- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
- Messages
- 296
Greetings, ye wise and judicious forumites of blade.
I have a bit of a problem. I've purchased a countless number of production folders over the past few years, some of them costing hundreds of dollars. Although I enjoy the ownership experience and I use them at every reasonable opportunity, I still find myself coming home after a hard days work at the office, and pulling a dull $7 chinese kitchen knife from the butcher block to help with the preparation of the evening meal.
Something has gone terribly awry.
Suffice it to say, I've come to realize that I've been focusing too heavily on folders, which frankly get used relatively infrequently compared to the workhorse knives of the household - the ones that live in the kitchen.
So I'm setting out to replace the most frequently used 'cheap' kitchen cutlery, one at a time, with replacements of suitable quality. Something that will hold an edge for more than ten seconds. Something that won't dull when I look at it the wrong way. Something I care enough about to not put it in the dishwasher.
Up first - the usual suspect. My acclaimed but unpretentious 'utility knife'. This specimen has a 4.75" blade, the perfect length for this particular tool. I recall that it was probably purchased at *cough*walmart*cough*, but I could be (hopefully) wrong. Made from the cheapest of Chinese stainless, the only thing easier than sharpening this knife, is making it dull again.
No sir, this will do no longer.
I need an instrument that fills the same demand space, but which excels in its execution. So I've searched, and searched again. But so far, to no avail. It seems, when it comes to kitchen cutlery, I like German style, but prefer Japanese steels.
What I'm looking for: 'Utility knife' pattern, somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.5 to 5 inches in length. Stock thickness less than 0.120 - preferrably much less. 0.080 might be ideal. 0.060 is probably too thin. Full tang. Non-serrated preferrable, though micro-serrations might be acceptable. Steel with reasonable edge holding ability. Reasonably stainless, but not rust proof. This knife will be cared for, generally hand-washed only, though an occasional (i.e., accidental) trip through the dishwasher might be inevitable. I'll use it on wooden cutting boards only. OK, maybe occasionally a paper plate. Not going to use it on dishes, I have cheap steak knives for that.
Budget: More than $7. For household kitchen duty, I'd like to limit it to $75, but I could go up from there if I find something that can pull double duty as a camp kitchen/hiking/ultralight 'bushcraft' knife. Something that can live in the kitchen but take vacations outside as well.
I've taken a brief look at:
Wusthof, Henckels, Messermeister utility knives; Traditional designs (good), traditional steels (maybe not so good).
Spyderco Sprig; a bit shorter than what I'm looking for, and S90V is likely -way- overboard for this task.
Bark River Bird & Trout; Way too short. Perfect in every other way.
Shun Classic Paring Knife; Dangerously close to what I'm looking for. Just 3/4" too short.
Kramer by Zwilling Euroline 5"; Right pattern. Wrong price.
Perhaps what I'm looking for doesn't quite exist. Or am I just not looking hard enough yet???
I have a bit of a problem. I've purchased a countless number of production folders over the past few years, some of them costing hundreds of dollars. Although I enjoy the ownership experience and I use them at every reasonable opportunity, I still find myself coming home after a hard days work at the office, and pulling a dull $7 chinese kitchen knife from the butcher block to help with the preparation of the evening meal.
Something has gone terribly awry.
Suffice it to say, I've come to realize that I've been focusing too heavily on folders, which frankly get used relatively infrequently compared to the workhorse knives of the household - the ones that live in the kitchen.
So I'm setting out to replace the most frequently used 'cheap' kitchen cutlery, one at a time, with replacements of suitable quality. Something that will hold an edge for more than ten seconds. Something that won't dull when I look at it the wrong way. Something I care enough about to not put it in the dishwasher.
Up first - the usual suspect. My acclaimed but unpretentious 'utility knife'. This specimen has a 4.75" blade, the perfect length for this particular tool. I recall that it was probably purchased at *cough*walmart*cough*, but I could be (hopefully) wrong. Made from the cheapest of Chinese stainless, the only thing easier than sharpening this knife, is making it dull again.
No sir, this will do no longer.
I need an instrument that fills the same demand space, but which excels in its execution. So I've searched, and searched again. But so far, to no avail. It seems, when it comes to kitchen cutlery, I like German style, but prefer Japanese steels.
What I'm looking for: 'Utility knife' pattern, somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.5 to 5 inches in length. Stock thickness less than 0.120 - preferrably much less. 0.080 might be ideal. 0.060 is probably too thin. Full tang. Non-serrated preferrable, though micro-serrations might be acceptable. Steel with reasonable edge holding ability. Reasonably stainless, but not rust proof. This knife will be cared for, generally hand-washed only, though an occasional (i.e., accidental) trip through the dishwasher might be inevitable. I'll use it on wooden cutting boards only. OK, maybe occasionally a paper plate. Not going to use it on dishes, I have cheap steak knives for that.
Budget: More than $7. For household kitchen duty, I'd like to limit it to $75, but I could go up from there if I find something that can pull double duty as a camp kitchen/hiking/ultralight 'bushcraft' knife. Something that can live in the kitchen but take vacations outside as well.
I've taken a brief look at:
Wusthof, Henckels, Messermeister utility knives; Traditional designs (good), traditional steels (maybe not so good).
Spyderco Sprig; a bit shorter than what I'm looking for, and S90V is likely -way- overboard for this task.
Bark River Bird & Trout; Way too short. Perfect in every other way.
Shun Classic Paring Knife; Dangerously close to what I'm looking for. Just 3/4" too short.
Kramer by Zwilling Euroline 5"; Right pattern. Wrong price.
Perhaps what I'm looking for doesn't quite exist. Or am I just not looking hard enough yet???