Old Hickory carbon steel kitchen knives.. anyone?

[Blackhearted]

i was recentlly contemplating switching all of my kitchen knives to a set of carbon steel ones. both for the old style patina and the increased performance that carbon steel offers. i currently have a set of solingen SS knives, but theyre a bit too thick/heavy for my tastes although they are excellently made. i could take one out into the bush and use it as a camp knife no problem, they are massively overbuilt for kitchen knives (in fact, now that i think of it, reprofiling/reshaping them into camp/utility knives might be their fate).
Old Hickory knives are *dirt* cheap, made of 1095 carbon steel, and seem to get a lot more praise than you would expect from $3-15 knives.

anyone own/has owned some of these? how do they hold up? how thick are the blades? are they full tang? how well are the scales fitted/atttached?

for those who have no clue wtf im talking about here is a link to some at knivesplus:
http://www.knivesplus.com/OLD-HICKORY-KNIVES.HTML

cheers,
-gabriel

 

[Harry Callahan]

These are the knives I grew up with. To answer your question, full tang construction with the scales held on by way of brass rivets (that will loosen up over time). You'll need to smack them with a hammer to tighten them back up. Good edge holding and nice thin cutting edge on most of the models. As I recall, the "butcher's" knife has a slightly thicker blade than the rest.

Even though I grew up with these knives, I can't honestly recommend them over Spyderco's kitchen knives. Step into the twenty first century and give them a try. Lots of bang for the buck. My wife has almost wore the serrations off her K04 model and it still cuts like a chainsaw. I touch it up every once in a while with the Sharpmaker and it's good to go. She is hard on a knife edge. I get on her case (to no avail) when I catch her using a plate or platter as a cutting board. Porcelin is devastating to a knife edge. Old Hickory's 1095 with the plainedge blade didn't stand a chance around her. Believe me. There's drawer full of them around here somewhere (unless she gave them to her mother).

The smaller K04 mentioned above sells right around the Old Hickory price range you're looking at.

 

[Blackhearted]

i have several sets of good SS kitchen knives already (albeit not the spyderco), i was really looking for carbon blades. i actually prefer to step backwards in terms of technology in a lot of my daily routines - a sense of tradition, history, nostalgia, etc outweigh the small convenience benefits of many modern things for me, anyway.
this is why i love classic cars (buying another '69 chevy nova SS this fall), still shave with a straight razor and cake soap, cook many of my meals on a cast iron grill over live campfire coals, paint many things with oil paints that i could paint in 1/4 the time in photoshop, still shoot in B&W with an SLR camera and develop my own film sometimes, etc etc.
i have many modern items that would perform the same functions with marginally higher convenience (or less maintenance), yet i still go back to the older options each time. i own a VW passat, Mach3 razors, a good natural gas barbeque, a computer with a tablet for painting, and a high end digital camera yet i still prefer their lower-tech counterparts and keep going back to them.
btw if you want to sell those old carbon knives let me know...
pre-patina'd and everything, gotta love em

cheers,
-gabriel

 

[pickupman]

i have several sets of good SS kitchen knives already (albeit not the spyderco), i was really looking for carbon blades. i actually prefer to step backwards in terms of technology in a lot of my daily routines - a sense of tradition, history, nostalgia, etc outweigh the small convenience benefits of many modern things for me, anyway.
this is why i love classic cars (buying another '69 chevy nova SS this fall), still shave with a straight razor and cake soap, cook many of my meals on a cast iron grill over live campfire coals, paint many things with oil paints that i could paint in 1/4 the time in photoshop, still shoot in B&W with an SLR camera and develop my own film sometimes, etc etc.
i have many modern items that would perform the same functions with marginally higher convenience (or less maintenance), yet i still go back to the older options each time. i own a VW passat, Mach3 razors, a good natural gas barbeque, a computer with a tablet for painting, and a high end digital camera yet i still prefer their lower-tech counterparts and keep going back to them.
btw if you want to sell those old carbon knives let me know...
pre-patina'd and everything, gotta love em

cheers,
-gabriel

God bless you, I'm the same way. The price of an Old Hickory--$4 or $5. The ability to use a knife made the same way today as 100 years ago, to hold that sense of tradition and history in your hand--priceless. And they are excellent values for the money. They sharpen easliy, hold an edge, develop a nice patina, and they are made in the USA. When you buy them, buy 2 or 3 of the same style. I just have a feeling that some day you will see the news that they are no longer made. Most folks nowdays would rather have a nice shiny knife (usually made in China) in their kitchen than a tarnished, patined, work horse like the Old Hickory.

 

[shappa]

I have so many I've lost count...easily 20+.
I've never paid more than $2 for one. i've found them all at thrift stores.
They all sharpen easily, work hard and have their own personality.
I have henkels, forschner, watanabe, carter...they all have a place in my home knife block and in my work kitchen.

 

[fudo]

I've been usingthe same Old Hickory knives for about 25 years. They are in good condition, sharpen easily, and hold a good edge. They are absolutely the most cost-effective kitchen tools around.