Knives


 
TJMartin

TJMartin

TVWBB Member
What does everyone use to cut your ribs with? I use a old bread knife, not sure the length but it seems to do ok. I eventually want to get a new knife set, but was wondering if people have that special knife they think cutting ribs is the easiest with.

I've had my eye on this guy on amazon, anyone have one and like it. I've seen people cutting brisket a lot with these guys.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000CFDB9/thevirtualweberb
 
I use my boning knife, enough heft but not too much blade like my chef's knife. Don't know if that makes sense but that's what I use.
 
I have to say I was taken with the knife used by the BBQ Pit Boys. I think it was an "Old Hickory." I did notice it was pretty dull but anyhow I was in PA last fall and hunted all over Erie for one. Could not find it. I think this style is out of style but anyhow I found one made by Victorinox. I ordered it with a 10" blade. I love it. I can cut through anything with it. It's long enough I can bear down, leverage it and punch through whatever bone or no bone. I cut through whole chickens like nothing. I trim big hunks of fat like they were butter. It's an awesome knife. Never thought I would like one this big but I would not trade it for any other style.

IMG_0409_zps61f2f506.jpg
 
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I either use my chef's knife or my 8" santoku. They are side by side in the knife block,and I grab which ever one is closest to me.
 
My favorite rib knife is a thin bladed 8" knife that has a wooded handle like the Old Hickory, but no name is visible on it. It was my dad's. It's comfortable and is easy to sharpen. I also have a similar 7" Chicago Cutlery knife. I like the thin bladed knife to cut ribs better than my 8" Henkel chef's knife and my 8" Old Hickory (pit boy's style) knife, although they work fine.

However, I would go with something like you're looking at if I were in the knife market today. The Victorinox knifes are highly rated and are reasonably priced. I'm not sure about "waves" in the knife. I just like a normal bladed knife, but that's just a personal preference of mine and not based experience of the physics of cutting meat.:)
 
TJ...

Like Gary S, we also have a couple of the Victorinox Fibrox knives used strictly for BBQing. And like Gary H said, they are excellent knives at a reasonable price. And they are NSF rated.
#40537 & #40646. In time, the family will most certainly grow ;)

Kinda wished I'd gone with the 12" slicer. The 14 incher does a great job on large cuts of meat, but is way too much for most 'normal' cuts of meat.

Bob
 
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TJMartin said:
What does everyone use to cut your ribs with? I use a old bread knife, not sure the length but it seems to do ok. I eventually want to get a new knife set, but was wondering if people have that special knife they think cutting ribs is the easiest with.

I've had my eye on this guy on amazon, anyone have one and like it. I've seen people cutting brisket a lot with these guys.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000CFDB9/thevirtualweberb
Click to expand...

Chris may want to move this post to the Kitchen Gadget forum.

I use knives everyday at work... and have a decent knife roll assortment of knives.

One of the challenges with the Victoinox Fibrox line is the big finger guard at the handle. For example with the Slicer in the link above the finger guard will prevent the blade near the handle from contacting the board. So it is OK for slicing breast pieces off a whole turkey (no board contact) but when it comes to getting a clean cut (like a brisket slices) where you may want the entire the blade to contact the board ... it is not ideal.

Compare the Victorinox Fibrox line with the Messermeister Meridian Elite Slicing Knives or Victorinox Forged Professional Slicing Knife. Both knife lines allow full contact with the board.. no big plastic finger guard to get in the way. Also the blade area nearest the handles is much easier to sharpen with stones compared to the Victorinox Fibrox knives.

At a lower price point is the Mercer Renaissance line.

Cooked ribs are easy and can be cut with most any sharp knife. Trimming spares does help if the knife is a bit heavier like a Chef's knife. Gary's Victorinox is a Butcher Knife and intended for heavy meat work not pencil-thin brisket slices. A another option is a Victorinox Breaking knife which is another meat cutter's knife but not as heavy duty as a Butcher Knife. The Breaking Knife is very suitable to trim spares, cut through poultry or fish bones.
 
Hey TJ, I've been in the market for some BBQ knives as well. From what little research I have done, the Victorinox that you are looking at is an excellent blade. I have had my eye on it as well. I did come across a set from the Texas BBQ Rub website. http://www.texasbbqrub.com/bbqknives.htm I know it's twice as much as the Victorinox blade, but you do get three different knives. I would say more knives equal more options, but that's just me. Good luck on your search, and let us know what you get. :)

Tommy
 
Frank H said:
you can get a knife like this at any dept store for a third of that money , but honestly , your old bread knife is just as good. rib meat's so tender you could use anything to cut it......the nice tools are tempting , though.
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a third of the price and a tenth of the quality.
victorinix knives are rock solid and affordable. the 12" slicer is the go-to knife for a LOT of bbq teams AND a lot of professional chefs.
A bread knife will work, but it won't be a pretty cut.
 
One of my favorite knives. I would use it to cut ribs, or to trim brisket or pork butt before cooking.

Forschner Victorinox Cimeter, Curved, Black Fibrox, 10 in.

I will second Troy's comment about buying a comparable knife at a dept. store for 1/3 the price. Forschner Victorinox are a great value for the money and highly rated by Cook's Illustrated magazine. I've been using them for more than 10 years and I would not hesitate to recommend them to you.

Regards,
Chris
 
The messermeister, in general, have a good reputation. Their lower end stuff is not all that interesting. And the set you linked to is a bit small, I'd want a larger chefs knife and slicer. I have some very high grade knives and they can be a heart break. We had some hired help for a couple of parties and they tried to use a thin Japanese blade to chop some bone-in pork chops. Major damage and I was spitting nails for a week! They didn't know and I wasn't standing there to stop them.

I keep good quality, but not expensive blades in the Kitchen now and take mine out when there is a party or unsupervised family visiting. I won't like it if they whack a blade, but I won't be having a heart attack either.

I'd go for a minimum 8 inch or 10 inch Chefs Knife, a 12 inch or better Slicer (the Granton edge is particularly useful here), and the 10 inch Butcher Knife. A boning knife, a paring knife, and a sturdy cleaver would round out my bag. Oops, and a good steel. Those are very handy. I like the F Dick sharpening steel but they are pretty pricey. A good ceramic that is at least 2 inches longer than the longest knife you will use it to hone is really worth having and not so much money. You can balance that with a smooth steel version if you prefer one that you won't worry about breaking while carrying it around. For home, I'd have a ceramic if I only had one. Or I'd steal my brother-in-law's F Dick if he wasn't looking. Evil me!
 
Assuming the bread knife you have is serrated? The problem with using it is the shreds of meat that get "sawed" by the serration. A knife with a sharp fine edge would be preferred especially in competition.
 
Steve_A (Tatoosh) said:
I'd go for a minimum 8 inch or 10 inch Chefs Knife, a 12 inch or better Slicer (the Granton edge is particularly useful here), and the 10 inch Butcher Knife. A boning knife, a paring knife, and a sturdy cleaver would round out my bag. Oops, and a good steel. Those are very handy. I like the F Dick sharpening steel but they are pretty pricey. A good ceramic that is at least 2 inches longer than the longest knife you will use it to hone is really worth having and not so much money. You can balance that with a smooth steel version if you prefer one that you won't worry about breaking while carrying it around. For home, I'd have a ceramic if I only had one. Or I'd steal my brother-in-law's F Dick if he wasn't looking. Evil me!
Click to expand...

Troy .. I do compete and cook professionally.. actually competing has little to correlate with knife skills or knife/steel knowledge.. but using knives as a profession has enabled me to get an idea of their various strengths and weaknesses but nevertheless everyone has preferences. I started with sharpening stones almost 20 years ago and have experience using both belt sanders and stones to sharpen, fix chips, etc. I also frequent a Kitchen Knife forum to keep up to date.

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Steve A, I linked the shorter versions of Slicers because I couldn't find too many examples (no finger guard or limited bolster) of the handles I like in the 12 inch versions. The shorter versions also are more versatile to use as a Carving Knife as well. Full bolsters get in the way even preventing sharpening near the handle.

I also had a slicer like the Victorinox 12 inch slicer ... and gifted it away because I didn't like the way it performed .. specifically the handle issue I mentioned. It's debatable whether or not a 12 in Slicer is even needed by most people. I only used mine when I wanted equal pencil thin pieces of large cuts like for a Brisket turn-in box or once I used mine for presentation serving like Roast Beef for a catering event.

Other than those two uses, I can't think of too many purposes where I couldn't use a 10 inch Chef's knife.

If you go with Vctorinox (Fibrox) or Dexter Russell Chef's knife, I'd suggest to not buy the 8 inch plastic handle versions. The plastic finger guard gets in the way of a Pinch Grip making ones fingers bang against the cutting board when chopping... the 10 inch plastic handle or Victorinox wood handle knives do not have this issue.

I'm also on the prowl for a 12 inch slicer (for comp brisket turn ins) but just haven't found anything I like for a reasonable price. Most western handle Japanese Sujihiki's are well over $100 and I find it hard to invest that much in a knife that is not used much compared to a Chef's knife. I found a German steel (440A like) Sujihiki style in a Mercer Sashimi Knife which may work for me. I figure I can thin it some and create a double edge (15/20) to improve it's performance.
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Regarding Victorinox and steel quality, I own a a few. In general Victorinox or German/Euro quality steel knives (440A like) are considered closer to the low end of stainless steel quality.

Probably more than most want to know about knife steel qualities.
http://zknives.com/knives/articles/knifesteelfaq.shtml

Knife performance is all about maintenance and care. A low end knife that is not maintained is about as good as any high end non-maintained J knife.

Chad Ward's book "An Edge in the Kitchen" is a good read and in many libraries.

an online version is here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/26036-knife-maintenance-and-sharpening/
 
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I am another fan of Victorinox. Have had several for years and love them. You can't beat them for the price.
Yes there are better knives out there if you want to pay two, three, or four times the price.

I use this one a lot for ribs or my 10" Chef's.
 
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Knife ideas

I second the boning knife comment. Sharp and nimble. I use a Victorinox off of amazon and it has served me well.
 
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