something for trimming chicken

[monty]

Hi Jon,

I'm in the market for a knife that will be good for trimming chciken thighs for competition bbq. I won't be breaking chickens down with this knife, but I will be using it to trim and shape the meat and scrape skin. Right now I am using the practice yanagi that Dave used to sell. It's a lot of fun, but I'm looking to upgrade. Any ideas?

Nate

[jjparkinson]

I bought a western handled konosuke honesuki from john in white steel. It's a really nice knife for chicken.

[Eamon Burke]

A Honesuki is a Japanese knife for fowl specifically. Yanagis are specifically for sashimi. You can use them for anything you want, but they serve their original purpose fantastically.

So what about your Yanagi is not to your liking? Do you want a blade that is shorter, lighter, flat profile, more belly, nicer looking, longer edge holding, better biting through skin, less wedging, less sticking, more ergonomic, more finger clearance, handle heavy, etc etc etc.

[monty]

So what about your Yanagi is not to your liking? Do you want a blade that is shorter, lighter, flat profile, more belly, nicer looking, longer edge holding, better biting through skin, less wedging, less sticking, more ergonomic, more finger clearance, handle heavy, etc etc etc.

I love the yanagi and have no problems using it at all. Really, is a perfect knife for what I'm doing. I'm buying more knives because I have this crazy itch to have more I want to experience sharpening a different knife, and I want to have a better frame of reference in terms of what's available. This is definitely a want, not a need.

[ThEoRy]

Honesuki or Garasuki.

[FryBoy]

Kitchen shears are hard to beat for cleaning up chicken:

[JBroida]

For me, it would really help to have a better idea of what you mean with regard to what you will be doing... i'm kind of split between a honesuki and petty for you in my mind right now.

On shears, i rarely use them... i just like knives better... Faster and easier for me.

Anyways, can you explain a bit more about what you will be doing with the knife?

[monty]

For me, it would really help to have a better idea of what you mean with regard to what you will be doing... i'm kind of split between a honesuki and petty for you in my mind right now.

On shears, i rarely use them... i just like knives better... Faster and easier for me.

Anyways, can you explain a bit more about what you will be doing with the knife?

I'm actually thinking about two different knives - and I'll need to settle on one. It would be nice to have a suji for slicing brisket and pork. I also love what the yanagi does to chicken and if I can find a knife that's even better suited for chicken then I'll go that route. For the chicken, I trim thighs to use in competition. I need to remove fat and trim to shape while leaving the skin intact. Thus, I need a knife that will allow me to make the most precise cuts possible.

[Eamon Burke]

I think you should consider a long, blade heavy Gyuto. Might do all of it.

[EdipisReks]

i bought a cheap and cheerful white steel 120mm deba off of eBay for breaking down and dressing chicken. cost me $35 shipped. works great for my uses, but i don't need to worry too much about presentation when i'm cooking at home.