LF Upgrade to Forschner Boning Knife

Hi All,

I'm looking for something with a bit better edge taking/retention qualities for general purpose meat fab (boning, seaming, silverskin) in a professional environment. I like the curve, especially at the tip of the Forschner, and the stiffness is nice as well. It needs to be nimble and delicate enough for rabbits and ducks, but sturdy enough for whole pork and beef quarters, bonus points for silverskin capacity. I'm quite capable of taking care of carbon, so no worries there.

Looking for something in the 150-170mm range. Here are the current considerations:

Itinomonn Wa-Butcher
(http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/itinomonn-kurouchi-170mm-wa-butcher/)
Favorite profile, I hear the steel is great, a little worried it will be too big for some finesse work, probably still my top contender.

Zensho/Yoshikane Wa-Honkatsu
(http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/zensho-yoshikane-skd-kasumi-hankotsu-150-mm/)
Could be promising, I have no experience with Honkatsu, so can't speak to practical applications. It's probably at my upper limit budget-wise.

Gesshin Ginga White #2 Wa-Honkatsu
(can't retrieve link)
I always love the stuff I get from Jon, probably my second favorite option.

Misono Swedish Honkatsu
(http://korin.com/Misono-Swedish-Carbon-Steel-Hankotsu?sc=27&category=8549937)
I'm familiar with the excellent steel, this knife used to be the only kid on the block in this category.

I'm not getting rid of my Forschner, so I can use it as a compliment if I need to, but would prefer a clean replacement for all uses.

Thanks in advance everyone.

Have you looked at the Tojiro gokujo? Sounds like a good fit.

I personally wouldn't consider any of those knives. If you like the profile of the Forschner, why not have one custom made with a higher grade steel?

Still waiting for one of our makers here to put out a decent boner. (No pun intended)

I'm using a Tojiro boning knife at the mo. I like it but the edge doesn't hold up so good.

Butch makes a nice looking boner...

I use a Tojiro boning knife, but my favorite is Stereopete's Rader.

Thanks for the replies guys. The Tojiro is a possibility, but was hoping for carbon and felt I would just be kicking the can down the road a bit. I'm in Bloodroot's back-yard, so I might shoot Luke an inquiry on the subject. Any more opinions on the ones listed? Am I missing anything else in that general range?

My understanding, from reading other folks reviews, is that the Itinomonn is a little too thick for what you're looking for. Great for breaking down large cuts but not for the more delicate work you're probably looking for.

I definitely feel like this is an area they could make a killing by offering higher-end options. I personally use a Tojiro 150mm petty and a MAC 8in gyuto (more suji these days) -- both which have had their profiles severely altered and been thinned down -- for all of my meat fab. I break down a lot of steaks daily for work and they do the job great for me - but obviously because I've altered the knives so much I wouldn't recommend them as options to someone else.

A great carbon boning knife in the 150-210mm range would be amazing. I don't see how someone couldn't sell a ton of them.

Check out some of Marko's offerings

Marko Tsourkan that is here on the forum

NO ChoP! said:

Butch makes a nice looking boner...

Click to expand...

Yeah he does!!!!
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I may catch gruff but I like my ChefWorks Ken Onion filet knife. G10 scales and I believe the steel is 440. I like the shape of the blade best. If you watch woot.com they have their own line without the coating and a slightly different handle that sells for less. That is the actual version I own.

It has no problems with Sockeye sides, sirloins or filets. I haven't tried it on a whole hog or a white tail, got it too late in the season. I should know come late summer.

carbon sabatier maybe?

I picked up a handfull of Forgecrafts for boning out whitetails. They are cheap enough that I can beat the heck out of them and not feel bad and sharpen up really nice.

That Harner looks nice. Mac makes a decent one. http://http://www.jbprince.com/mac-japanese-cutlery/mac-6-inch-boning-knife.asp

I like the Forschner over the Tojiro.

The name Forschner was discontinued in 2011.

View attachment 22231
I was asked to make a fairly thin, though and easy to sharpen carbon boning knife for a friend of mine so i set of and came up with this rather simple to-pieced one.
it's made of 15n20 steel, 2,2mm at the spine tapered down to the tip about 150mm long. not the best edge retention but i hardened this at 61-62hrc to see how it hold's up.
I put the blade in a wise and put both my hands on the handle to see if could twist and break the handle but it held up good
the full tang blade is the same steel and thickness i'm also making for him when i get the time for it

Unfortunately, it seems the link above does not work.

Well, it sounds like custom really is the only way to be satisfied here. I guess I just needed that extra nudge.

I've found pictures of Marko's 12" scimitar, which looks stunning. Does anybody have shots of the 8" breaking knife he's planning, and is he considering doing a narrower, shorter boning knife?

The Harner looks very nice as well. How flexible is it? I bet it's a silverskin monster.

The harner has almost no flex, it's great at removing silver skin.

not sure why it dont work?
it was similar to that: Itinomonn Wa-Butcher but with a westernstyled handle and thinner overall

Good luck finding the knife!

I've been using an F. Dick for years with occasional use of Victorinox and others just to test them. F. Dick or Vic work fine for me.

Take a look at the Kasumi Damascus 6 1/2" boning knife.