Recommendation? Affordable knife to cut whole (store bought) chicken

Are you cutting up chicken after it has been cooked, or are you chopping it up for cooking?

If it's the latter, any cheap chinese chopper / cleaver like this one will do the job:
Asian-style-heavey-blade-chinese-cleavers-chopper.jpg
 
Technique helps too a lot of it is mechanical, physically yanking the chicken bit.

See last 45 seconds

 
Spyderco and Forschner (Victorinox) both make good quality kitchen knives that are affordable.
 
strategy9 said:
I just bought this Boker Arbolito block set for a friend, and they are very well made for the price...

the entire set was right around $100, so with the block and steel, that's less the $25 per knife if you pieced it out... I would have no issues buying Boker Arbolito again or recommending to someone on a budget.
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This sort of block set isn't bad. I still don't recommend them, but if you want a block look for one with just this basic set of knives. Out of 20 pieces, 15 will be pretty useless.
 
In the 1970's I bought a set of Burgvogel knives and am still using them today. I have sharpened them once a year and they keep an excellent edge.
 
Phydeaux said:
I have an Old Hickory knife that gets used daily. Don't let the plain carbon steel scare you. Use it regularly, wash and dry it when you're done. I've had few problems with it rusting. I touch the edge up on a butcher's steel before I use it (every day). This maintains the edge and I use the stone on it 2-3 times a year at most.

The 1095 steel they use is pretty tough. Once in a while I baton it through a frozen chub of hamburger without any problems or damage.

The Victorinox/Forschner knives are also good ones. The chef's knife is a good slicer. Their paring knives are my wife and girls favorites.

Ric
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+1 for the Old Hickory. I did one chicken with it and it formed a very nice patina the next day.
 
Piecemeal is the way to go with knife sets. Different brands do certain knives well. Other knives, not so much.

For example. I loved my Shun slicer. So I got a Shun bread knife & paring knife. Both are great knives, but nowhere near worth how much they cost. I would've been perfectly fine with a Victorinox, or Wenger of either.
Lesson learned.

I shop by style & feel. NEVER by brand.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
This sort of block set isn't bad. I still don't recommend them, but if you want a block look for one with just this basic set of knives. Out of 20 pieces, 15 will be pretty useless.
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That was what won me over in the end.
Could've spent a little more for made in China Henckles forged premio full set with everything down to steak knives, but aside from potential qc issues, as you said, with a full set most go to waste in an average persons kitchen. And as NorthernSouthpaw NorthernSouthpaw said, shopping piece by piece is the way to go with specialty knives. I liked this set because of its simplicity: 4 basic knives, all 4 with the same classic basic utilitarian kitchen design in 4 different sizes for versatility made of decent enough steel for basic kitchen duties.
Plus the sharpening steel is a great bonus.

With a nice edge it's all that's really needed for handling 99% of basic kitchen needs.
 
I've watched his vids quite a few times still takes me about 2 to 3 minutes to cleanly separate out a chicken.
 
Victorinox. Buy a Chef's knife, a straight edged paring, a serrated paring knife, a bread knife and a pair of chicken shears and you're set. I've used the above in my kitchen for the past 16 years and never felt I lacked anything.
 
Hi! To process cooked poultry I’d also second the suggestion to go for shears. I have the Fiskars ones and they are really good :thumbsup:. Chefs knives and bones processing isn’t a great combination, in my opinion. The cleaver also can be a good tool even if I’d use it on raw poultry rather than on cooked ones but it can do the job just fine (a bit messier than the shears but the "kung-fu element" in this is surely worth while :D).
 
My wife and I got rada as a gift from a friend of hers for our wedding and we've been pleasantly surprised since she said they're cheap but work well.

We have victorinox fibrox at work in the kitchen and besides not looking the greatest they are comfortable to use and work pretty well. Normally I'm not a fan of rubber/softer handles but in the kitchen, I'm all for it as my hands are usually wet and often slippery from touching meat and such.
 
Try a Honesuki for breaking down whole chickens. Tojiro Model F-803 is about $50 or so.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Check out the Victorinox / forschner knives, Victorinox makes quality affordable cutlery in the Swiss army valley of Switzerland and you should be able to get a chef's knife in the 20$ range.

Ontario also makes great affordable cutlery right here in America, but their old hickory kitchen cutlery ( their renowned classic 7" butcher is of note ) is made of carbon steel which you need to keep dry. They also often require a light edge touch up when you get them so you may not want to go this route.
If you do though you'll be getting an excellent piece of classic American cutlery for a mere 14$, that is likely the same as or similar to what you're grandparents used.

BTW I eat these store bought chickens often as well as ones I make at home in my own rotisserie and I process them with my pocket knife.
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Ditto, the Victorinox Fibrox boning knife will easily slice up your bird, without breaking your bank. It is commercial grade meaning it cuts, is easy to sharpen, and doesn't have all kinds of hole for the bad germs to congregate, NSF certified.
I can afford more expensive kitchen knives, but why would I waste my money? The Fibrox line of kitchen knives is a good price for a quality product that does everything in my kitchen that a knife should do.


 
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