A Produce Paring Knife

Noctis3880

Noctis3880

Joined
Jul 22, 2009
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I work in a grocery store in produce. My job occasionally calls for me to trim vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, celery, and corn.

My Mora knife has been doing well for the price, but I was looking for something with a full flat grind, as well as an upgrade to the steel.

With the "thicker" vegetables like cabbage and corn(have to cut the stalks down), the Mora and quite a bit of my folders get "stuck", even if the edge is sharp enough to pop hairs.

My Endura ZDP-189 regrinded to FFG does well, but I get nervous about touching the almost carbon steel with organic "wet" material. The Mora knife doesn't seem to hold up against rust as well, as the knife will typically be left with spots of rust if you leave a drop of water on the edge.

None of the other guys in my department are using anything better. A couple are even using Victorinox folders, which is kind of cute(in a bad way).

I'm wondering if there isn't a small paring knife(fixed blade) with one of the more high end stainless steels(S30V or better), with hardness at HRC 60 or higher.

After putting in some thought on the cutting done, it just seems like a small high hardness steel would float my boat.
 
cpm154 full flat ground from 3/32 or slightly thinner
hardness 62-63
3-4 inch blade slightly taller then most parers nice grippy but easy to clean handle
 
butcher_block said:
cpm154 full flat ground from 3/32 or slightly thinner
hardness 62-63
3-4 inch blade slightly taller then most parers nice grippy but easy to clean handle
Click to expand...
What kind of knife are we talking about here?

I've also been eyeing the Tojiro Flash Paring knife.
 
Kershaw Shun classic 4" paring knife, as long as you won't be cutting bones or doing heavy chopping. I like their 6" utility knife.
 
Not necessarily a suggestion, but I wonder how one of the H-1 Spyderco knives would work? Serrated? for fibrous materials like raw vegetables. Yellow, sheeple friendly.
H-1 Rust Free
Eg:
Fixed: Spyderco Aqua Salt?
http://www.knifeworks.com/spydercoaquasaltyellowfrnhandleserratedkydexsheath.aspx

Folding: Atlantic Salt or perhaps, Spyderhawk?

http://www.knifeworks.com/spydercoatlanticsaltyellowfrnhandlefullserratededge.aspx

http://www.knifeworks.com/spydercospyderhawkh-1-hawkbillfrnhandleplainedge-1.aspx
 
The Spyderco Tasman works great for produce. The H1 steel will not rust and the hawkbill blade is excellent for cutting stalks as well as opening boxes.
 
Brisket said:
The Spyderco Tasman works great for produce. The H1 steel will not rust and the hawkbill blade is excellent for cutting stalks as well as opening boxes.
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That's kinda what I was thinking. Though, I don't have personal experience with hawkbills. Have you use both the plain and serrated versions? I was thinking the serrated version in his application might be better. Good for opening boxed, cutting strapping, rubberbands, etc. as well as the fibrous vegetables.
 
I bought a Tojiro Flash 4' Paring Knife from here:
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=13660

The knife had a glowing review:
http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/ktknv/tojiro/tojiroflpr100.shtml

I figured VG-10 hardened at 60-62 HRC is good enough. Plus damascus kitchen knives are always tempting.

Blade certainly looks thin enough for what I want.


I'm kind of interested in the Aqua Salt for my coworkers though. They aren't as...dedicated as I am about knife care, and so I frequently find rust on their knives because they sometimes don't bother with cleaning the knife after cutting fruit.
 
Looks like a nice choice. Do you work at a counter, where you can keep the knife at hand? Or, do you work out on the floor? Are you going to get some sort of sheath?
 
I spend the majority of my time in front of a cash register, so the knife would need to be in a sheath. Though occasionally I might get to do some trimming work in the back(only once in a while though). Still, I might jump at the opportunity to offer the customers a sample of the produce:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:.

My only real concern is if the knife goes "missing" because I usually put my sheath on my apron rather than my belt(might change the habit though).
 
I worked in produce for about ten years. I went through alot of knives. They would tend to come up missing way before I ever wore them out. You know how it is when you get busy. I always just used the little Victronox parers. Sharp as I need and dont have to worry about losing them. They are not that sexy but you can cool them up alittle buy getting one of these.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=755048
 
Noctis3880 said:
My only real concern is if the knife goes "missing" because I usually put my sheath on my apron rather than my belt(might change the habit though).
Click to expand...

Perhaps you could carry it in a neck sheath, draped over the apron. Just a thought. Or, maybe in a small of the back or 5:00 location, so that you could reach it without having to dig under your apron.
 
If you don't mind sending a little more, look at an Al Mar Featherlite Eagle. It is flat ground so it is a great slicer.

Ric
 
My Tojiro Flash Paring Knife has been doing well. I believe I've got it sharpened reasonably well. I've dropped various tomatoes, bananas, and zucchini on the blade, and they all split in half upon hitting the blade:thumbup:.

Though I've had my eye on a Miyabi 7000MC 5-in Utility Knife. Pretty pricey at $150-ish, but it uses ZDP-189 at 66 HRC, making it an exceptionally hard knife. Rust might be a concern, but I believe I treat my knives reasonably well enough to avoid it.

Still, not much of a practical reason to get it given how fantastic my current knife is compared to the other dull pieces of plastic(not really, but may as well be) my coworkers use. Perhaps I ought to wait until I get a raise.
 
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