best knife for pumpkin carving

Neomentat

Neomentat

Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Messages
534
I'm thinking an Endura will be good, but the blade may still be a little too wide. What's the best folder for pumpkin carving?
 
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Honestly if you want to create art in Pumpkin carving, a small knife is key, and a few other size to complete you arsenal of tools for the job. JMHO.
 
This is so stupid to say being that I am a knife nut and this is a knife forum, but......I use the dumb little serrated but not sharp carving knife you can get at any store this time of year. Works great for the simple stuff we do every October. Okay, let the shame begin.....
 
tchapman414 said:
A Kershaw Leek may do well considering its thin blade, profile, and acute tip.
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Leek is a good choice, as is the Spyderco Stretch. I've also used the Spyderco Centofante 3, with a 2mm thick blade it does a very good job.
 
Good old fashioned trapper pattern. 3mm and thicker is no good
 
I have a full flat grind kitchen knife (slicer) that works sort of well. It's too thin though, bends in tough spots. But anything with a taper grind will wedge in my experience. Thin and flat seems to work, serrations helps too.
 
Just about any kitchen paring knife that has a stiff blade should work just fine. That's what I would use. You just want something that can do fairly precise cuts which to me means a more thin blade.
 
craytab said:
This is so stupid to say being that I am a knife nut and this is a knife forum, but......I use the dumb little serrated but not sharp carving knife you can get at any store this time of year. Works great for the simple stuff we do every October. Okay, let the shame begin.....
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No shame. Sharpness doesn't matter when the blade binds in the material its cutting. I use the little orange pumpkin saws that come in the kits for removing the large pieces, and use a fillet knife for detail work. Have yet to find a folding knife or kitchen knife that doesn't bind up. Believe me I have tried. Took a while for me to figure out that surface area and blade geometry are the key to success, not sharpness.

Just my experience after carving 3-5 pumpkins a year for quite a few years.
 
You're going to be making curves and want very slow, controlled cuts with as little pressure as you can manage. The narrowest, thinnest serrated blade you can get is your best bet. The serrated blade on a Leatherman is what I've used.
 
This is what Japanese chefs use for that - Mukimono knife ;)



I would take a narrow and thin blade - something like Kershaw Leek, Opinel or simply a small paring knife.
 
I used both a Military and a Atl. Salt last year. the dlc on the military wouldn't let the blade cut smoothly but I'm sure a satin would would just fine. I'm probably going to stick with the small little orange handled ones that come in the carving sets. Though being a knife nut I would still rather use my own blade



 
You know. I never even pondered the idea as I have a pumpkin carving kit and a few old kitchen Knives I use every year...

If I would have to go that route though, I would take a full serrated spyderco salt and a buck silver creek. And maybe add in a cheap Schrade tanto tip for thinning the walls for effects. I could make a pretty mean pumpkin with that trio right there.
 
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