Best knife for bbq?

[Big_T_BBQ]

Here is a good thread on knives

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=88574

I recently added to the stable because I was slicing with an 8" Chefs or 7" Santoku

Originally Posted by Big_T_BBQ

I just got the Forschner 12" Granton (Hollow) edged butcher knife (model 40636):



And the Forschner 14" Granton (hollow) edged slicing knife (model 40646):



Both are incredible - the cut like a hot chainsaw through butter. I highly recommend either or both.

The other knife that gets a lot of work for me is my 5 or 6" boning knife

[tburda]

Originally Posted by colonel00

For the money, I love Kiwi knives. For under $10 you can get a larger chef knife and a smaller paring knife. With a little care, these knives will work great and are extremely sharp. I can trim up a St. Louis cut of spares with little effort and I only have to be careful of cutting into/through bone. These are thin metal and probably would not hold up to heavy use but are great for home or small event usage.

http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products...wi-knives.html

I also am a user of the kiwi knives. After nearly a year of use here is my quick pros:cons.

I have the 8" chefs and I think 4" paring.

Chef's Knife-
Pros: come sharp, cheap, work EXTREMELY WELL (not just for the price, they work well, period.)

Cons: The chefs knife has served me very well, HOWEVER I used the heck out of it. Nearly every single day in the summer. I did a lot of vegetable slicing with mine (tomato's and the sort) on a synthetic board. Not an expensive one either. I think this was the downfall of the knife. It's not nearly as sharp as others claim theirs have maintained. It seems too thin to sharpen even with a good stone. I'm going to buy another, and keep this one to attempt to sharpen, but I have my doubts I'll get it back to the razor sharp edge it came with. I believe if I had cut on a nice wood block instead of the cheap synthetic one, it would be nearly new. I was having trouble with it cutting into the board when I was slicing some steak real thin, and I think that was the issue. It's a little light, but I think this can also be a point of personal preference. The handle is not the most comfortable, but again, this knife was 4.95. I DID use it almost daily for 9 months.

The paring knife-
Pros: I love it. I don't do so much slicing on a board with it of course, but anytime I need a paring knife in the kitchen I reach for this one. Still razor sharp, another reason I think the board I was using attributed to the dulling of the chef's knife.

Cons: None? It doesn't fit in a spot in my knife block I guess? I wish it came with a handle other than natural wood, just to match everything else? You can see I'm reaching for a downside, and I really have no complaints.

So overall, if you are looking for an affordable knife, I say these are pretty good knives. They do take extra special care when washing and stuff, to keep them maintained, but nothing someone with pride in their belongings would mind.

Outside of those, what knife do I use? Well, I have an 8" chefs knife, and an 8" santoku that are my weapons of choice (now that the kiwi dulled down). I think the 8" chefs was from the dollar store or something I ran it through my smiths pull through $2.99 sharpener while reading the boards for a while, and it's like a whole new knife. I find this to be the best advice is no matter what, make sure it's sharp and the function is there, the weight, grip, look, style, mostly falls into personal preference from there. Anywhere from $2.00 to $200.00 knives.

Please don't beat the crap out of me I'm not telling anyone their right or wrong or what you SHOULD do, just saying what works for me.

[colonel00]

Originally Posted by newie

This is a great value - I'm in for a couple of the knives to fill the "in between sizes", especially since you have tried them already. How did you come across this site anyway? Thanks for posting the link!

I believe it was Patio Dadio that did a big writeup on them. Forgive me if it was someone else. Anyway, if you search the forum you will probably get hits on the thread.

Originally Posted by tburda

I also am a user of the kiwi knives. After nearly a year of use here is my quick pros:cons.

I have the 8" chefs and I think 4" paring.

Chef's Knife-
Pros: come sharp, cheap, work EXTREMELY WELL (not just for the price, they work well, period.)

Cons: The chefs knife has served me very well, HOWEVER I used the heck out of it. Nearly every single day in the summer. I did a lot of vegetable slicing with mine (tomato's and the sort) on a synthetic board. Not an expensive one either. I think this was the downfall of the knife. It's not nearly as sharp as others claim theirs have maintained. It seems too thin to sharpen even with a good stone. I'm going to buy another, and keep this one to attempt to sharpen, but I have my doubts I'll get it back to the razor sharp edge it came with. I believe if I had cut on a nice wood block instead of the cheap synthetic one, it would be nearly new. I was having trouble with it cutting into the board when I was slicing some steak real thin, and I think that was the issue. It's a little light, but I think this can also be a point of personal preference. The handle is not the most comfortable, but again, this knife was 4.95. I DID use it almost daily for 9 months.

The paring knife-
Pros: I love it. I don't do so much slicing on a board with it of course, but anytime I need a paring knife in the kitchen I reach for this one. Still razor sharp, another reason I think the board I was using attributed to the dulling of the chef's knife.

Cons: None? It doesn't fit in a spot in my knife block I guess? I wish it came with a handle other than natural wood, just to match everything else? You can see I'm reaching for a downside, and I really have no complaints.

So overall, if you are looking for an affordable knife, I say these are pretty good knives. They do take extra special care when washing and stuff, to keep them maintained, but nothing someone with pride in their belongings would mind.

Outside of those, what knife do I use? Well, I have an 8" chefs knife, and an 8" santoku that are my weapons of choice (now that the kiwi dulled down). I think the 8" chefs was from the dollar store or something I ran it through my smiths pull through $2.99 sharpener while reading the boards for a while, and it's like a whole new knife. I find this to be the best advice is no matter what, make sure it's sharp and the function is there, the weight, grip, look, style, mostly falls into personal preference from there. Anywhere from $2.00 to $200.00 knives.

Please don't beat the crap out of me I'm not telling anyone their right or wrong or what you SHOULD do, just saying what works for me.

Thanks for the input. My chef knife still as a decent edge on it but it definitely isn't what it was new. However, at $6-$7 I can justify buying a new one should I ever feel the need.

[caseydog]

There are different knives for different uses. I use a chef's knife for chopping onions and other vegies and herbs, a slicing knife (looks like a narrow chef's knife) to prep meat, and a carving knife to cut cooked meats.

A chef's knife has too much surface area to be a great meat knife, but if I only had one knife, that would be the one.

[Harbormaster]

Hey James,
I second the opinions on both the Mundial and the Kiwi knives.
A dear friend gave me a few of the Mundial knives, and I augmented those with some more. They are very reasonably priced, and you can actually get multiple knives and not put yourself in the poorhouse.
I think I would for sure need a 6" boning, 12 or 14" granton slicer, and a butcher knife for Q.

[Lake Dogs]

I've had a set of Mundial now for.... 23 years? They're great!!! The handles are
wood and they're still there. The German Steel looks like new and sharpens up still
like new. I'll probably have to re-handle them in a few years, but 25 years on
wooden handles ain't too shabby...

[thomasjurisd]

I picked up my J.A. Henckels Four Star for about $30 new on Ebay and love it! It holds an edge real well.

[landarc]

Originally Posted by big brother smoke

Victronix fomerly known as a Forschner are affordable easy to sharpen knives.
You need at least 3 good knives in my opinion, if, I had to pick three here they are:

1. 6" boning knife (trimming)
2. 8" chef knife (Cutting, slicing, trimming and chopping)
3. 12" or 14" Graton Slicer (scallop edge). (Slicing)

I mostly agree with BBS here as well. I prefer Dexter-Russel in the low-moderate price range and Shun for moderate to high prices blades. The Dexter-Russels and Victorinox as probably better for competitions as sharpening is easier.

[caseydog]

The original poster didn't ask about brands, but I have found that you don't have to spend a lot to get a good knife. Now, if you are a professional chef, yeah, you may need to go high end, since you will be using your knives to prepare thousands of meals.

I have some Henkels International knives, which are made in Spain instead of Germany for half the price. I'm very happy with them. I also have some 20-year-old Chicago Cutlery knives that I love to use. They are really easy to put a new edge on, and feel good in my hand.

The other thing I like about my Chicago Cutlery big chef's knife is that it is heavy, which I love for chopping vegies and herbs.

Besides, my knife skills, although better than the average Joe, are not up to the level of needing high-dollar knives. When, or if, I ever find myself being held back by my knives, I'll look at spending big bucks for top-shelf professional hardware.

CD

[barbefunkoramaque]

And a video of me using it---

http://www.youtube.com/user/Popdaddy.../2/wHxH0iUfjMw

I do use three knives in this video - graton edge 14 I think... my partner was defatting with a fish blade he felt comfortable with but when I have to shoot through 500 pounds of brisket in one of my 40 minute sales..... the pizza knife is the way to make quick work of it. I love it with ribs too.. this is not a competition blade though LOL

[monty3777]

There will be an article about this very subject in the next Smoke Signals. I hear the author was once a Chippendale's dancer.

One other issue when thinking about a good BBQ knife is the kind of edge you will put on the knife. Lot's of folks use terms like "scary sharp." Well, a knife that is what sharpeners call scary sharp won't serve you well when it comes to dealing with most meats, especially if the meat has been cooked and has some bark. You need an edge with some grab to it. If I'm sharpening with water stones I never take an BBQ knife past 1000 grit. On my Edge Pro, which I am using less and less these days, I stop at 320 though sometimes I may use the 600 grit stone.

To be honest, most folks have probably never encountered a scary sharp knife. The stones it takes to get a knife that sharp with a highly polished edge are super expensive and just not available to most folks. You may be able to get there by stroping, but even then most western knifes don't use hard enough steel to keep a knife scary sharp for more than a few cuts.

[monty3777]

As for the best knives by brand, I think it would be hard to beat Forschenr/Victorinox. They are made of the same steel as Wusthof and Henkels at a third of the price.

This is where I buy all my knives. Mark has it ALL. From lower end western knives to super expensive Japanese blades. He also sells sharpening supplies.
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/

[Smoke & Beers]

I have a couple of the 4" Kiwi pairing knives and one of their 6" knives...great for taking on the road or around the house. Cheap, but still pretty good knives that hold their edge pretty well considering the price.
I also have a 12" Dexter-Russell V-Lo Duo-Edge for slicing my briskets....LOVE IT!

[samfsu]

I echo what most say here. I have owed and used many knives but will say that my knives of choice because of price and durability are the Victronix knives. They last, stay sharp and are not expensive.
I use the following the most:
1. 6" boning knife
2. 10" chef knife
3. 12" granton slicer
4. 3-4" paring

Besides those, maybe a cleaver is useful but I hardly use it. The 4 knives above I use each week. Other knives sit in the block and are never used.

[Against The Grain]

This is all we use for everything
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/victor...r-knife-p13680

There is over 40 of us.