Khukuri vs. Farmcata – competitive slime testing

[Howard Wallace]

Last year about this time I posted about the efficiency of the HI farmcata in steaking up halibut. It was the natural choice due to its handle shape and the virtual impossibility of the knife slipping out of one’s grasp.

Since then, our planet made a full revolution around its star. Red Flower and I have eaten all those fish, so we once again ventured forth upon the open sea. This one was a bit rough, so we don’t have any sea pictures. There were scattered thunderstorms and big swells, so we were mostly hanging on when we weren’t reeling in fish. Going out of Grey’s Harbor, a combination of big swells, a high sandbar, and a low tide made for an interesting bar crossing. Everyone was under orders to stay inside and seated during the bar crossing. The crew passed out buckets, which soon saw a lot of use. The captain was a bit white afterwards, and said it made his top 5 list of bad bar crossings. When we got to the fishing grounds, 20-35 miles out in the Pacific, the seas were still a bit rough. However, it was considerably more regular than the turbulence of the bar.

We did come back with a couple of halibut though. We already know the performance of the farmcata, which is excellent, so this time I thought I’d have a showdown. One fish processed with a farmcata, and one with a traditional khukuri. I wanted to use the first khukuri (15” Ang Khola) I bought from Bill in the early 90’s. It’s seen a lot of use and is still going strong, but unfortunately it was in the back of the vehicle I didn’t have with me, far away. I settled on another khukuri of approximately the same dimensions, with a wood handle.



Here’s the layout of fish and knives.



The khukuri was first up.











I had already made several chops when I found the wood handle had absorbed the slime on my hand and I had a slimeless grip. I had to stop to reslime myself on the fish to give the knife a real challenge. Even freshly and fully slimed, I felt secure in chopping due to the rear swell on the handle. Due to the curved blade shape on the khukuri it didn’t give me the width of chop the farmcata did, although the chop was still surprisingly wide. After the initial chop I cut fish beyond the width of the chop with a draw cut. That worked well and it was only after I was all done I realized I only did a few small push cuts. It would have been good to further test resistance of the central ring against the hand sliding forward. The intuitive way for me was to use the draw cuts, and I didn’t even think of anything else until the task was complete. Working as I did, I never felt the slightest insecurity in my grip. Everything was slick enough however, that I did make a practice of withdrawing my off hand holding the fish in the instant before impact.



The farmcata gave the same sterling performance it did last year. (Reached the 5 attached file limit. See last year's post for pics of the farmcata in action.)



Results – I’d have to give the competition win to the farmcata, but it was close. Grip security was not a factor in the final results. The farmcata got a slight edge due to the wider chops it made, leaving less remnant to slice with the draw cut. However, if the farmcata got a score of 100, the khukuri was close behind with a score of 96. I would feel well-equipped had I only the khukuri to process these fish. An interesting and unexpected result was that the unfinished wood handle on the khukuri was effective in making slime disappear. Many people like to put smooth varnish, boiled linseed oil, or similar polymerizing coatings on their khukuris. Such coatings are beautiful, it can not be denied. However, I think the slime gobbling ability of the bare wood may be sacrificed for the beautiful presentation.

When the testing was over we went inside to slice up some ling cod fillets and vacuum-pack the fish. We did this part inside. Any knife could slice up the boneless fillets to meal-sized portions, but since I had the farmcata out I used it. I brought in one of my old retired cutting boards I don’t mind chopping on, and found a flick of the farmcata would nicely section the fillets. Again, it was the length of the chop that dictated knife selection. I could have used the khukuri almost as effectively, but if the chop wasn’t placed precisely there still would have been an additional draw cut required.

(Thanks to Red Flower for the photos!)

 

[Scara]

Interesting that the raw wood would absorb the slime that way. Any thoughts on what else it could absorb during tasks?

And the advantage the farmcata had was interesting. Reminds me of the time I had to slice potatoes at Thanksgiving with my Reti. The reti did the job, but not as easily as a good kitchen knife. Unfortunately there were no good kitchen knives around, the only one available was bending excessively under my little niece's efforts to slice the potatoes.

 

[Bawanna]

Excellent review Mr. Wallace. I can visually see where the Farmcata would have an advantage due to the blade shape alone.

The khukri obviously and you confirmed will get the job done. I do would tend to draw cut rather than push.

I've little to no experience processing large fish so even the chopping part would be a new experience for me.

Thanks for posting.

 

[ndoghouse]

Dang! That Halibut looks fit for Jehovah Thanks for an excellent report on this blade Howard! I just picked me one up recently and it feels like it will be hanging right next to the chopping block. I haven't processed any large fish yet with it but i can just tell it would have no problem whacking heads off of catfish or even chickens and duck. Was it an African Halibut or a European Halibut
The slime thing is interesting. When i lived in the islands I used to collect conch for sashimi or ceviche. Man was it good raw with a squeeze of lime. I figured out how to whack the little hole near the spire to pull out the meat but that was the first time I caught and collected it for myself. The slime that ensued after I collected a few of them would not wash off with anything. I tried lime, soap, sea water, everything I could possibly think of that was handy. It just wouldnt come off. Finally i figured out if you just let it dry you could mechanically remove it but forget it when its wet. There's probably some native secret but I didnt know it. Maybe sawdust will soak it up? You might be on to something there?

 

[Sosa]

Damn. Here in Cali we fillet halibut. Different butts though.

 

[Howard Wallace]

Interesting that the raw wood would absorb the slime that way. Any thoughts on what else it could absorb during tasks?

And the advantage the farmcata had was interesting. Reminds me of the time I had to slice potatoes at Thanksgiving with my Reti. The reti did the job, but not as easily as a good kitchen knife. Unfortunately there were no good kitchen knives around, the only one available was bending excessively under my little niece's efforts to slice the potatoes.

Fertile ground for further research. Slots open for testing of motor oil, blood, water, etc. Also different kinds of handle wood.

I remember seeing a lady far back in the hills of Nepal using a khukuri to prepare potatoes. It wasn't the optimal tool but she sure was weilding it quickly and efficiently. It did the job for her, and I suspect many other jobs besides.

... I do would tend to draw cut rather than push...

The tool seems to suggest this. I suspect many people will naturally use such a technique if they come with an open mind and listen to what the knife is telling them.

Dang! That Halibut looks fit for Jehovah Thanks for an excellent report on this blade Howard! I just picked me one up recently and it feels like it will be hanging right next to the chopping block. I haven't processed any large fish yet with it but i can just tell it would have no problem whacking heads off of catfish or even chickens and duck. Was it an African Halibut or a European Halibut
The slime thing is interesting. When i lived in the islands I used to collect conch for sashimi or ceviche. Man was it good raw with a squeeze of lime. I figured out how to whack the little hole near the spire to pull out the meat but that was the first time I caught and collected it for myself. The slime that ensued after I collected a few of them would not wash off with anything. I tried lime, soap, sea water, everything I could possibly think of that was handy. It just wouldnt come off. Finally i figured out if you just let it dry you could mechanically remove it but forget it when its wet. There's probably some native secret but I didnt know it. Maybe sawdust will soak it up? You might be on to something there?

In the Nepal hills they had an interesting way of cutting up chicken with the khukuri. They largely ignored bones and joints. Just Whack - whack - whack - whack. There, it's done. I remember having a piece of meat with various bone fragments sticking out and trying to puzzle out just what part of the chicken it was.

Coconuts naturally float on the surface of the Pacific, so it is unnecessary to introduce halibut to bolster the migratory hypothesis.

Fish slime sounds much more forgiving than conch slime. I'm a fan of conch ceviche too, but never made it myself. I've come across them snorkling in the Yucatan but never grabbed one to take home. I do have a shell with the hole in it that I got in the market. I wondered at the time why they all had those little holes in the top. The gentleman selling them clued me in.

I think the closest thing I can get to conch slime is the slime from our PNW banana slugs. That is very hard to get off. I found one effective but dangerous way to remove it from my bare feet was to scrape it off with a knife. That worked well until the day I twitched and cut my foot. Then I got an infection. No telling what those slugs crawl through. Now I just try to walk a few more miles before I come inside and walk across the carpet.

Damn. Here in Cali we fillet halibut. Different butts though.

That's what most everyone up here does too. The deckhand on our charter was filleting them out and I asked him to just gut mine. He looked at me with a puzzled expression and said he'd never gutted one before, but how hard could it be. He did a good job. It's just like gutting a sole, only bigger. Red Flower taught me the Chinese methods of making fish head soup. Now I really appreciate chomping down on a big halibut eyeball. Can't stand throwing away the eyeballs these days. Halibut is about the only fish where it is customary to cut the cheeks out of the head and keep them for eating. However, after cooking many fish heads I can tell you there is a lot of meat in the heads besides the cheeks.

 

[Scara]

Motor oil would probably be absorbed very nicely, if it didn't drip off first. I've seen motor oil get absorbed by raw wood flooring pretty quickly, and it did make the wood healthier, though because it was only one spot it looked bad.

I'm not volunteering for the blood test. I'd rather keep as much of my own blood in my body, thank you. I suppose I could try the water test with my Reti, since it has the rawest wood of my knives.

 

[ndoghouse]

In the Nepal hills they had an interesting way of cutting up chicken with the khukuri. They largely ignored bones and joints. Just Whack - whack - whack - whack. There, it's done. I remember having a piece of meat with various bone fragments sticking out and trying to puzzle out just what part of the chicken it was.

They cut chicken like that in Central America as well. I get authentic Guatemalan tamales every year at Christmas time (my son in law is from Guatemala) and they have unidentified pieces as well.

... However, after cooking many fish heads I can tell you there is a lot of meat in the heads besides the cheeks.

Yes! That is the best part of a fish. Another good piece is around the fins behind the gills...Yum! Nice and oily:thumbup: I have made many of meals off of Kingfish heads boiled in mayonnaise sauce with dumplings.

 

[Bawanna]

I just threw up a little bit in my mouth, the chomping down on a fish eyeball was too much.

I hate slugs up here in the NW. Like you say that slime is awful. Worked with a fella that was petrified of slugs.

One day during prime slug season a bunch of the guys covered the whole windshield of his pickup with slugs. it wasn't pretty.

For the record, I was aware and saw the finished product but I was not involved nor did I take part in the planning phases.

I do know round these parts halibut cheeks is prime. I don't do salt water myself, my theory on boats is never go further than you can swim and I don't swim too good. But I have friends and my son goes out and more than once they have come across new halibut fishers in small boats trying to get them in the boat which of course would be catastrophic, the fish would tear the boat to pieces. They offered to shoot it (common practice I'm told on larger fish) in exchange for the cheeks.

Now I'll try to wrap my mind around this whole fish head soup thingy? Another reason I don't really do salt, even off the fishing piers, there's all kind of unnatural wierd stuff comes up on the hook. Some I'd just cut my line rather than touch.

Weird stuff.

 

[ndoghouse]

My wife just got home from mom in laws house on the coast and brought back two fresh flounder (southern halibut) I may get a chance to whack off a couple heads with my new Farmcata too

 

[davidf99]

I think the closest thing I can get to conch slime is the slime from our PNW banana slugs. That is very hard to get off. I found one effective but dangerous way to remove it from my bare feet was to scrape it off with a knife. That worked well until the day I twitched and cut my foot. Then I got an infection. No telling what those slugs crawl through.

You don't want to know what banana slugs crawl through (and eat). Just think, worst case.