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btimup
45
Dec 6, 2017
I have a beautiful Shun Hikari chef's knife that I received as a gift. I only use it for chopping vegetables and light work as the blade is too thin to use on anything tough like bones. (Cutting up chicken, filleting fish, etc.)
It's nice to have the precision of the tip of a chef's knife but be able to really smack it down in to joints and such. Should I get a cheapy knife and put a wider edge on it?
What are your solutions for a knife that can do a bit heavier grunt work, but still have some precision?
Hayddawg
8
Dec 6, 2017
btimupThough it certainly isn't a beater, I use the Zwilling Pro 8" for things like this. I saw it on black friday for $40, which is about what I paid for it a year ago. It is a strong medium hardness knife with an agile tip and a THICC spine. You could get a cheaper knife on amazon like you described, but check out the Zwilling and see if you can find a deal on it.
btimupFrom your description of the tasks you plan to use it for, look for a thicker blade that's not made from VG-10; while that steel does take and hold a fine edge, it's HRC of 58-61 on most knives (depending on heat treat) is prone to chipping when used for butchery and similar tasks. Look at the blade geometry also - some knives have more of a distil taper (spine gets thinner towards the tip), but others stay thicker further out.
btimup
45
Dec 6, 2017
JonasHeinemanThanks for the advice man! Definitely will be keeping that in mind.
btimup
45
Dec 6, 2017
Hayddawg+1 for "THICC" hahaha
cs85b03
101
Dec 8, 2017
btimupIt's all about technique... If you are looking to quick process a chicken, you will need a Chinese (or Thai) cleaver or a heavy hybrid knife like a dragon fusion. To be honest, that isn't my favorite approach. You are going to end up with bone chips and a somewhat messy process. You should use your heavier knives for chopping root veggies and thinner knives for making precision cuts or on softer vegetables.
I process chickens with a paring knife. I can make all the slim cuts against the bone and through joints without having to break any bones. The result is clean meat and usable bones for stock, at a processing rate of about 3 min per chicken . For filleting fish, you need a thin, long flexible blade - a chef's knife will do you no good.
If you are looking for an all-around, do it all knife, it really doesn't exist. I will tell you that I use my 7.5" Japanese santoku and paring knife more than all my other knives. But each knife serves it's purpose., even if that purpose only comes around only once a month or so.
A community member
Dec 8, 2017
cs85b03I also prefer a shorter knife for boning. I use an inexpensive boning knife. I actually prefer a softer steel for boning as it is less likely to chip.
nkfro
0
Dec 9, 2017
harrisonh
51
Jan 23, 2018
btimupThey make BONING knives that are designed in shape fo that purpose. A dba or a onesuki or a western boning knife. I HIGHLY recommend a "German steel" boning knife for most people because it is so ductile.
Your issue is NOT the thinness of your blade it is the SHAPE of your blade and the MATERIAL of your blade.
The sg2 portion of your knife is less likely to chip than your vg10 portion. Dual core knives are usually meant to be veggie knives or slab meat knives.
JonasHeineman
5987
Jan 23, 2018
harrisonhOoooh SG2. Now you got me all excited. I bought a bar of it from Takefu's table at the Seki show, haven't decided what I want to have it made into yet but I might have enough for a petty and paring as well as some pocket knives. Some day...
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