Knife Advice


 
J

Jay B

TVWBB Fan
I recently bought a Calphalon Contemporary Cutlery 8-Inch Chef's Knife from Amazon (using a link from this site of course) along with an oversized cutting board, I love them!!! I made the purchase because I was tired of my brother making fun of my Wal-Mart "block" of knives. I now see why a good knife is required, the difference is night and day.

The chef's knife is good for just about anything, but I am now looking for a knife for preping ribs, brisket, and chicken. The chef's knife seems to be a little thick and long for this task and I am sure there is a knife designed for this, I just don't know which one. Can anyone recommend a good knife for preping Q that I need to add to my arsenal? Thanks for any help.
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My personal favorite, that I have been using for years is from Cutco. It is their "Hardy Slicer" it has a 6 1/8 inch blade with their Double D edge. It is a great knife and works fantastic for trimming up meats.
 
I agree with Bob. I have a set of Cutco knives and have had them for about 8 years now and still haven't needed to sharpen them. They work awesome for cutting meat or trimming fat on brisket.
 
I won Rachel Ray's Fuji knife from Chris's X-mas contest and could not be happier with it. It feels like an extstenion of my hand...it is a FUJI.
 
What you do for prep, how you do it and--more important--how you prefer to do it dictate the knife or knives you'd likely find useful.

For me, after my chef's I mostly use a semi-flexible fillet or a stiff boning, and/or a firm parer. You might take a look at a stiff boning knife of 4.5-6 inches or a semi of similar length. This will give you an idea of shape/length possibilites.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Clay Jackson:
I won Rachel Ray's Fuji knife from Chris's X-mas contest and could not be happier with it. It feels like an extstenion of my hand...it is a FUJI. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I was wondering what you thought of the Furi, Clay. Can't say I'm a RR fan but I like the look of that knife.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I'm looking for a knife mainly for the tasks of trimming spares to St. Louis style, and trimming fat on briskets. Looks like I need a boning knife.

Where can I find this Cutco brand at? I did a search on Amazon and didn't find any there.

Thanks again.
 
Cutco's are sold by individual sales reps usually. I got my first set at the fair about 15 years ago. You can locate someone in your area from www.cutco.com.
They are not cheap, they are warrantied also. Even for sharpness. If one goes dull you can send it back to the factory and they will either sharpen it or give you a new one. We actually have our local sales rep come by about every 3 years and she sharpens them right at my house. It also gives me a chance to buy new ones too
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Even though I have a complete set (2 Trimmers) minus a cleaver, the onl ones I really use are the Steak knives, the Hardy slicer, and the Trimmer. The rest usually just sit in the block. Pretty much I use the the Hardy Slicer for all the big jobs of prepping my meat, and then the is Trimmer makes an awesome utility knife for everything else.
 
Ahhh, Bob, your Cutco knives are almost new.

I have a set of 5 or 6 knives that are now in another location that I don't use much anymore but did on a regular basis for 20 years. I had them sharpened by Costco....er, slip of the keyboard...by Cutco maybe a couple of times. I also have the set of steak knives and, as much as we love steak, don't eat it as often as we'd like. I find that I like to give the steak knives a lick or two on the steel before use, but they are wonderful - and so very beautiful. (Cutco might not like the steeling idea too much.) My set was a wedding gift from my parents, who saved up for them a lonnnng time - 45 years ago!

I also had a pair of kitchen shears from the same era that wasn't cutting well, so about 10 years ago I sent them in for a sharpening. They sent me back the latest model that was 100 times better. I love those shears! And their customer service. None better.

You are right, though. Their knives do hold an edge longer than any other I've had.

For many years, though, all I seem to need on a regular basis are my short and long paring knives, my Chinese cleaver (great shovel too), a bread knife, and a boning knife. Occasionally a slicing knife. I very rarely use my chef's knife - hard to believe. I love that cleaver and it steels very quickly.

Bob, thanks for the link. I never thought of looking for someone local to do the sharpening.

Question: Does anyone know if a knife can lose its edge by just sitting around unused? A magnetic realignment?

Rita
 
Magnetic realignment, not sure. Virtually everything oxidizes eventually. But, sooner, sticky particles in the air settle on the edge and dry. If a knife has lost its luster from sitting around it is quite possible it has lost some of its sharpness.
 
Jay,

I agree with Kevin about the boning knife. I got one from The Knife Merchant (the same site Kevin posted)and use it almost as much as my chef's knives. I got the one from Forschner and am very pleased with it.

As for Cutco - I have a complete set and I do sharpen them from time to time - and I always steel them after a use.

Ray
 
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