Using your knives in the kitchen.

[NapalmCheese]

But that's my point. Sharp is sharp. A knife is just a tool. Food doesn't care what its being cut by. If the blade is sufficiently sharp, any knife of practical size and geometry will slice micro thin slices of garlic and make 8 slices out of grape sized tomatos. A Spyderco Endura or Benchmade Pardue 951 excels at such fine cutting tasks.

I understand. Some people get a lot of enjoyment from cooking. I always just considered it a necessity so there is obviously different perspectives on the matter. When I get a glimpse of those cooking shows, I have memories of childhood when my mom would admonish us that you're not supposed to play with your food, you're supposed to eat it. As far as where I would go for lunch, I am not much a fan of fast food. I always pack my own-- sandwich, chips, fruit.

Neither a Spyderco Endura nor a Benchmade Pardue 951 excels at that task. Being able to do something, and doing it well are two different things. I can take my 10 inch chef knife and turn a clove of garlic into a paper thin slices in just a second or two, while watching the butter just start to brown in a frying pan, and thinking about when I should put the pot on the stove. The size, weight, and shape of my chef knife allow it to EXCEL at that sort of thing. The way you say it you make it sound like there's no difference between a katana and a letter opener if they are both sufficiently sharp.

As for not enjoying cooking, that's your prerogative. We must all eat. If we can find a way to enjoy what we are eating then eating is a pleasure we get to do multiple times a day (usually) rather than a chore that must be done. Part of enjoyment of eating is seeing the food and anticipating the flavors and textures, and appreciating the effort that went into making something look good to eat. If you're happy eating some sandwich slapped together out of annoyance and necessity at the last minute so be it; I'll stick to cooking fresh Dutch Crunch for my wife and I while piling on perfectly cooked slices of bacon, spreading perfectly ripe avocado, the finest mustard I can find, freshly washed and dried bib lettuce and some excellent turkey from the deli counter at Lunardis (also some red onion for me, and some sea salt on the avocado).

 

[NapalmCheese]

It's a odd "bias" against kitchen knives, like they aren't "real" knives somehow. Its interesting how many folks here wouldn't think of spending $200 on a kitchen knife, but would spend $200 on a folder in a heartbeat.

I think for most of us it's a 'cool factor'.

For some people kitchen knives (even when used every single day) will never be cool because they never leave the house. There will never come a time when a knife nut will need to pry open a car door, baton a tree, or defend their loved ones from rabid bears with a kitchen knife (all things we might have to do with our EDC folder). Kitchen knives are utilitarian tools, and tools aren't usually cool. Craftsmen (and craftswomen) care about their tools; other people do not.

There are a lot of knife people that are happy to tell you all about how their limited run overbuilt super folder in Elmax could be used to cut Han Solo out of carbonite without suffering any damage, but will defer to using some $20 dollar gas station knife to open clam shell packages because they don't want to risk 'abusing' their super knife.

By that same note, I don't use my chef knives to open boxes or break down cardboard. That's what box cutters are for...

 

[BubbaGump]

Neither a Spyderco Endura nor a Benchmade Pardue 951 excels at that task. Being able to do something, and doing it well are two different things. I can take my 10 inch chef knife and turn a clove of garlic into a paper thin slices in just a second or two, while watching the butter just start to brown in a frying pan, and thinking about when I should put the pot on the stove. The size, weight, and shape of my chef knife allow it to EXCEL at that sort of thing. The way you say it you make it sound like there's no difference between a katana and a letter opener if they are both sufficiently sharp.

As for not enjoying cooking, that's your prerogative. We must all eat. If we can find a way to enjoy what we are eating then eating is a pleasure we get to do multiple times a day (usually) rather than a chore that must be done. Part of enjoyment of eating is seeing the food and anticipating the flavors and textures, and appreciating the effort that went into making something look good to eat. If you're happy eating some sandwich slapped together out of annoyance and necessity at the last minute so be it; I'll stick to cooking fresh Dutch Crunch for my wife and I while piling on perfectly cooked slices of bacon, spreading perfectly ripe avocado, the finest mustard I can find, freshly washed and dried bib lettuce and some excellent turkey from the deli counter at Lunardis (also some red onion for me, and some sea salt on the avocado).

You want me to take photos or videos? My BM 951 will double your 8 slices through a grape tomato. It has a .08 ultra thin profile and I keep it hand polished to 10000 grit.

...but..I agree that if I was a professional chef working every day in a kitchen slicing and dicing all day long, a dedicated kitchen knife is more productive..but for the at-home chef or someone who just cuts up a chicken breast or two and a handful of vegetables and potatos, a dedicated chefs knife is simply overkill...any sharp knife will do for that task..a 50 year old sharpened Case slipjoint pocketknife will do for that task.

 

[BubbaGump]

It's a odd "bias" against kitchen knives, like they aren't "real" knives somehow. Its interesting how many folks here wouldn't think of spending $200 on a kitchen knife, but would spend $200 on a folder in a heartbeat

This is true. Everyone has their own preferences. Collecting knives of ANY kind is what this site is all about. It's all good. I am just am pointing out that any sharp knife will cut food. The food won't refuse to be cut because it is being taken to task by a Spyderco folding knife rather than a dedicated chef's knife of the highest pedigree. The contention point seems to be that if you don't cut your food with a dedicated kitchen implement, you are doing it wrong.

 

[NapalmCheese]

You want me to take photos or videos? My BM 951 will double your 8 slices through a grape tomato. It has a .08 ultra thin profile and I keep it hand polished to 10000 grit.

Okay tough guy, I'm sure you're pocketknife is better at kitchen tasks than any kitchen knife.

 

[stabman]

There will never come a time when a knife nut will need to pry open a car door, baton a tree,

Challenge accepted.
Just remember that you said no would ever do that when I post the pics of me doing it.
You can use one of your fancy kitchen knives to artfully prepare all the crow you'll be eating.

 

[NapalmCheese]

This is true. Everyone has their own preferences. Collecting knives of ANY kind is what this site is all about. It's all good. I am just am pointing out that any sharp knife will cut food. The food won't refuse to be cut because it is being taken to task by a Spyderco folding knife rather than a dedicated chef's knife of the highest pedigree. The contention point seems to be that if you don't cut your food with a dedicated kitchen implement, you are doing it wrong.

Any sufficiently large and hard rock will pound a nail into a 2x4 to build a house; but that doesn't mean it's just as good a tool for the job as a framing hammer (or that the end result will be as nice).

If you want to use your pocketknife in the kitchen thats fine, I've used nearly all of my knives in the kitchen at some point just to see how they work. What I've found is that by and large, kitchen knives excel at kitchen tasks, other knives do not. As such, it seems absolutely silly to me to use non-kitchen knives for kitchen work.

 

[marcinek]

Okay tough guy, I'm sure you're pocketknife is better at kitchen tasks than any kitchen knife.

lol. It's all part of what I am saying. All the stuff that gets talked about here goes out the window when it comes to kitchen knives. All of a sudden it becomes "Well, a knife's a knife."

I don't get it. You know if I came in and said, well, you can skin a deer just as well with a dagger, people would say I'm an "unsophisticated user" at best.

 

[NapalmCheese]

Challenge accepted.
Just remember that you said no would ever do that when I post the pics of me doing it.
You can use one of your fancy kitchen knives to artfully prepare all the crow you'll be eating.

I don't have any crow around, but I have a pile of ducks... I'm all in for watching you baton a tree!

 

[BubbaGump]

Okay tough guy, I'm sure you're pocketknife is better at kitchen tasks than any kitchen knife.

Better at what is the question? I think this is straying a bit from my OP. Just was curious as to who uses their collection knives in the kitchen. Didn't know it would turn into a debate about what the best knife in the kitchen is. I just never really found a need to splurge on kitchen knives to a large degree. That was my take. I bought the Santoku and its ok but am not overly impressed. I still think a blade like my BM951 or Spyderco allows a finer level of detail and precision for slicing up the things I usually process--vegetables, meat, potatos etc....I can see the utility of the Santoku if I were doing this all day long. But for a quick daily task, daily meal prep for one or two, etc...using a large knife like this is just overkill. See no need for it. But that's just my take...

Different strokes for different folks. I would rather take the $300 I could spend on a high end chefs knife and throw it down on a new Balisong ..which I use quite often to cut up food, especially fruits..photo from my BM87 review...I pretty much use my knives for everything...Balisongs work particular well in the kitchen due to the slim and long profile...always cutting up apples, pineapples, various citrus and other fruits for smoothies...

 

[stabman]

I don't have any crow around, but I have a pile of ducks... I'm all in for watching you baton a tree!

Works for me!
I have a kitchen knife set aside for it already, actually.
It one of the ones my wife had abused in the kitchen before I replaced it with a slightly better one...but not a great one, because it will get the same treatment as the last one.

 

[stabman]

Just was curious as to who uses their collection knives in the kitchen. QUOTE]

This thread has a knife cutting lots of stuff, including in the kitchen:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-12-days-of-medford.1464833/

This one has food prep as the last thing done in the day:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/military-monday.1488533/

There are a bunch of others that I cannot remember the names of right now.

I've used many of my knives in the kitchen, some of them just to see how they cut things, and others because they work better than the poor, beat-up knives in the kitchen.

If I were a professional chef I would likely want some sort of amazing kitchen knives, that I would store not in the kitchen, only to be used in there when I was doing my thing.

 

[NapalmCheese]

Better at what is the question?

I thought I was sufficiently clear when I stated 'kitchen tasks'.

Things like 'dice a potato', 'brunoise the onion, carrot, and celery', 'batonnet the parsnip', 'breakdown the butternut squash', and 'debone the chicken', etc.

 

[BubbaGump]

I thought I was sufficiently clear when I stated 'kitchen tasks'.

Things like 'dice a potato', 'brunoise the onion, carrot, and celery', 'batonnet the parsnip', 'breakdown the butternut squash', and 'debone the chicken', etc.

But dicing a potato and de-boning a chicken isn't exactly rocket science and are the simpler of tasks. The only thing to worry about with the latter is chipping a blade. I can field dress and section a deer or large Elk with a 3 inch Benchmade hunter. Cutting potatoes is not an issue. Cutting and de-boning chicken is a simple task. Bunoise and batonnet are just fancy words for batonning and mincing. I agree that a heavy blade that allows you to use the spine works better for this task but perfectly doable with a smaller knife. Again, I am talking home use here..not high volume major kitchen food prep. In short, anything anyone can do at home with their chefs knife, I can do with my Benchmade folder. For some tasks, not as quickly. But again, we are talking home kitchen here not high output restaurant.

 

[BubbaGump]

This thread has a knife cutting lots of stuff, including in the kitchen:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-12-days-of-medford.1464833/

This one has food prep as the last thing done in the day:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/military-monday.1488533/

There are a bunch of others that I cannot remember the names of right now.

I've used many of my knives in the kitchen, some of them just to see how they cut things, and others because they work better than the poor, beat-up knives in the kitchen.

If I were a professional chef I would likely want some sort of amazing kitchen knives, that I would store not in the kitchen, only to be used in there when I was doing my thing.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

I agree. If I was a professional chef, I would be using implements for that environment. But I'm not. My kitchen rules are simple -- cut it, season it, cook it, eat it....sometimes not always in that order...

 

[NapalmCheese]

But dicing a potato and de-boning a chicken isn't exactly rocket science and are the simpler of tasks. The only thing to worry about with the latter is chipping a blade. I can field dress and section a deer or large Elk with a 3 inch Benchmade hunter. Cutting potatoes is not an issue. Cutting and de-boning chicken is a simple task. Bunoise and batonnet are just fancy words for batonning and mincing. I agree that a heavy blade that allows you to use the spine works better for this task but perfectly doable with a smaller knife. Again, I am talking home use here..not high volume major kitchen food prep. In short, anything anyone can do at home with their chefs knife, I can do with my Benchmade folder. For some tasks, not as quickly. But again, we are talking home kitchen here not high output restaurant.

Brunoise and batonnet are specific terms for making specific sizes and shape of cut up product. Specific sizes and shapes are needed so that specific cooking can happen and so that all of the product cooks at the same rate and achieves the same texture. Dicing a potato is not rocket science, but again, comes down to making everything the same shape and size so that it cooks at the same rate. Deboning a chicken barely requires knife at all.

For the record I AM a home user. I'm not a high volume cook. I do all of these things in my own kitchen, every day, multiple times a day, because I like to cook and I prefer to eat well prepared food rather than some slapdash stuff I can cram in my mouth.

Ultimately, however, you just stated precisely what I've been driving at in regards to our last few exchanges. You can do all of the things I've talked about with your benchmade, but it will be slow, clumsy, and your end product won't be nearly as nice as that done with a proper chef knife. So, if a proper chef knife can do these things faster, easier, and come out with better product; then a proper chef knife is the BETTER kitchen knife.

Sure, you can breakdown a large butternut squash with your benchmade, but it's going to take a while and won't be nearly as safe as doing it with a big chef knife and the end result will be chunks of butternut squash in a range of sizes and shapes.

Kitchen knives are tools, they have a specific purpose and are not easily replaced by whatever knife catches your fancy just because it comes in a fancy steel or has Ti scales. You can use your benchmade for 'bushcrafting', but I'm guessing you'd get a jillion people telling you that you'd be better off with an XYZ knife in 123 steel.

 

[BubbaGump]

Kitchen knives are tools, they have a specific purpose and are not easily replaced by whatever knife catches your fancy just because it comes in a fancy steel or has Ti scales. You can use your benchmade for 'bushcrafting', but I'm guessing you'd get a jillion people telling you that you'd be better off with an XYZ knife in 123 steel.

I agree. But I don't have them to replace. That was my original point of this thread--kind of. I have no need for them. Whether someone is better off with this or that knife is up to the individual. Everyone has their preferences. If I have heavy meat processing work with game from the field, I get out the Ka-Bar in the garage or just use what I have in the field. And a long and and thin Bowie makes a fine carver. I use most of my knives--whether its a balisong, expensive Chris Reeves, or any other knife in my collection. Knives are tools that cut things. The only knives that don't see work are my collectibles--mainly period pieces, italian stilettos from AGA Campolin, etc.

 

[NapalmCheese]

I agree. But I don't have them to replace. That was my original point of this thread--kind of. I have no need for them. Whether someone is better off with this or that knife is up to the individual. Everyone has their preferences. If I have heavy meat processing work with game from the field, I get out the Ka-Bar in the garage or just use what I have in the field. And a long and and thin Bowie makes a fine carver. I use most of my knives--whether its a balisong, expensive Chris Reeves, or any other knife in my collection. Knives are tools that cut things. The only knives that don't see work are my collectibles--mainly period pieces, italian stilettos from AGA Campolin, etc.

The basic premise of your first post was that in your limited experience and research kitchen knives are inexpensive things that don't do anything better than your balisong or bowie.

BubbaGump I get it, you're not a cooking enthusiast so you don't really care if the food you make looks and tastes professional. As such, you don't really care if you use the right tool for the job and (apparently) you don't understand why anyone else would. Furthermore you not only don't care, you don't have the experience to realize why your chosen tools are suboptimal for the tasks you are performing (a long and thin bowie is an okay carver, a carving knife is a fine carver).

To put it in perspective, you appear to be a 'sharpening enthusiast' with your 0.08 something or other mirror polished 10000 thingers. I am not a sharpening enthusiast. I freehand sharpen my field knives on a diafold and/or an Ikea diamond steel. When it's really time to get to business I freehand on a 1k/4k waterstone. I sharpen them until they cleanly shave and leave them at that. Between sharpening I run them over a ribbed steel and, if I'm feeling plucky, I might stop on cardboard if there's some nearby. I don't care how you sharpen your knives, but I'll freely admit that you probably have much 'better' methods of doing so than I.

 

[BubbaGump]

BubbaGump I get it, you're not a cooking enthusiast so you don't really care if the food you make looks and tastes professional. As such, you don't really care if you use the right tool for the job and (apparently) you don't understand why anyone else would. Furthermore you not only don't care, you don't have the experience to realize why your chosen tools are suboptimal for the tasks you are performing (a long and thin bowie is an okay carver, a carving knife is a find carver).

A 'carving' knife has(or should have) a long and thin blade profile so at not to stick to the material when slicing. Not all Bowie knives have the same profile. It's just a generic category for larger profile blade styles with a clip point tip, usually with a secondary edge. Many Bowies are long and thin and make outstanding slicers/carvers. Some are designed more aggressively with a long tapered profile that flares towards the front. That's usually what most people think when they hear 'Bowie knife.' Not the best carver as they tend to stick in meat. They hack rather than slice. Best slicer/carver I own is a cheaper $70 Uncle Henry--very thin, long, has a compound sabre grind from flat to hollow ..Slices and carves a turkey into portions as thin or thick as needed. If I need to carve meat, that gets pulled out of the knife box.

 

[Bill1170]

Agreed....but...

I have never followed why a bunch of knife fanatics who love debating the fine points of the proper knife design for a specific task, would use knives not designed for the kitchen in the kitchen.

It's a odd "bias" against kitchen knives, like they aren't "real" knives somehow. Its interesting how many folks here wouldn't think of spending $200 on a kitchen knife, but would spend $200 on a folder in a heartbeat.

Like mentioned above, everybody should use their knives however they want and have fun, but I just find the whole thing about "knives in the kitchen" is interesting.

They make really cool kitchen knives, you know!

I have noticed this as well. I think it may stem from the vast majority of BF members being men, and the fact that most men don’t have big enthusiasm for cooking. I’m a builder and knife knut, but my kitchen knives still see more use per week than my EDC folders do.