Using a pocket knife for food prep: now I get it.

[Smaug]

I was wondering why folks here so commonly use pocket knives for food prep.

Sometimes, it is the only knife handy.

Today, I found out that it is sometimes the only sharp knife handy.

But it also dawned on me that if I weren't such a good knife-geek husband, my pocket knives would be the only sharp knife in the house. My wife's family does not sharpen knives. At all. Even when they get really dull, they're still sharper than butter knives, and that is good enough for them.

But for me, and probably for you too, it is just painful to witness, much less to give in. No matter how many times I reprimand her, I always catch my darling Kate cutting with a plain edge against the hard clay plates. Add to that the fact that she generally prefers her meat well-done, and you can imagine a plain edge steak knife stays sharp about 2 days in our house.

For those who don't care to fight the battle of keeping the kitchen knives sharp, the pocket knife would be the only sharp knife in the house. It may just be easier and less painful to use that than to use a dull one or sharpen them all up all the time.

 

[popedandy]

You're telling my story, Smaug. That's why I always use one of my own knives in the kitchen.

 

[Mr. McMick]

I sharpen the family knives/scissors/etc whenever I'm home, but I can never tell what happens to them between times. Your right, it always is quicker to grab my trusty EDC if I need a cut of any kind, food included.

 

[Peregrin]

I know how that goes. I try to keep the kitchen knives sharp, but I'm losing the battle. So the pocket knife comes in handy when a sharp edge is needed.

 

[Morrow]

There is a lot of truth here. I think most of us here would say we find our relative's kitchen cutlery to be seriously lacking and mostly neglected. You're right...most time the sharpest knife in a relative's house is the one in our pockets.

 

[LKJW]

I secretly sharpen people's knives. A few quick passes on a coffee mug.

 

[watchart]

I secretly sharpen people's knives. A few quick passes on a coffee mug.

WHOA! Wait a minute. On a coffee mug? Seriously? How?

As for kitchen knives - all of ours are pretty blah. The serrated knives are okay for chicken or steak - but our chef's knives are lousy. I'm really wanting to save up and get a decent Japanese blade - or something made from Damascus steel.

 

[Morrow]

WHOA! Wait a minute. On a coffee mug? Seriously? How?

As for kitchen knives - all of ours are pretty blah. The serrated knives are okay for chicken or steak - but our chef's knives are lousy. I'm really wanting to save up and get a decent Japanese blade - or something made from Damascus steel.

If you flip a ceramic mug upside down, you'll usually find the bottom to be unglazed. You can put a good working edge on a knife with it.

 

[Django.cj]

So true. I've gotten lectures from my MiL that "You're not in a tent!" when using my knife. I respond that if there was a decently sharp knife in the house, I wouldn't need to use mine.

 

[kc custom]

One of the things about our slippies, folders, is they have a built in blade protector
(handle). Most, at least in our house hit the knife part of the silverware drawer with
all manner of objects to dull knives. I do give my wife credit though on the few with
sheaths that I've made,- they usually end up where they belong.
Ken.

 

[Thalestin]

I hear you. I just give my family serrated knives so at least they can cut a little

 

[Django.cj]

WHOA! Wait a minute. On a coffee mug? Seriously? How?

As for kitchen knives - all of ours are pretty blah. The serrated knives are okay for chicken or steak - but our chef's knives are lousy. I'm really wanting to save up and get a decent Japanese blade - or something made from Damascus steel.

You don't have to save up a lot of money to get a decent chef's knife. Victorinox makes a quite capable one for a very reasonable price. Not to dissuade you from getting a nice damascus knife of course

 

[Ballenxj]

Been there, done that and agree with most posts on this thread.
Ah, But how many of you have whipped out your trusty knife in a restaurant because their knives simply weren't sharp enough to cut the steak? I have.
-Bruce

 

[jackknife]

The first way to have sharp kitchen knives is to establish two basic ground rules in the house.

Rule 1 is they can use anything in the drawer, but don't touch the knife block on the counter. That's Uncle Carl's knives, and he gets really hinky if he finds them dulled by cutting on a plate or other dumb activities. They don't like it when Uncle Carl gets hinky.

Rule two, see rule one. This avoids any problems.

When over other peoples houses it get a little more complicated. For instance, we, (karen and I) spend a great deal of time with her inter Diane and her fella Roy. I love di, and she's a great sister in law. But she doesn't believe in sharp knives. So when I'm in the kitchen over her place, I'll somehow rememberer to have my Opinel along. Opinel's make great kitchen knives, and can slice a smoked salmon with ease.

I have at time taken one of Di's knives out front and given it a quick sharpening in the tone front steps. I saw the little old ladies in Europe do this just before they made dinner in the evening, and it really works. The stone steps put a nice mini serration edge on the blade. But till not as good as my own opinel.

Carl.

 

[jackknife]

You don't have to save up a lot of money to get a decent chef's knife. Victorinox makes a quite capable one for a very reasonable price. Not to dissuade you from getting a nice damascus knife of course

My knife block is all Victorinox Forschner. One 8 inch chefs knife, a 8 inch serrated edge bread knife, a 7 inch rosewood handle butcher knife, and two paring knives. Does everything I need. Victorinox kitchen knives are great, and don't cost near what some of the trendy name stuff does.

 

[Django.cj]

My knife block is all Victorinox Forschner. One 8 inch chefs knife, a 8 inch serrated edge bread knife, a 7 inch rosewood handle butcher knife, and two paring knives. Does everything I need. Victorinox kitchen knives are great, and don't cost near what some of the trendy name stuff does.

They're a great buy for sure. Not fancy, but holds a decent edge and gets sharp in a hurry.

 

[Smaug]

+1 on Victorinox chef knives. I have a set of three with the Fibrox handles and MSF rating.

Just for giggles, I bought a high end J.A. Henckles Santoku knife for $35 or so. It is fantastic; seems to hold the edge better than the Vics, but weighs 4x as much. Not really worth the extra, unless you're into form as well as function for kitchen knives.

As for sharpening the family knives, I don't mind sharpening them, but it always seems to me that the steel is really soft, so it is quick work, but they don't last, so I'm forever doing it. It gets old quickly.

 

[knarfeng]

A little trivia: Forschner, the company that owns Victorinox,

You have that backward, Jeremy. Victorinox owns Forschner.

I copied this from a vendor site, so I won't give the source.

Forschner Victorinox Cutlery

Many people know that Forschner knives are made by Victorinox — the creators of Swiss Army Knives. What most people don’t know is the origin of the “Forschner” side of the equation.

The Forschner Group was a well-known U.S. Company founded in the late 1800s as The Forschner Butcher Scale Company. Forschner began importing Victorinox knives in 1937 and coined the term “Swiss Army Knives” as a marketing technique. The knives were so successful that, shortly after the end of WWII, Forschner stopped selling butcher scales and focused entirely on knives.

Victorinox became a minority owner in Forschner when Forschner went public in 1981. In 1995, they acquired a larger stake and, in 2002, finally agreed to purchase the remainder. Though Forschner had by then changed its name to “Swiss Army Brands Inc.”, the name Forschner was still a recognizable one in the United States. So, when Victorinox decided to release their first kitchen knife set there in the mid-1990s, the Forschner name was resurrected.

 

[bill2000]

I finally got tired of dealing with the cheap stuff we had in the kitchen and upgraded. Bought 3 Victorinox-Forchner knives, an 8" Chef, an 8" Slicer and a 4" Parer. Then went to E-bay and found a set of 8 nice Queen bone handled steak knives. This is one knife-nut that doesn't need to be embarrassed any more by his kitchen tools!

 

[quattromori]

I understand your pain, but I admit I'm lucky on this...for two reasons.
The first reason is, I'm the one who cooks, so I use kitchen knives, and try to be careful with them. I always cut on plastic boards, and never hit them. Now I'm learning to sharpen, my pocket knives get sharper than my kitchen knives (which, so far, I've had sharpened...sooner or later, when I feel I'm skilled enough, I will sharpen my kitchen knives too), but I never use them in the kitchen. My kitchen knives are sharp enough, and I use my pocket knives for food only when I'm not home. But, in both cases, I'm the one handling them, and that's the clue for avoiding those pains.
The second reason is, I learned about what Ken said on knives in drawers. I use Global kitchen knives and keep them on a magnetic rack. Problem solved.

Fausto