Dedicated food knives-not silverware

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,270
Greets, through the years I have changed what knife that I use for cutting up stuff at meal time, not talking about your regular silverware. And it usually was my Swiss Army Pioneer blade that I kept for that duty, and then Opinel Slim models were doing the job but recently I have found a regular Opinel #8 mirror polished blade to be about the best, for me at least, for meal time work.

Some have found the abrupt curve edge by the tip to be off-putting and not caring for it but when you use it for slicing and cutting up food, that rounded section at the end of the blade seems ideal type of cutting tool, again, for me at least.

Opinel's have some history of needing to sharpen a few times to get down to the 'real' good heat treated steel, as some figure there are slight burning of the edge during mfg, I don't know how true that is but after a few sharpenings this one does keep it's edge better, so there may be a spark of truth in that.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

That one has padauk handle that I flattened the sides so it doesn't roll in my hand while using and it is more manageable with that little bit of work, I'd recommend it.

So, what is your preferred blade for your meal companion ?

G2
 
When out and about I'd consider an Opinel. But at home it's a fixed blade - plenty to choose from. I don't want to deal with a gunked up pivot etc.
 
That's a definite down side to folding knives for sure.
G2
 
I've used all of these for food prep and at the table.
The carbon Opinel probably has the honor of slicing up the most calories I've shoved in my face with the GEC placing a close second.
This past year I finally picked up a knife block for my kitchen and got all of my knives out of the drawer and it had 8 dedicated steak knife slots so I picked up a set of Zwilling knives to fill them up. Haven't used any folders since. 😕
I do like that flattened handle on your Opinel Gary, I may have to do that and get my #10 back in rotation. The fact it would roll around was always annoying. And I do miss the way that carbon blade glides through a nice tomahawk steak.
Now I want a tomahawk steak... 🤔

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Outside of the kitchen most of my food prep is slicing salami since the kids both like it. If I’m out overnight buck 119 or 124 is usually with me. I often have a manix 2xl on me also, the amount of blade real estate allows me to cut stuff up without getting gunk near the pivot. I recently picked up the opinel 13 but haven’t had a chance to use it, looks like a good watermelon knife. The huge handle definitely needs some flattening.
 
The only time I'm usually using a folder to cut food with is when I'm out fishing or eating outdoors for some reason.

I always have this old SAK Adventurer in my coin pocket when I'm on the lake, and it's the one that by far has seen the most food cutting use over the years. I think it works great for that (in the context of being a folder). I also have some Opinels, but I'm just not prone to carry them much since the SAK has a few other things I generally find handy out there (bottle opener, tweezers, tooth-pick, can opener, and a Phillips on the back - and nothing else I don't usually need). I also find this style of SAK handle very comfy.

The main thing is it has a long, thin-stock slicey blade that keeps the food away from the pivot and lasers through food like a nice, thin paring knife.

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If I'm going to have to prep something significant with a board, though, something like the Yojumbo is way better (obviously not as good as a real, fixed chef's knife by any stretch of the imagination), but with the long, low blade and elevated handle I can pinch-grip it and actually process stuff pretty quickly.
 
Think I'd pick Opinel as well Gary W. Graley Gary W. Graley .

But unless I dine on a wooden plate(I do this pretty often when eating things that needs cutting), I'm sceptical of using a sharp blade on stone ware, wich is the most commen plate we all use.

U'll get a flat spot really quick if u dont take some care, so I alwas use regular dining utensils on stone ware.
 
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Correct, if the plate is glass, then I’ll cut over something else on the plate to help keep the edge off of the glass
G2
 
Got wood?
Yes, picked up a set of acacia plates and things a while back when I realized I didn't want to sharpen after every meal.

So it's been a while since I used this Opinel #10 for steak duty, and I sort of teased the tomahawk thing for tonight...
I did a little work with some sandpaper and my EdgePro before dinner.
Got rid of the old patina before I sharpened and worked on building a new one. 👍
That's some chimichurri with truffle sauce on the side.

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I use an 80 dollar Chicago cutlery block for all my kitchen stuff, but I've been replacing the steak knives, so far we've replaced 4 of the 8 steak knives, 2 mora Basic stainless, 1 mora companion stainless and a Buck woodsman.
 
In the kitchen we have some small Spyderco and Cold Steel serrated, and David Mary kitchen knives, in addition to the Cutco set that my wife had picked out 12 years ago. At the dining table we just use whatever silverware mixed and matched. For holidays and special occasions we do have nicer silverware and 12 nice Kizer steak knives.

But for out of the house or kitchen, I've mentioned before about carrying multiple knives so that one is for "clean" use like food, and another or more will be for heavier duty or dirty work.

So, for example today I was carrying a Shirogorov F95 for clean use and for food (cut a sandwich in half, or cut up a pickle, or slice an apple), and a Kizer Mystic in REX45 for cutting open packages or mail, and other dirty tasks. I don't typically just have one that's always for food.
 
I carry an Opinel #7 for food use, mostly when eating but food prep when needed, when out & about. I like the blade shape, works well. And the thinnes of the blade too.

I put 4 serations on the curve near the tip where the edge will most likely touch a plate when being used for eating. Stays sharp for a long time.

I recontour the handle to remove the fishtail shape, looks similar to a Laguiole. Several coats of Snowseal worked into the wood with heat keep it from swelling when washed.

#6 is big enough to cut any food I have needed but being short food gets into the hinge very frequently.
 
I had an Opinel #13 for a while, great for slicing up thick foam ! and at work I would have it in my pocket and when someone needed to borrow a knife I would appear to hunt around my pockets looking for my knife and then pulling that monster out, always made their eyes go wide and of course a chuckle or two followed ;) but lemme tell ya, that baby was SHARP !

Opinel_choices by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

G2
 
I just picked up one of these and I've been really impressed with it. It's billed as a folding kitchen knife and has a 4.6" blade that's only 2.3mm thick, plenty of belly and knuckle clearance. It'll work really well for food prep in a pinch but I've also found it effective at cutting cardboard.

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I also have one of these that I throw in my bag when my friends get an Airbnb somewhere, since they always have awful kitchen knives. It's thick enough for a general use fixed blade but has the right shape to work pretty well as a kitchen knife, too.

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