Food Knife for out-and-about?

C

CraigTbone

Joined
Mar 4, 2019
Messages
131
In the Traditional forum I have a thread asking for help in finding a knife to use for food while out-and-about, traveling, camping.

For that I have on order a Boker Trapper, stag, stainless steel blades. This knife should perform well for my food knife.

Maybe I am jumping ahead but in my researching I became intrigued with finding a modern design that would match my specs. I am not very knife knowledgeable but I found very few "modern" knives with 2 blades.

My specs again:
- 2 blades, both long (no other tools) one blade to cut on a plate, one to keep sharp
- flat ground blades
- stainless steel blades
- folded length 4" plus or minus
- one hand opening is ok but not necessary
- locking is ok but not necessary
- assembled with screws instead of rivets would be nice
- not look too tactical
- well made, preferably USA but not China

Are there any models that fit these specs, or most of them?
Are there any particular makers to look for?

I will continue to research but there certainly are a mind boggling number of knives available!
 
I like Lionsteel's take on modern slip joints. They match most of your requirements, not sure if the two bladed models have torx screws but the single blade CK models do. They are made in Italy and have great CS.
 
Lionsteel Warhorse or Bestman might suit your needs. To be honest I'd just go for a couple of Opinels and rotate them as you need to sharpen. They're dirt cheap, they are food knives par excellance and are nice and easy to sharpen and maintain the edge including in the field unlike the M390 of the Lionsteel knives.

I would also suggest a Victorinox Spartan which is my own personal choice. Big blade for food, small blade for everything else, bottle opener which doubles as a pry bar, a can opener which doubles as a screwdriver and metal fingernail. Corkscrew for opening knots, poking stuff and even for opening a bottle of wine! :) You also get tweezers and a toothpick, they're cheap as chips and extremely well made. They're about as stainless as its possible to find anywhere, super easy to sharpen and maintain the edge and the excellent geometry keeps cutting long after you would expect.

opinel.jpg
 
lieferung said:
I like Lionsteel's take on modern slip joints. They match most of your requirements, not sure if the two bladed models have torx screws but the single blade CK models do. They are made in Italy and have great CS.
Click to expand...
I had a Lionsteel Warhorse for a bit. It's beautifully made, but the sharp exposed joints mean that there is uncomfortable edge right under your first finger when using it. All of the Lionsteel CK01 knives have torx screws, but just to hold the scales and bolster on. When you take those off, the liners are attached to the springs with rivets. While the ergonomics of this knife just weren't for me, it really is a quality item. I think I'd still have it if I'd bought one of the single-blade variants.

There aren't a ton of modern knives with multiple blades. The Benchmade Outlast comes to mind, but I don't think they make it anymore. The Cold Steel Lucky might fit the bill.

-Tyson
 
Recently I acquired my first Opinels, a #6, #7, #8 & #8 Filet. The #7 seems like a good size for my purpose. The blade shape is quite effective for food prep & eating. No hints of rust after several uses & cleanings.

My only concern is cleaning. Despite my best efforts I get food in the joint & blade slot. The most effective way to clean is rinsing in water. The wood swells and makes the blade very high friction & difficult to open & close. If I can figure out how to seal the wood they might be an option.
 
lieferung said:
I like Lionsteel's take on modern slip joints. They match most of your requirements, not sure if the two bladed models have torx screws but the single blade CK models do. They are made in Italy and have great CS.
Click to expand...
They're not flat ground. And the torx screws only fasten bolsters and scales to the frame. For me, not a big deal at all. I really really like this knife.

Edit: My mistake they are flat ground.

warhorse.jpg
 
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CraigTbone said:
Recently I acquired my first Opinels, a #6, #7, #8 & #8 Filet. The #7 seems like a good size for my purpose. The blade shape is quite effective for food prep & eating. No hints of rust after several uses & cleanings.

My only concern is cleaning. Despite my best efforts I get food in the joint & blade slot. The most effective way to clean is rinsing in water. The wood swells and makes the blade very high friction & difficult to open & close. If I can figure out how to seal the wood they might be an option.
Click to expand...
They make synthetic handled versions.
 
Good suggestions.

I bought a Cold Steel lucky 2 I think it's called, it has 2 blades and comes in S35VN at a very good price...gave it to a buddy as a gentleman carry. Give it a shot.

Happy shopping!
 
CraigTbone said:
In the Traditional forum I have a thread asking for help in finding a knife to use for food while out-and-about, traveling, camping.

For that I have on order a Boker Trapper, stag, stainless steel blades. This knife should perform well for my food knife.

Maybe I am jumping ahead but in my researching I became intrigued with finding a modern design that would match my specs. I am not very knife knowledgeable but I found very few "modern" knives with 2 blades.

My specs again:
- 2 blades, both long (no other tools) one blade to cut on a plate, one to keep sharp
- flat ground blades
- stainless steel blades
- folded length 4" plus or minus
- one hand opening is ok but not necessary
- locking is ok but not necessary
- assembled with screws instead of rivets would be nice
- not look too tactical
- well made, preferably USA but not China

Are there any models that fit these specs, or most of them?
Are there any particular makers to look for?

I will continue to research but there certainly are a mind boggling number of knives available!
Click to expand...
1624035412152.png
 
The Great Eastern Cutlery #23 might be what you're looking for. Doesn't meet all the parameters, but it's close.
 
Dergyll Dergyll beat me to it. Cold Steel "lucky" was my first thought too. It might be a little short on length for blades/handle and the grinds aren't listed but it's darn close to your specs.

I had never seen the Lionsteel Warhorse before either. Very nice indeed!
 
CraigTbone said:
My specs again:
- 2 blades, both long (no other tools) one blade to cut on a plate, one to keep sharp
Click to expand...

That is a great idea. One blade for cutting and one for eating.

I would maybe have the "eating blade" serrated like a steak knife if that was possible, so that it would still cut OK despite beeing dulled from hitting the plates.
 
It’s hard to beat the Shun Higo Personal Steak Knife. Whip that bad boy out and it proves you’re serious about cutting your food.
 
OHMqdjy.jpg

This may not be as fancy as some of the Traditional knives we used to see, but I bet it won't attract any unnecessary attention even used in public and easy to replace. From my years of using Vic paring knife in the kitchen, I bet you could use this for a long, long time even without sharpening it.
 
CraigTbone said:
In the Traditional forum I have a thread asking for help in finding a knife to use for food while out-and-about, traveling, camping.

For that I have on order a Boker Trapper, stag, stainless steel blades. This knife should perform well for my food knife.

Maybe I am jumping ahead but in my researching I became intrigued with finding a modern design that would match my specs. I am not very knife knowledgeable but I found very few "modern" knives with 2 blades.

My specs again:
- 2 blades, both long (no other tools) one blade to cut on a plate, one to keep sharp
- flat ground blades
- stainless steel blades
- folded length 4" plus or minus
- one hand opening is ok but not necessary
- locking is ok but not necessary
- assembled with screws instead of rivets would be nice
- not look too tactical
- well made, preferably USA but not China

Are there any models that fit these specs, or most of them?
Are there any particular makers to look for?

I will continue to research but there certainly are a mind boggling number of knives available!
Click to expand...
Isn’t that a trapper you are describing? As such, maybe the “modern” part would be in the materials, modern stainless steel grades, perhaps synthetic scales if you want it as maintenance free as possible. I assume the Spey blade could be a good food blade, with its butter knife point.

Edit: like this trapper from Case. Stainless, synthetic, US made. No screws though...
 
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I would want something that comes apart very easily so I could clean everything. I am sure at times food, sauce or oils could get trapped in the pivot. Clearly I would clean it before folding it and putting it back in my pocket. I don't think I'd have to disassemble it often to throughly clean everything. I love the idea of a blade for food and another however for me the 2 bladed knives would be out based on nit being able to disassemble it.

I'd go with something like a pj sebenza or sage 2.
 
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