Tactical knives in the kitchen

[EatingSarma]

I bought my mom Cold Steel Leatherneck SF, and also leather Ka-Bar sheath for it (the same combo as the one that friend of mine has bought recently).

She has arthritis and her fingers are thick, so she really likes big and fairly rounded handle it has, and the blade guard is also nice as she'd otherwise cut herself.
Also to add, she broke and bent plenty of kitchen knives in the past, and at like 5mm thickness, this should stay in one piece. So... as ridiculous as it sounds, it really might be the best kitchen knife for her


But this made me think... how good would be tactical knives for kitchen use by general population? Sure thing not everyone has arthritis, but they do work well on large pieces of meat.

And yeah - this thread isn't really serious, neither am I saying tactical knives are better than dedicated kitchen knives for kitchen tasks... I'm just asking - could they be better for some tasks tho?

 

[Skar]

I would think cutting vegetables it would do well.

Not so sure about better, I usually don't cut up meat much. If I do I usually am trimming or thinning the pieces.
I use a thin blade that slices through very quickly.

That's where I believe this concept would fall short.
A k bar can cut through the material fine yet I don't see it as slicer persay.

 

[KenHash]

Outdoor knives of various sizes can be used for specific cooking tasks. But they are not designed for it and can not can not be used for mu;tiple tasks as Kitchen knives frequent;y are. The main issues would be blade thickness, folled by profile and probably weight distribution.
That said, many folks will use an outdoor knife occasionally in the kitchen which is both fun and fine, provided the knife is washed before and after use.

 

[EatingSarma]

She has other knives for finer tasks, she uses this thing to cut up entire chickens or turkeys and other large pieces of meat.
Also with her arthritic hands, she's not doing much of thin cuts with any knife you give her...

But that is specific situation.
Even slicing an onion or potato isn't so smooth with this knife, because of thickness. So I think it'd suck for a lot of kitchen purposes, but do really well when it comes to some other purposes where thin knives get damaged.

 

[KenHash]

She has other knives for finer tasks, she uses this thing to cut up entire chickens or turkeys and other large pieces of meat.
Also with her arthritic hands, she's not doing much of thin cuts with any knife you give her...

But that is specific situation.
Even slicing an onion or potato isn't so smooth with this knife, because of thickness. So I think it'd suck for a lot of kitchen purposes, but do really well when it comes to some other purposes where thin knives get damaged.

That same knife would probably work well for splitting lobsters, pumpkins, removing fish heads, etc.
Bushcrafters could even get in some batonning if they get the urge (lol).
The same concept as a Deba/Western Deba cooking knife.

 

[EatingSarma]

That same knife would probably work well for splitting lobsters, pumpkins, removing fish heads, etc.
Bushcrafters could even get in some batonning if they get the urge (lol).
The same concept as a Deba/Western Deba cooking knife.

Talking about that, she did use it to split hokkaido pumpkin too
Didn't use it on fish yet tho (we barely eat it).

And I just googled deba knife and yeah, I can see it's place in kitchen. This is indeed similar concept.

I wouldn't trust D2 to handle batonning, but I've seen video of this knife in D2 getting batonned.

I also don't know if stripping off the coating would be a good idea here.

 

[KenHash]

Talking about that, she did use it to split hokkaido pumpkin too
Didn't use it on fish yet tho (we barely eat it).

And I just googled deba knife and yeah, I can see it's place in kitchen. This is indeed similar concept.

I wouldn't trust D2 to handle batonning, but I've seen video of this knife in D2 getting batonned.

I also don't know if stripping off the coating would be a good idea here.

Traditionally, no Cooking knives, regardless of origin have, to my knowledge been "coated".
However, in the past couple of years a few Japanese knife companies have introduced some DLC and
Flourine coated knives, making me wonder if this is a trend. Kyocera has offered black ceramic knives from before.
Benchmade also offers cooking knives in black DLC, which would be the only "coating" I would consder for a cooking knife.
And thats if I considered it at all.
Any other type of coating, I would not want on any knife that I used on food. Having seen how the coating wears on my
outdoor knives.

 

[LostCause]

I see nothing wrong using them in the kitchen if they work for specific task you need them for.

But I'd strip off the coating.

 

[Redneckbmxer24]

It sounds like she hasn’t been suing good kitchen knives. The Shun Premier series are very nice and the handle is girthy for a kitchen knife. I’ve never heard of anyone breaking or bending a Shun either. The only person I ever ever known that’s broken or bent any kitchen knives is my grandma and it’s because she’ll grab one to use as a pry bar which isn’t what they’re meant to do.

The issue with tactical knives is blade thickness and slicing, weight, and balance. While some of them do work well for what they are they still don’t come close to kitchen knives. For example my Benchmade Anonimus does great, for not being a kitchen knife, but it still doesn’t slice like a true kitchen knife. It just does great for a knife that I can take to camp and do everything with.

I just got a Benchmade station knife and I love it, I haven’t used a Shun since it came, it simply does everything great. The blade is a bit thicker than your typical kitchen knife but not as thick as a tactical or bush craft knife.

 

[Rich S]

"Tactical" knives in the kitchen seems a bit of overkill unless you are being attacked by an overly aggressive chicken wing.

 

[EatingSarma]

It sounds like she hasn’t been suing good kitchen knives. The Shun Premier series are very nice and the handle is girthy for a kitchen knife. I’ve never heard of anyone breaking or bending a Shun either. The only person I ever ever known that’s broken or bent any kitchen knives is my grandma and it’s because she’ll grab one to use as a pry bar which isn’t what they’re meant to do.

The issue with tactical knives is blade thickness and slicing, weight, and balance. While some of them do work well for what they are they still don’t come close to kitchen knives. For example my Benchmade Anonimus does great, for not being a kitchen knife, but it still doesn’t slice like a true kitchen knife. It just does great for a knife that I can take to camp and do everything with.

I just got a Benchmade station knife and I love it, I haven’t used a Shun since it came, it simply does everything great. The blade is a bit thicker than your typical kitchen knife but not as thick as a tactical or bush craft knife.

She has plenty of knives, and uses this one only when she needs to cut through cartilage, ribs, and other stuff that evenually ruins thin knives.

She uses dedicated kitchen knives when she needs something slicey, and buying this will save me a lot, as she's now not using chef knives for tasks that'll break them.

 

[TC]

Smatchet...

 

[Redneckbmxer24]

She has plenty of knives, and uses this one only when she needs to cut through cartilage, ribs, and other stuff that evenually ruins thin knives.

She uses dedicated kitchen knives when she needs something slicey, and buying this will save me a lot, as she's now not using chef knives for tasks that'll break them.

If she’s ruining kitchen knives cutting those things then she’s doing something seriously wrong. Chef’s use chef knives every day making peoples for hundreds of people and don’t ruin them cutting those same things either.

 

[shane45-1911]

Chef’s use chef knives every day making peoples for hundreds of people and don’t ruin them cutting those same things either.

Uh, assuming this is a typo and chefs are not preparing people as food, they also have cleavers.

I know several chefs (who are also knife-savvy) and they will definitely NOT use their expensive thin edge blades for cutting through bone. They have cleavers for a reason.

 

[bemymonkey]

I use a chef's knife in the kitchen, but anything that requires a smaller knife will be handled by my EDC fixed blade. Is it tactical if the sheath is kydex?

For coconut opening duty or hacking through bone I may go grab an outdoor knife though, mainly because I don't really like how a cleaver handles.

I just got a Benchmade station knife and I love it, I haven’t used a Shun since it came, it simply does everything great. The blade is a bit thicker than your typical kitchen knife but not as thick as a tactical or bush craft knife.

That looks pretty awesome. Like a broken chef's knife.

 

[Bob Denman]

So you want "Tactical" in the Kitchen...

 

[Redneckbmxer24]

Uh, assuming this is a typo and chefs are not preparing people as food, they also have cleavers.

I know several chefs (who are also knife-savvy) and they will definitely NOT use their expensive thin edge blades for cutting through bone. They have cleavers for a reason.

Saws are for cutting through bone.

 

[shane45-1911]

Saws are for cutting through bone.

Not many chefs have saws. They aren't butchers. There is a difference.

 

[Landshark99]

Honestly one can use what ever you want, but for me it would be pointless. There is a large variety of kitchen knives that are used for specific purposes. One can get away with three to four kitchen knives but it is a lot more fun and efficient to use the right knife for the job it was intended for. I love using "laser" thin gyutos for most things but with heavier stuff it I use a Yo-Deba ( a heavy chef's knife ), a Yanagi or Sujihiki for slicing, a pairing or petty for small stuff, a Honesuki for boning, a Deba for fish and a bread knife for bread

 

[killgar]

I say, if it works for her, and she likes how it performs and feels in her hand, then more power to her. Who is anyone else to say she's wrong or that she shouldn't.

What would be the point of buying her an expensive dedicated kitchen knife to replace the CS if she's never going to use it because she doesn't like how it feels in her hand. I'm guessing she's old enough to know what she needs and likes in the kitchen.

The value and usefulness of a knife can far exceed its description or intended purpose.