Newer Old Hickory knives?

W

wonewin78

Joined
Mar 19, 2012
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57
Hey guys,

So I was recently uh, "inspired" by the bbq pit boys (youtube) to look into getting a 10 inch Old Hickory butcher knife.

My concern/question is, I heard on the more recent ones they got rid of the pattern on the blade and the "Old Hickory" stamping on the handle. I've also heard that they might be a little bit thinner than the older ones.

Although I would like to get one of the older ones, I guess the new ones are ok as long as the quality is still there. Can anyone shed some light on the quality of the more recent Old Hickory knives?

Thank you.
 
havnt tried any of the new ones . i picked up a couple of older ones from thrift stores , really nice imo .
used one to do some gardening , hacked through brambles for an hr . still sliced paper real easy after .
great in the kitchen too !
 
I second the suggestion to pick up one of the older ones second hand.
I picked up several new old-stock OH knives at an old fashioned family hardware store that was going out of business after 70 years.

Very high quality at very low MSRP. Can't speak to the quality of current OH knives.
 
Just picked one up at amazon, 15 bucks so I said what the heck. Will give a review/feedback after I mess around with it for a bit. Hopefully it's quality.

And I definitely will pick up the older ones if I can find em. Thanks for the input guys!
 
I remember hearing they were doing away with the "waffle" pattern in the past year or so, but I haven't come across one yet. I purchased 2 slicing knives and a butcher about 8-9 months ago on ebay and all had the pattern. I've been seeing a lot of OH cleavers on ebay over the past year or so that are smooth, but none of the other models so far (that I recall).
 
Hardball, that knife is gorgeous. Hard to believe that it was an Old Hickory. The handle, sheath, and just the knife itself... Wow.

And G.Scott, hopefully the one I get is an older one, but I doubt it. I just hope the quality's still there.
 
Hardball, that knife is gorgeous. Hard to believe that it was an Old Hickory. The handle, sheath, and just the knife itself... Wow.

And G.Scott, hopefully the one I get is an older one, but I doubt it. I just hope the quality's still there.
 
I think they were toying with the idea, but may not be implementing it yet, if at all. The pattern on recent ones I've received has shown some signs of tooling wear on the rollers they use to imprint the pattern, so I suspect that the tooling is starting to show its age and they don't really want to sink the money into having it replaced. They may have even leaked the idea of doing away with it to the community in the first place to gauge the reaction. It wasn't a positive one, obviously, so they're probably trying to limp along to squeeze every last drop out of those rollers and then make a decision when they really just can't keep stretching it anymore.
 
I bought a set of new ones maybe 4 years ago. I have boning knife, a butcher knife and couple of pairing knives. I also have my grand fathers old bait knife, which is actually an old hickory pairing knife.

Anyway, the new "Old Hickory" knives. They come with a bevel but no edge. NO EDGE. Which is fine because you can put the edge you want on it, but it's a pain in the butt doing it with a stone. I sent mine out to a fellow here on the forums. The knives hold an edge fine (not great) but sharpen easily which is really nice. My boning knife came with a bent tip ::shrug::

The old "Old Hickory" pairing knife that I have is thicker than the new one, the handle is also much better. The new ones look like maple maybe, but come with no oil on them and mine have shrunk some. But they are made in America which is neat.

In short, Yes the new old hickory knives can be good. But you'll need to put an edge on them and finish the handles.
 
BBQ Pit Boys, yeeah!

I was also inspired by those guys to pick up an Old Hickory. The 10" pictured has been my bbq knife since 2009. I got the other one at the same time and I have stubbornly maintained it as my primary kitchen knife, much to my woman's consternation (my lady uses a normal stainless chef's knife :D).

13299837214_ca959e54a3_z.jpg


I remember wanting an "old style" one at the time and looking all around but this is what I got. Can't remember if this is the old or the new but after 4 years regular use, whatever, they are awesome in my book.... I mean, they're "GUUUUDD" :thumbup:

:D


***Edit to add: I second CP's remark above about arriving with no edge. There was NO edge on mine. I tried putting edges on with oil stones but gave up and took them to a kitchen cutlery store to do it for 5 bucks. Been easy to maintain since.
 
Thanks W-78 for the kind words. Yes indeed, Jeremy does OUTSTANDING work on knives and this Kephart knife will no doubt become one of my favorites!
I am very proud to own/have it in my humble collection. While the older "Old Hickory" knives are often difficult to find, I suggest just keep hitting all the Junk Shops, Flea Markets, Yard/Barn/Lawn Sales, Antique Shops, Thrift Shops, Recycle Centers/Dumps, old Basements, Garages, and yes lol, even JUNK/TRASH piles. I have several other knives awaiting Jeremy's Artistic magical touch in the future. I have no doubt these knives will be just as excellent as my Kephart. Happy hunting W.

Regards,
HARDBALL
 
As a quick update. What everyone said here is pretty much right. Mine came with NO edge whatsoever. It's literally a chunk of steel with wood handles.

The heft on it and the quality of the wood is pretty nice. Can't say how it is compared to the older ones, but it feels very solid and stout in the hand.

Mine did come with the Old Hickory stamping and the "waffle" pattern on the blade. I prefer this look so I am extremely pleased. I think what FourtyTwoBlades suggested is right. The waffle pattern on mine is not clean and seems as if the machine used to stamp it was not firmly used. No matter.

I'm going to get it sharpened this week at a cutlery shop so will see on the edge. Thanks for all the input guys.
 
I have a 7" butcher knife from old hickory. Had it a few months, and for £10 it was very good! In fact its the only kitchen I use anymore as I like the look and feel.

Gets sharp, stays sharp and is surprisingly (to me) corrosion resistant for such a simple high carbon blade. Yeah its blunt as butter out the box but it does sharpen just fine with a little elbow grease and effort.

Mine is about 2mm thick I think, I'll check next time I'm home but it certainly feels solid and the handle is securely fitted. Mine has the waffle pattern.



Think I'll buy a chefs knife from old hickory and turn this one into a project of some sort. :)
 
I ordered 3 seven inch butchers from Ontario August 2013. I had heard some were out without the pattern. I requested no pattern, if possible. They came with the usual pattern and fairly sharp. I reconfigure the blades. I usually find well-used blades at Estate sales and such, so alot of the pattern is worn already. I prefer mine to be "slick".
 
I got a set a couple of years ago and as others have said they come butter knife sharp. That being said, once sharpened they are quite serviceable but they do dull somewhat fast. I don't think my wife is a huge fan.
 
I found this old thread while doing a search. I recently discovered that Old Hickory knives are now made with 1075. No longer will they have the nice edge holding ability of 1095 steel. The company pitch is that 1075 is a tougher steel - of course it is. It's not as hard.
 
My wife got me an Old Hickory set plus a rack for $5 at a garage sale. I always hated patinas and avoided carbon steel, but I gave them a try. I ended up loving these knives. I do have to pay more attention to them than to my stainless knives, but they are so easy to touch up and get really sharp. Keep them dry and they work fine.
 
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