What is your preferred pumpkin carving knife?

[De Plano]

I used the cheapies and we all know they are not adequate. I was thinking jigsaw blades, but if there is a place to ask I figured this was it.

If this has been done to death the mods are welcome to delete this thread

 

[BitingSarcasm]

I use a BK15 for the big work. That way both the Jack-O-Lantern and I are grinning maniacally.

 

[DocT]

I use a filet knife and a Buck 301.

 

[De Plano]

I was thinking my Opinionel 8 but I know serrated blades are easier to work with for me (I know, sacrilege)

 

[AntDog]

Thread needs more pics:







The infamous Ganzo 719 works great. Pokey tip, thin enough blade, easy to wash out all the nasty pumpkin guts afterward.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have a cheap frost family series Congress that works great.
The blades are sharp and the steel is decent, plus the small fine blades are great for detail work.
For the bigger stuff like cutting the top off I like my old western f48a as it nice and skinny and not to thick ( it had about 1/8" of width sharpened off from.use before I ever got it as a kid )
I won't be carving any this year though as its currently too rainy , and I don't want them to get moldy and mushy like the neighbors' are.

 

[wilsonj1018]

Oddly I have to admit cutcos carving knife is a dream to cut a pumpkin with. That said the plain edge knives are kinda shitty.

 

[AntDog]

Thread needs more pics! My son's favorite band is Daft Punk, so one year he decided to carve a "Daft Punkin". Knife used was a large Remington branded, Camillus produced stockman.

 

[wilsonj1018]

Nice carving man.

 

[AntDog]

Nice carving man.

Thanks! I'll pass it on to my son. He did that.

 

[smith357]

I have one I made by sharpening a coping saw blade glued in a chunk of antler.

 

[ukfan2016]

I used a Case full size trapper. It worked better than expected.

 

[mnblade]

I just did two jack-o-lanterns with the kids. Used my Grandad's old Dexter boning knife ...



... and this single-blade Sears-branded lockback (made by Schrade or Camillus, not sure) ...



With pumpkin carving, as with most tasks, I've found a sharp, thin-bladed knife works best. In years past, I've even done the pumpkin slaughter with the Dexter and my Case peanut:

 

[chiral.grolim]

I just got one of these off the bay, this is the pic from the site:

It's longer than your average cheapy and STRONG, with the capacity to drill through tougher skin, any kind of gourd you choose really. :thumbup:

 

[EntrancedVermin]

I use a exacto and large kitchen knife.

 

[GooberBoober]

I'm a little ashamed to admit it as a knife-guy, but I mostly use the saw on my Vic Spirit when pumpkin carving...

Sometimes a Mora Companion comes in handy as well.

 

[BK14]

I last used a carbon steel Mora (worked quite well) and a Victorinox Pioneer for detail work, just because that's what I had on me. The thin, sharp Mora was perfect for the bigger work. Not the biggest pumpkin however, something bigger would obviously require a bigger knife!

 

[hexenjager]

I'll admit my shame... Last pumpkins I carved, what worked best for me for most of the job was a cheap, flimsy, serrated steak knife ala box store. I still feel dirty.

 

[ocnLogan]

I haven't done much pumpkin carving in recent years.

However, the few I've done since I've been paying more attention to "knife things", have been done with an assortment of blades.

Mostly, anything really thin works great. Serrated is fine, but anything sharp will also work on the skin.

My Mora was ok, but the thick/wedgelike grind did it no favors on any deeper cuts. I think the best knife I used was a Case Peanut if I recall correctly. I used it for detail work, and the super thin blade worked just fine. I just didn't use it to cut open the top .

 

[Daniel Dorn]

I usually use a large knife for the decapitation portion. Used my Cold Steel G10 Espada XL last year, just because. The detail work has primarily been done by my French Le Thiers Par Chambriard folder in stag. It's got a long thin narrow blade that can make decent work of the face features on the pumpkin. I'll occasionally bring in a smaller traditional with a narrow clip or pen blade for the micro-details, such as whiskers, or tight curves.

We've waited a while, and haven't started carving yet. My wife just called and told me she's picking up a couple larger ones today. Tomorrow will be the butchering day. My teen boys will probably look up something complicated and nearly impossible, but I'll do my best.