boning knife recommendation

R.H. Forschner/Victorinox makes a decent 6” straight boning knife for the money. Mine is 50 years old and has a Rosewood handle. If I used it more often, I would lean toward the Fibrox handle.

 

A 6” Victorinox semi-curved semi-flex is one of my favorites.

 

I have victorin9x and f dick boning knives and both are good for money.

 

I like the straight blade Victorinox in 6" with some belly up front for boning. If she's happy with the boning blade she has, I would get her a 8" slicer with a scimitar style blade. DM

 

Did I hear someone say Honesuki?

I never found a need for a traditional boning knife but, I picked up a Honesuki and found what I had been missing in my kitchen arsenal. For butchering a chicken or working on pork or beef, I find the single bevel stout but short blade to really work well.

 

A curved blade isn't strictly necessary to bone a chicken. That said, I might go with something better that is similar in shape to your wife's KAI ceramic knife. Any five to six-inch utility knife will suffice.

 

For breaking down chickens I use a heavy cleaver on the big joints and then switch to a regular boning knife. I sharpen knives for a local lady who runs a really nice cafe and she uses big 1095 cleavers for almost everything. She wears the edge down pretty fast - I have to resharpen them every two weeks or so. But she really appreciates how much easier her job is with a rack full of sharp knives. I don't charge her a dime but every time I stop by I get a huge plate of killer food. Try using a cleaver for the heavy work. Most will need the spine rounded over and polished so it doesn't give you callouses when you lean on it.