A good slicer?????

G

george c

Joined
Jan 26, 2013
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66
Hi Folks,

Yes, back again with questions.

Often when you all are reviewing or evaluating knives you say, "this is a good slicer." At first I didn't pay that much attention. Anyway, for the past year and half or so, I've been using an Opinel #8 for all kitchen duties. Never any complaints and it seems to do the job without any problems.

As I get in new knives, they also get a run at a few kitchen chores but the #8 is used almost 100% of the time.

Just got in a new Mini-Trapper, my first of this pattern. Nice knife and really sharp. Slices paper like the videos and tested well on a block of Basswood. Anyway, took the Trapper in the kitchen tonight. Needed to chop up some onions and potatoes and the Trapper just didn't seem to be getting the job done. So, back to the Opinel and everything was fine.

So, as both knives seem pretty sharp, in fact, maybe the Trapper is a little sharper, does the "slicing ability" for kitchen duties have something to do with the thickness of the blades. The Opinel is definitely the thinner of the two knives. The Opinel seems to require far-less pressure than the Trapper.

Do you all have a favorite pattern that you consider a good slicer? Is it true, that all other things equal, for kitchen duty, that a thinner blade will slice better?

As always, thanks for any comments you may care to make.

Regards,

George
 
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The thinner the better. Nothing can slice apples better than the peanuts clip or the incredible thin sheepsfoot blade from my 18 medium stockman.
 
I'm not sure you will find another blade that works in the kitchen better than an Opinel. That thin blade with the flat grind is really hard to beat.
 
george c said:
Is it true, that all other things equal, for kitchen duty, that a thinner blade will slice better?
Click to expand...

Yes.
That's why I mostly use my kitchen knives for food prep, they are way thinner than most pocket knives.
And not only for kitchen duty, a thin blade always cuts better (although not always better suited...).
I generally like GECs because they have pretty thin grinds. But my favourite slicers are probably the coping blades of my GEC #62 whittlers, now those are thin :D.
 
Since almost all knives started out being designed for a purpose (even "all purpose"), I have a tendency to use them for their original design. As stated above you won't find a much more useful slicer in the kitchen than a knife designed for kitchen use. With that in mind, I use my kitchen knives in the kitchen. I use skinners and trappers pretty much for their designed use as well. Yep... lots of overlap as to what you can use a knife to do, but I can hardly see me taking a trapper out of my pocket in the kitchen when my hammer forged, hollow ground chef's knife is ready to go.

Likewise, I wouldn't take my chef's knife out to clean and dress and animal.

I think a good slicer is characterized by a a thin edge, properly ground to take best advantage of the blade steel. For an excellent slicer, in my experience it is hard to be a hollow ground blade as the cutting edge has nothing behind it making blade drag almost non existent.

I am eyeballing my old CASE 4" copperhead that has a large clip blade that is hollow ground carbon steel. It is a slicing devil.

Robert
 
knarfeng said:
I'm not sure you will find another blade that works in the kitchen better than an Opinel. That thin blade with the flat grind is really hard to beat.
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Convex Frank;)

Another reason why they slice so well.

A lot of the way a blade slices is down to how much steel is left behind the edge. Opinel grind their blades to a very thin edge. I reprofile pretty much all my knives with a convex edge bevel. Once done there's not much between a GEC for example and an Opi. More than a handful of threads on this topic!

Sam
 
In terms of blade stock, I haven't calipered them but I suspect the Opi and Case are pretty comparable. But, as noted here, the Opi is flat or slightly convex, while the Case is hollow ground. I think this relatively small difference is what you see. Also I think the broader blade of the Opi assists its slicing ability. The Opi's geometry keeps the sliced material slightly spread apart behind the edge, assisting the cut.
 
I too used a no 8 Opinel in the kitchen quite a bit. That was until I purchased two Opinel paring knives. Now that's pretty much all I use for most everything in the kitchen. Same great slicing ability with a blade profile that is more suited to kitchen work. I still use my no 7 & 8 for food prep when I'm away from home. I usually take my stainless no 7 to my parents because they have an aversion to sharp knives!

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to be honest if you want to slice stuff and not have a drag on the blade
its a granton edge blade most chef's use
they create small air pockets as it passes through what you are slicing to
keep it from sticking to the blade as it passes through
I find it works really well for starchy foods like slicing potatoes
and of course any kind of meat
as you can see here in this photo
OlwUWfE.jpg
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Wasn't aware that Opinel made a paring knife, very nice! Victorinox makes a nice one as well and its pretty cheap.
 
Opinel paring knives (and kitchen knives, in general) perform very well.
As for the OP, yes, I agree that Opinel folders are the best slicers out there (at least, that I'm aware of): thin blade, flat grind, convex dge...they got it all.

Fausto
:cool:
 
Good morning George.

I really don't think you will find another folding knife that has the slicing qualities of an Opinel. I can't count the knives I've had and used, and let go down the road in this life, but the Opinel is top dog if you want out and out slicing ability. It's just what it does. The Opinel is the wild card of pocket knives. The only knife Ihave in the kitchen that can outcut an Opinel is my old Wenger chef's knife. A knife that was designed from the start as a slicing knife. The only thing amazing to me is, by this time you would think more knife makers would be making nice thin bladed knives that cut. After all, that is the bottom line of a knife, how well it cuts.

Carl.
 
jackknife said:
Good morning George.

I really don't think you will find another folding knife that has the slicing qualities of an Opinel. I can't count the knives I've had and used, and let go down the road in this life, but the Opinel is top dog if you want out and out slicing ability. It's just what it does. The Opinel is the wild card of pocket knives. The only knife Ihave in the kitchen that can outcut an Opinel is my old Wenger chef's knife. A knife that was designed from the start as a slicing knife. The only thing amazing to me is, by this time you would think more knife makers would be making nice thin bladed knives that cut. After all, that is the bottom line of a knife, how well it cuts.

Carl.
Click to expand...

Carl it was one of your posts that convinced me to try an Opinel.
 
Count me another rabbid Opinel fan.

But to be fair, I think slicing ability depends a lot on what you're slicing.

With meats that separate easily, a hollow ground blade does great for reasons explained above. Less behind the edge...
... until there is at the shoulder. For me, hollow ground knives start to hang up in things like potatoes and apples that need to be split. The issue is the amount that the shoulder of the spine hangs up, creating friction. Same reason why hollow grinds don't do as well in wood, imo.

I've improved the all around slicing ability of a few of my hollow ground knives by taping the edge and then flattening the shoulder of the spine on a stone. Here are 2 and you'll note the rounded shape of the top of the grind where the shoulder has been flattend and moved towards the edge.

Case 316-5 (drop point) by Pinnah, on Flickr


Buck 500 by Pinnah, on Flickr

It's been interesting to put the Case 316 up against my Opinel 8, 9 and 10 up against each other in the kitchen. The flatten 316 generates friction in some foods in a different place than the convex ground Opinels. The Opinels introduce some friction earlier as the convex is closer to the cutting edge while the 316 puts the (remaining) friction up higher. Obsessed With Edges (David) noted that he felt that some foods formed some suction on flat/convex blades that a flattened hollow grind avoids. I would say that my 316 does a slightly better job with juicy apples than my Opinel 8 does. Overall, I like the Opinel better which is one reason I prefer the Opinel for EDC use over a hollow ground blade like, say, Bucks. So, there you have it.

I've also been playing around with courser finishes on blades and have begun only taking my knives down to a medium grit. I find that I'm getting really fast edge fading with my more polished edges and that a slightly toothier edge seems to slice better longer. Tomatoes are a place where I notice edge fade. Ditto hard salami (hiking, yum!).

Lastly, I got a monster folder to replace my lost Buck 500 and got a Schrade 51OT. Here's a shot of one (not mine).



It's a massive blade but man, it makes cubing and cutting vegetables so much easier with a standard chef's slice. Very good reason why a chef's knife is so large tang to edge. My Opinels may slice great, but when cubing things or cutting beans to length, I need to move the cutting board to the edges of the counter so I can get blade on stuff.
 
My favorite slicing profiles:

  • Opinel's thin convex. Great overall, with the one exception being when slicing apples; I've noticed an apple likes to cling to & pinch an Opi blade, which binds a bit.
  • High, thin hollow grind, ala Case's clip blades on their stockman & trapper models, as well as the Sod Buster Jr.'s blade. I like these for the apples, as they don't seem to have the binding issues like the Opinel, and they seem to handle everything else as well (food-wise). Also my favorite 'steak knife' profile.
If a blade is otherwise thick(ish) overall, an edge grind angle of 30° inclusive or less can remedy a lot of shortcomings; even better if convexed. I noticed a big jump in slicing ability on all blades I've thinned to this degree, including heavier blades with 1/8" thick spines (like Buck's heavier 110/112 blades).

BTW, the binding issue that I see with apples has also turned up when I've used something like a large chef's knife to split & quarter a watermelon. Really grabs the blade; I instead prefer a thin & flexible blade for that, like a large boning knife or fillet blade, which goes through it like a laser.

The only time I've seen, when a thinner blade profile hasn't helped at all, is when slicing a tomato with a card-thin kitchen knife made for the purpose, which unfortunately also had an edge that was barely worthy of a butterknife. When I tried cutting a tomato with it, it just slid across the surface of the tomato's skin. I broke out my Case Sod Buster Jr. to intervene, and finished the job. :D For tomatoes, a very crisp & clean apex is king, and the blade profile behind it is secondary.


David
 
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Hi Folks,

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to post your comments, information, and photos. MrBad posted a photo of a paring knife.

Anyway, I have a couple of carbon paring knives on the way (one I'll give to my brother-have already given him an Opinel gardening-type knife). OK, I fess-up. I also ordered a #8 and #10 in carbon. Poor impulse control at work.

Again, thanks so much for your help. Now all I have to do is figure out the different grinds.......

Regards,

George

edit: There was a comment on a thread, I think a few days ago, about maybe all we need to own are a few Opinels...... The person making the comment implied that they'll do just about anything, do things well, are well made, and inexpensive to replace if lost or damaged.
 
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Of course, the Sardinian's know how to make a heck of a slicer too! A nice flat ground blade to a very fine edge. Goes through BBQ beef like magic.
9514273564_9874dc8914_c.jpg
 
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