Knives and plates? Or, What to do at the table.

goodeyesniper said:
Cutting at a 45 degree angle would mean you have a ninety degree inclusive edge angle...
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Which is twice as good as the 180 that you would get otherwise, cutting at angles shallower than 45 degrees can be really difficult.

And I agree that you can always touch up the edge on the bottom of the plate afterwards as well.
 
xylum said:
Or do you just get a steak knife from the drawer and not worry?
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This. I rarely use my EDC knives for food prep or eating, especially when I'm already home, with all my kitchen knives. This topic comes up alot on this forum, and I always find it odd.
 
Shotgun said:
I don't make it a habit but when I use my carry knife I cut 3/4 of the way through something and then lift the food up to go all the way through. The nice thing about using carry knives is that they're usually 20 times sharper then a regular eating knife so you don't have the need to press into the food/plate with the cut. A light slice usually goes through about anything food-wise.
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Exactly. Cut most of the way through and then pull the meat up across the edge - still cuts but protects your edge. Same technique works when butchering - keeps you from having to stop and sharpen your knives every few minutes.

I use mine to cut dinner all the time - no probs!

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Beckerhead #42
 
umberto00 said:
This. I rarely use my EDC knives for food prep or eating, especially when I'm already home, with all my kitchen knives. This topic comes up alot on this forum, and I always find it odd.
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jackknife said:
You ain't the only one, brother!:confused:
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You aren't the only two, either!

I have a few hundred $ in my prep knives, although I must confess that my steak knives are some kind of hammer forged stainless from "over there". They were gifts. Medium hard steel that takes a wicked edge, it just doesn't hold it all that well. However, the 600 grit chef's rod has them up to speed in a couple of passes.

I cook a lot and do some home butchery. I have never owned an EDC (most here consider that a folder of some sort) that would cut as well as my German chef's knives, my Swedish steel parers, or my German carving knives or my French bread knife. My EDCs aren't made for food prep, and they are too slow and tedious to use.

Just as I wouldn't use use my upper end Sabatier bread knife for bush craft or fire starting, I see no need to use my JYD II combo, my favorite canoe, my Tyrade, my EYE brand stockman, or any other of my knives for food prep unless it is an emergency. And my knives may have stuff on them I don't want to eat like grime from cutting dirty binding straps, gunk from cleaning up mechanical parts for repair, little pieces of rotted wood and fungus from exploring rotted wood to be repaired, roofing mastic, chemicals or sealers that I might be using that day at work, etc., etc.

Besides, I don't want to take the time to clean any food crap off my knife if it did start out clean. As has been commented over and over and over and over again here, a fixed blade (say... a steak knife or kitchen knife) is much easier to clean than a folder where bits of stuff can get stuck inside. Even with the open back pillar construction of today's screwed together knives.

I guess this is just another aspect of the practicality of the whole thing I don't get.

Robert
 
The solution is quite simple.... The Shun Folding Steak Knife. Google it. ;), yea I want one.
 
umberto00 said:
This. I rarely use my EDC knives for food prep or eating, especially when I'm already home, with all my kitchen knives. This topic comes up alot on this forum, and I always find it odd.
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No kidding. I've had a knife in my pocket for almost 60 years now and not once have I ever considered using my pocket knife at the dinner table or seen anyone do it in person. I find it baffling.
 
Thanks everybody for your responses.

For clarity and full disclosure:

We do need new steak knives.

I was cutting a burrito in half for my 2yo. I could have used a butter knife, but that was further away than my pocket. There were no other knives at the table. (Who needs a knife for a burrito? Well, apparently I did. Stupid question.)

Its just come up a few times lately and my wife was poking fun.

I do need cooking lessons, I've cooked a few tough steaks lately.

Thanks again guys.
 
I cut on plates, lightly, and sharpen as needed. I just realized that I usually pick one area on the blade to contact the plate, so I rarely draw across it. I've never understood hesitancy to utilize a knife. Most of us have enough that we will never wear any one out, and why worry if one gets used? I like to slice rather saw meat, and have occasionally gotten compliments from waitresses about my carry knives. But each person has to choose best for themselves, this is just how I do things.
 
I do it all the time when we're out. And even on ceramic plates, I draw the knife across with only the tip lightly contacting the plate. This way, 99% of the edge stays sharp and all I need to touch up is the tip.
 
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