Kosher knife?

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Dabling

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So I am in my favorite knife store Lorenz Grinding in SLC this afternoon and two Jewish fellows walk in and ask if Mark the owner has any Kosher knives? Mark and I have never seen the like, so one of the fellows draws a picture for us. The picture looked like a cleaver. After about 15 minutes of pulling out everything he has in the cleaver category, he couldn't find anything that made the fellow happy.

My question to the rest of you folks is do you have any pictures of one and where can you buy one?
 
I was shocked to see serrations on a so-called "kosher butchering knife."

Before and after slaughtering an animal the shochet (that's the term for the ritual slaughterer) must must run his fingernail up and down both sides of the blade and on the cutting edge to determine if he can feel any imperfections. After the slaughter, the shochet must check the knife again in the same way to be certain the first inspection was properly done and to ensure the blade was not damaged during the slaughter. If the blade is found to be damaged, the meat may not be eaten by observant Jews. Obviously, a serrated blade would be inappropriate just on this ground alone.

But a serrated knife is not permitted in any event because it is assumed that it would cause tearing, which is deemed to be cruel to the animal. The rules for kosher slaughter are intended to reduce suffering on the part of the animal.

More here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shechita

The article describes the requirements for the knife. There aren't any bells and whistles. Primarily size and sharpness, and no point.
 
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So basically a steel knife with a straight edge that isn't too big and isn't too small but sharp as a laser?
 
George Tichbourne makes them.
His forum link here http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=821

Photo from his website
Three_slaughtering_knives.jpg
 
ursusrubrum said:
So I am in my favorite knife store Lorenz Grinding in SLC this afternoon and two Jewish fellows walk in and ask if Mark the owner has any Kosher knives? Mark and I have never seen the like, so one of the fellows draws a picture for us. The picture looked like a cleaver. After about 15 minutes of pulling out everything he has in the cleaver category, he couldn't find anything that made the fellow happy.

My question to the rest of you folks is do you have any pictures of one and where can you buy one?
Click to expand...

And mixing a kosher ANYTHING with trafe is a big NO NO.So a kosher knife should be seperate from all others - unless they too are kosher ,and remember that it cannot touch cheese or any dairy.
 
LX_Emergency said:
So basically a steel knife with a straight edge that isn't too big and isn't too small but sharp as a laser?
Click to expand...

And not pointed and not too heavy. And then, yes, that's a good enough description for someone who is not a shochet.
 
Sal designed a Chalaf knife without any serrations after the request and with the imput from a Rabbi.
It was as plain edge as possible, no serations at all, no stabby point.
Some were also made with serrations as a NON kosher knife afterwards.
 
Spiderco is completely invalid. The knives vary in length depending on whether one shechts beef or chicken. The knife must be razor sharp and must be 2 and 1/2 the length of the animal's neck. Any serration invalidates the knife. I will try and attach a picture here. Well ..I can' attach pics but email me and I'll send pics of mine for kosher birds. I need information on forging.
 
And a circumcision knife ??

While the Jews have become very 'technical' about slaughtering the basic principle is found in other societies .That is to kill the animal with the least amount of pain and in a time . That includes hunters too. The bleeding out of the animal is important since without doing it the meat is not very palatible.
 
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The serrated version was not considered Kosher. There can be no nicks or scratches on the edge and no engraving on the blade for it to be Kosher.

Only the plain edge version of our Chalif was used in slaughtering. We used MRS-30 for the blades. The size we made was for chickens. We made the serrated versions for general kitchen use.

Nothing that can harbor bacteria or let the animal know what's happening is permitted. Sharpening is done constantly and edges are also inspected constantly under magnification.

sal
 
Spyderco never ceases to amaze regarding their commitment to creating cutting tools that actually perform as expected in very specialized roles.

Spyderco... my favorite knife company.
 
Has anyone heard of JD Miller, who used to make a "chalaf" or "sakin". I am unable to find out any information on this individual and his work. I onl know he has a reputation of being the best blade-smith for Kosher slaughter knives. I know he has passed but his work is still exclaimed as the best in the world according to those in the industry. Any information would be helpful. Thank you.
 
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