Going to a dinner party on the Fourth of July - You ever take a knife?

i'm going to a nice Vietnamese ladies house to eat. also going is a cool-ass Thai lady. i am eager to learn some new tricks in Thai cooking.

here is the rub. ALL of the knives in the kitchen are dangerously dull. really dull. i hate it/them. i actually gave my friend a fair share of my German blades..so i know they were once sharp. i think they are so dull i cannot sharpen them with my humble tools. not quickly.


i always get chopping duty. it is fine, i get to be near the action and i can ask questions. my wife thinks it is insane that i bring a chef's knife with me. haha..

have you ever? my friend KNOWS her blade are awful. so i wont hurt her feelings if i brought over a blade..

if i had a belt sander....hmmm. haha

Bring it. Bring what will help you get the job done quickly and properly.

Absolutely bring my own knives when I will be on cutting duty...can't stand to be handed a pos cutco, etc...

I do when i go places. I say i cut better with my usual tools.

I often bring my knife or knives to others homes. ( especially my in-laws)
When I am in a casual friends home ( not a close friend) that might not understand how dull knives are so dangerous or how personal knives are,
I often will be "trying out a new knife" or " its just a knife I'm used to" routine. I never make a deal of it.
Some understand, some laugh and think I am a knife snob ( I am) sone don't even notice....

My 2 cents

I bring my own knives lots. I also bring a stone or 2 or 3 a lot. It's a great help to many people for someone to sharpen for them.

am i alone thinking it's weird to bring your own knives to others places to cook with? bringing a stone i think is fine however.

panda said:

am i alone thinking it's weird to bring your own knives to others places to cook with?

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Yes:razz:

panda said:

am i alone thinking it's weird to bring your own knives to others places to cook with? bringing a stone i think is fine however.

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I used to think that... until at a friend's house I had to use their Tomodachi line of knives.... boy did I wish I brought my own. It was barely sharp enough and was thick behind the edge that it was annoying to cut with.

I bring my own knife if I figure there's a chance I'll be in the kitchen. It might be a full-size gyuto if they know me well, or it might be a santoku if they don't.

Heck, I work in an office and always have a gyuto and petty both in tip-top shape with me in my bag.

Are you kidding me, I bring my own steak knives to nice restaurants. Like Len said "its better to be prepared." Plus, if she's into cooking, she'll get a kick out of your sharp objects. If I we're bringing one knife, it would be a 210 stainless Chinese clever. One can do wonders with a clever.

Oooo... steak knives. Yeah, I think I gotta start doing that too... it's always felt weird to saw apart a great steak with the typical serrated knives they have at restaurants.

thanks guys.

i'll pack a smaller knife.

AND i bring a bucket of water with a few soaked stones. i might need to buy a coarse one..very coarse. hell, i'll use a house brick. her blades are bad. she does all the wrong things. cuts on plates, her granite tops, lets them bang around a drawer..it is awful to see. but whatever..she aint my wife.

You say weird?

Serving a decent steak with plastic, coarse serrated crappy knife is wrong. Pi$$ed off is more like it. Irks is another word that comes to mind too. I carry a little Opniel steak folder. Just don't forget it and leave it at the table, as I've done.

echerub said:

Oooo... steak knives. Yeah, I think I gotta start doing that too... it's always felt weird to saw apart a great steak with the typical serrated knives they have at restaurants.

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I always bring a knife of my own if I know I will be cooking for a while. It pains me to use other people's blunt, chipped, bent, horribly mistreated cutlery.

I have only one friend who knows how to actually take care of a knife.

If indoors in a kitchen, I will usually bring my MAC SBK-105. If it's outside camp-type situation cooking, then it's my thinned and modified 300mm Victorinox rosewood. My carbons stay at home.

I always bring a knife if I think there is any possibility I'll be asked to prepare food.