... for cutting only limes

Ok great replies. I'll read these responses again when myc2 year old isn't climbibg all over me on my truck,!!!!

Thanks all!@
 
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Spyderco Spydiechef, Waterway, Siren, or Full Serrated Salt Series folder in the model of your choice
 
My wife uses whatever is handy in the kitchen. She's been making food with lime juice for over 50 years. No big deal.

But why cut them at all? (Lemon, lime, whatever.)

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If you're cutting a lot of limes, I'd recommend a normal commercial-grade kitchen knife in whatever random stainless steel they use. Limes are not particularly tough, so they won't dull the knife that much, although what surface you're cutting on can make a difference. Toughness is very much the least important of the three attributes you listed.
 
strategy9 said:
Any good quality blade with a thin blade geometry would murder limes with ease. Keep it cleaned and dried after each use, and a good carbon steel will develop a nice patina from the lime juice, however don't do that and you will have problems...
Any quality stainless like 14c27n, Aeb-L, n690, vg10, cts-xhp, ELMAX, all the way up to m390 or cpm110v if you want better edge retention will work fine.
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This is what I have. It's an old pic... its got more patina now. I feel ridiculous posting because this is such an excellent lime knife. It's thin as hell, A2, comfortable and has an insanely thin edge. Maybe @samuraistuart can tell us the angle. I do keep it clean after every use. It's part of the routine.

I guess I'm just searching for EVEN BETTER! In fact this exact knife, 3/4 inch longer, in [insert whatever steel here] would be what I was after.
David Richardson said:
Heavily edited after I re-read the OP.



The combination you're looking for doesn't exist. Pick which of those three you need the most.
  • Most corrosion resistant: LC200N or Vanax. Ok toughness and edge retention.
  • Best edge retention: S110V. Ok corrosion resistance but not great toughness.
  • Best toughness: AEB-L. Good corrosion resistance and decent edge retention.
Best balance all the way around? Probably 20CV/M390/204P.
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That's just it... I guess I'm learning which of those 3 I needed most... for cutting 99% limes 1%lemons and oranges :p
NapalmCheese said:
As a user of carbon steel kitchen knives I would suggest stainless for lime specific duties. As lime juice accumulates on the carbon steel while batch processing limes the juice takes on a dark hue which can be transferred to subsequent limes ruining the presentation.
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That's an excellent point. There is that metallic taste SOMEtimes if I didn't wipe the blade after the previous use. I do love carbon steel, but as strategy mentioned there's a great list of those newer stainless steels that do have a lot of the required attributes. Maybe I should have put a poll up listing some of the obvious steel candidates. I'm no stranger to pen and paper. Cast your vote! If i can create a poll post-posto_O then I'll do that tonight. Kid's waking up from a backseat nap.

Thanks once again for the responses!!
 
unwisefool said:
How many limes are you cutting that it requires a specific knife?
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Fair question. It's not for my yearly Corona (beer:p). I bartend a crazy busy bar... well it used to be. We're working out the new outdoor setup and business is, well still slow but picking up. Last year I would probably cut 100-200 limes per shift. Alway in a hurry. As a knife geek I suppose I'm searching for that ideal knife.
 
bigsurbob said:
Fair question. It's not for my yearly Corona (beer:p). I bartend a crazy busy bar... well it used to be. We're working out the new outdoor setup and business is, well still slow but picking up. Last year I would probably cut 100-200 limes per shift. Alway in a hurry. As a knife geek I suppose I'm searching for that ideal knife.
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In that environment, Victorinox 47556 5" Serrated Chef Knife with Fibrox Handle. It's small, stainless, low maintenance, won't hurt your pocket book when one of the other bartenders uses it to pry open the cash register drawer than hasn't been used in 6 months. It's not sexy, but it's the right tool for the job.
 
when i consider questions, as such asked by the OP, i think of "mamas kitchen" growing up, what did she use?
she used a kitchen aid serrated knife with partial tang, black plastic handle, stamped china, what "we" consider to be epic POS's, and still to this day she still has that knife floating around somewhere, and do you know what? still cuts limes just fine, so an answer --- any serrated steel will work fine, if you want to light-saber melt through a lime for some reason then any serrated knife from henckels, shun, global, or wusthof will do, i think they use ice-hardened german stainless. this is just my experience, but i would recommend that whatever you choose, make sure its fully serrated
 
NapalmCheese said:
In that environment, Victorinox 47556 5" Serrated Chef Knife with Fibrox Handle. It's small, stainless, low maintenance, won't hurt your pocket book when one of the other bartenders uses it to pry open the cash register drawer than hasn't been used in 6 months. It's not sexy, but it's the right tool for the job.
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JokersFaceLifter said:
when i consider questions, as such asked by the OP, i think of "mamas kitchen" growing up, what did she use?
she used a kitchen aid serrated knife with partial tang, black plastic handle, stamped china, what "we" consider to be epic POS's, and still to this day she still has that knife floating around somewhere, and do you know what? still cuts limes just fine, so an answer --- any serrated steel will work fine, if you want to light-saber melt through a lime for some reason then any serrated knife from henckels, shun, global, or wusthof will do, i think they use ice-hardened german stainless. this is just my experience, but i would recommend that whatever you choose, make sure its fully serrated
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Napalm... you must know the scene because that scenario is spot on. I've literally done that exact thing more than once. We have 2 noname serrated POSs and our good one, which i bought, a Wusthof 8" bread knife (the smallest one). It's the 2nd one we've been thru. The first was mine until I upgraded to the 9" double serrated, which was pretty sweet. Even had a custom sheath made. 20200921_172716.jpgWhat i didn't like was the long sawwing motion. When I'm really crankin on limes, I wanted to minimize movement. I cut a dime sized disc flap off my thumb with that 9" Wusthof. The samuraistuart thin knife was a huge improvement. For limes I've found that Sharp plain edge > serrated > less than sharp plain. Serrated wins for consistency. But again... the long push-pull sucks.

So yes I absolutely want to and arguably need to be able to "light saber melt" through limes! Ok... want.

And I do have some really good tools to do it already. With any other crowd I'd feel dumb asking how I can eek out that last 1% by improving on that A2. But I'm asking! I've read many "what's the best..." threads. They're always followed up with a myriad of "Well what's the intended use?" questions.

Cutting only limes. On an end-cut cutting board. With a thin knife, edge angle to be determined by steel.

I like the stats of Lc200n because of high corrosion resistance and decent edge retention.

I like a lot of the CPM-xxx supers.

I like M390 because it has... maybe it all.

Gimme an answer BF! Which is THE one?
 
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