Ideal Food prep Knife in coastal invironment

kalan850

kalan850

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hey folks
looking into purchasing a folder for food prep, something that i can throw in the lunch box for everyday use. i live and work very close to the Gulf of Mexico and it will be in a lunchbox all day so it has to be a highly corrosion resistant steel. also looking for something lightweight and a descent amount of blade length. Due to not having much time to eat lunch during work i won't be able to clean or oil the blade directly after use. I've been looking into an Endura or something similar but not sure how well the steel will hold up in those environments. what would you recommend?
 
Ankerson said:
Look at the Spyderco Salt series.
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Absolutely this. They come in all sizes. Folder or fixed. Endura and Delica sizes. I have several but my Pacific Salt has been all up and down the eastern sea board. Not a bit of corrosion. The downs side is the edge holding but for lunch box food prep I think it would do fine. If you want rust proof, H1 is the way to go.
 
The Endura will hold up well, for certain. The Salt series will hold up even better. Benchmade makes the Griptilian in N680. It will not rust, but the blade type is good, but not as good for your purposes as a Spyderco. But still a good knife.
 
DocT said:
The Endura will hold up well, for certain. The Salt series will hold up even better. Benchmade makes the Griptilian in N680. It will not rust, but the blade type is good, but not as good for your purposes as a Spyderco. But still a good knife.
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Yes, Benchmade does have some knives in N680. I have a triage that has also been used in water. Held up fine. Seemed to have a bit better edge retention than H1. Spyderco has more options with H1 though.
 
hey thanks for all the recommendations :thumbup:
i like the idea of the H1 sounds awesome! but also like the idea of having a ffg.
what do you all think of a stainless Opinel No. 9?
 
kalan850 said:
hey thanks for all the recommendations :thumbup:
i like the idea of the H1 sounds awesome! but also like the idea of having a ffg.
what do you all think of a stainless Opinel No. 9?
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If it is going to be put away wet? I'd rather have even and Endura with VG-10.
 
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Another option is the current Victorinox Soldier SAK. It would make a nice food prep knife, even though the blade is serrated towards the tip. However, it might feel too bulky for in-pocket carry. Although it isn't rust-PROOF like H1, Victorinox steel has excellent rust resistance. They have other options in the same size range.

Jim
 
For food prep, carried in a lunchbox, any number of stainless paring knives will do fine, and be much easier to clean than any folder.
 
I often use a Normark folding filleting knife (made by EKA). With a flexible 5" flat ground blade, it's a much better slicer than the Spydercos mentioned, and 12C27 steel is pretty stain resistant. You can take it apart for cleaning, and if it rusts beyond repair you can replace it several times for the cost of a Spyderco Salt. One of the slim Opinel filleting knives should also work well.
 
kalan850 said:
hey thanks for all the recommendations :thumbup:
i like the idea of the H1 sounds awesome! but also like the idea of having a ffg.
what do you all think of a stainless Opinel No. 9?
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Given that this knife will be for sandwiches and live in a lunch box, I can't see buying a $50 pocketknife. A paring knife would do everything you need, and wouldn't get food up in the folder mechanism.

If you want it to be a folder, the Opinel is mainly a problem because of the wood and humidity, not the blade. Inexpensive framelocks are easier to clean gunk out of the mechanism. And, if you only spend $5-15 on this knife, it won't be a tragedy if you get a tiny bit of corrosion or discoloration over time. But 420HC and 4116 stainless - commonly used, good edge holding steels from Buck, Gerber and Victorinox, are hard to get to rust.
 
The Salt has the advantage of being able to flex into other rolls such as EDC. The only cleaning you would need to do is for sanitary reasons, just like any knife used on food. You wouldn't even need to dry it off.
 
Bill1170 said:
For food prep, carried in a lunchbox, any number of stainless paring knives will do fine, and be much easier to clean than any folder.
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True. Some manufacturers even offer models with a plastic blade guard, usually for less than $10.
 
So what do we think will happen to these kitchen knives when they are put away in their tight fitting plastic sheath unwashed and wet? Rust? Mold? Let's look at the Original Post and see what the actual situation will be. I have one of these Kitchen knives with a sheath I take on vacation when I am certain there will not be a quality and/or sharp kitchen knife available. I would never put it in the sheath wet or with food debris on the blade. With a salt knife, when you get time, you can hose it off and that's it. Done. No sheath to contaminate. No rust to worry about.
 
Nothing happens. Most have coated blades and are designed for food use. If a very easy to wipe off food knife must be put away dirty, you can leave it out of the sheath, or simply wash the knife and sheath both when you get home. That's what they are built for.

knife-400x303.jpg
 
RX-79G said:
Nothing happens. Most have coated blades and are designed for food use. If a very easy to wipe off food knife must be put away dirty, you can leave it out of the sheath, or simply wash the knife and sheath both when you get home. That's what they are built for.

knife-400x303.jpg
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I am well aware of what these knives look like. In fact, below is a picture of mine I just took. Had it about 4 years. Its been all over the place. If you use the knife the coating will go, eliminating the coating as an answer to rust resistance. These are inexpensive knives mind you, not DLC coated.

I would not suggest putting a knife like this in a lunch pail unsheathed. That is not the answer to avoiding rust or contamination. If it is sharp, you or another person might unknowingly get cut. Also, the edge could take significant damage.

I believe if you leave it wet with food on in the sheath over a weekend (in the lunch pail, the point of the OP) it will rust a bit. Nothing major but still rust.

If I wanted a lunch box knife that needed little to no maintenance and I was worried about rust, I would get a salt.

L2LAlUol.jpg
 
If your average lightweight 3-4" paring knife is judged to be a hazard in a lunchbox, then the OP should think about that. I don't personally think a little paring knife is heavy or pointy enough to be an issue at the bottom of a lunch box, but YMMV.

products-2707-1-large_Victorinox-Plastic-Handle-Stainless-Paring-Knife---VN40508.jpg
 
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