razor's edge faster than my Globals.  The only problem is that with a high carbon blade, you have to wash and dry it right after you use it.  Admittedly, I do neglect my Globals and leave them in the sink sometimes. 

Japan woodworker also has some really cool Japanese knives http://japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=13167&s=JapanWoodworker  I don't think you could go wrong with any of them, and you will have something unique. 

[WarrenJ]

http://shop.niimi.okayama.jp/kajiya/en/index_e.html

I have two kitchen knives I bought from Shosui Takeda when he was in Chicago for the Intl. Custom Knife Show several years ago.  They are forgewelded laminated steel and are razor sharp but the cutting edges are extremely fragile and will not tolerate the slightest abuse.   When you take that into consideration though - WOW  do they cut! 

[SacDuc]

I use a heavy bladed cleaver to butterfly my chicken, hack down each side of the spine.  How do you do it with a 7" boner?

You just like to say "spatchcock"............

I use a boning knife because I do just a bit more than a simple butterfly. When cutting out a back bone there is really only one major joint you have to get through. A sharp boning knife will go through the rest like butter. Find the joint and its smooth sailing. Then you already have the proper knife  in hand to do the little work like removing the shoulder bones and poking a hole in the skin to tuck the leg through (and you could remove the ribs and wishbone or tuck the wings as well, but I don't). If you are just only removing the back bone a cleaver works great.

I'll use a cleaver for turning a whole chicken into eight pieces for frying, but not for spatchcocking.



sac


/spatchcock

[Latinbalar]

I am guessing you have a knife already spend a few bucks and get them sharpened (professionally) and and get a truer. With regular maintence and trueing before every use the knife will stay sharp forever.

My Reagent Swords cuts thru anything.

[iDuc]

I can't believe we're on page two and nobody mentioned Ginsu!!

I have Wusthoff. What about ceramics? (I've never used one myself)

[zooom]

I can't believe we're on page two and nobody mentioned Ginsu!!

or CUTCO....LOL

[rgramjet]

I can't believe we're on page two and nobody mentioned Ginsu!!

I have Wusthoff. What about ceramics? (I've never used one myself)

I had a nice Kyocera(sp) ceramic chefs knife.  Very sharp!  It would be a great knife if you are the only person using it.  If someone else (wife or other careless individual) doesnt give it the respect that it deserves, it will break.

I am about to put my Globals on a high shelf......keep finding them in the dishwasher or rattling around in the sink.    Grrrrrrr!

[rgramjet]

I use a boning knife because I do just a bit more than a simple butterfly. When cutting out a back bone there is really only one major joint you have to get through. A sharp boning knife will go through the rest like butter. Find the joint and its smooth sailing. Then you already have the proper knife  in hand to do the little work like removing the shoulder bones and poking a hole in the skin to tuck the leg through (and you could remove the ribs and wishbone or tuck the wings as well, but I don't). If you are just only removing the back bone a cleaver works great.

I'll use a cleaver for turning a whole chicken into eight pieces for frying, but not for spatchcocking.



sac


/spatchcock

Im the opposite.  I prefer using my boner to break down a chicken.  Hit the cartilage just right and you get perfect prices.


/spatchcockin mofo!

[Vindingo]

I had a nice Kyocera(sp) ceramic chefs knife.  Very sharp!  It would be a great knife if you are the only person using it.  If someone else (wife or other careless individual) doesnt give it the respect that it deserves, it will break.

I am about to put my Globals on a high shelf......keep finding them in the dishwasher or rattling around in the sink.    Grrrrrrr!

I had a kyocera paring knife that was super sharp.  It was dropped in the sink while a friend of an ex-gf was cleaning it, and about 1/4" of the tip snapped off.  We kept it, but little by little the blade developed small chips in it. 

I don't know if I would buy another ceramic knife. 

You should see my mother's "knife drawer" !  A metal basket and about 15 knives just thrown in it.  I bought her a block, sharpend her kinves and 3 months later they are back in the drawer.   

[Triple J]

Carl makes a good point, we rarely use them because I don't want to sharpen them out of fear of make the beast with two backsing them up

so...they sit nice and pretty and we use the Henckels for everyday stuff

Dude...professional sharpening costs like $1/inch. Cheap. Use the sweet knives! 

I have a set of Henckels (from Costco, so low-mid grade) as well. The Shun's are so much nicer to use. The only downside is they are so sharp it seems like they suck your fingers into them. That's not really a downside, but rather user error.