Pocket knives for chefs?

[parbaked]

Be careful if you buy the Spydiechef as that model is knocked off in China. Buy from a official dealer, not eBay.

That is a sweet deal on the Southard flipper. Flippers aren't great for food prep as the flipper choil can get in the way when slicing on a board.

 

[btbyrd]

Thanks for the heads up about knockoffs. I only buy from authorized dealers to avoid any potential issues anyway. I ordered mine from Bladehq.com.

I can't stop looking at the Roc though, and I found a maker on Facebook - DLAW Customs - that does custom versions of Spyderco knives. The Roc seems to be a favorite to get modded. He has some absolutely sick looking versions on his Facebook/Instagram accounts.

 

[LifeByA1000Cuts]

So if you leave a higonokami and a Takeda alone in a room....

 

[WiscoNole]

I use a $40 Kershaw folding knife for opening boxes and plastic bags and it works beautifully.

I clip it into one of the pockets of my Bragard Ceylany aprons, which are the best aprons on Earth if you ask me.

Knife-wise, anything fancier and/or more expensive is for your own enjoyment.

 

[btbyrd]

I have one of these on the way. It looks to be a 120mm folding petty of the highest order, at least to me.

[video=youtube;jEuM6rJIJUg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEuM6rJIJUg[/video]

Here's a Russian language cooking demo. I have no idea what he's saying, but the knife speaks for itself. At least, I hope it does. I hope he's not saying how much he hates this freaking knife and how only a fool would buy it. It's a risk I'll have to take.

[video=youtube;eEH1dbj9Jvc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEH1dbj9Jvc[/video]

The company also makes a couple of other lightweight folding knives that might be good portable steak knives.

 

[btbyrd]

If you like the length of the above knife, but find the aesthetics a bit too minimal or tactical, Extrema Ratio makes a similarly sized Resolza - style knife. It features a "laurel leaf" shaped blade, and a more gentlemanly EDC aesthetic.

Here's a user review with tons of pictures. They also make a smaller version, which is the one I think would make for a great folding steak knife. Not sure I'd want to prep anything major with it though.

 

[Matus]

Some interesting options. I think it is clear though that all of the folding knives in a kitchen would be used as parers. I have yet to see a decent folding 240 gyuto

 

[btbyrd]

I tried the Slysz Spyderco chef thing, but it wasn't for me. Too much belly... didn't fit my cutting style. But if you're doing a lot of work off the board, or if you're an angler (or live at the beach) it's a great knife. The steel is close to rust proof, so it'd be great for cleaning fish.

I tried the Roc, but the blade is too thick and chunky to slice anything. It's not a great cutter, and has a very wide bevel. It's something you'd hack through bones with, if that wouldn't make the knife disgusting. The grippy G10 is very grippy. I don't know if I like that. It is a huge pocket monster. It sure is fun to open and close and open and close and open and close. But I can't find anything that I actually want to cut with it, so I'm probably going to sell it.

I also got a couple of blades based on the traditional Italian Pattada / resolza pocketknife. I found out about this blade style in this clip of Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations, which focuses on the knife style:

[video=youtube;8bez-pMf8Rw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bez-pMf8Rw[/video]

The traditional versions have non-locking, high carbon blades with handle scales made from animal horn. The ones I got are modern takes that have modern scale materials, locking blades, and stainless steel. The ones I got are the Spyderco Pattada and the Extrema Ratio Resolza, which are both made in Italy with the same sort of blade steel. The Spyderco has contoured G10 scales, which are a luxury to hold. The blade stock is thick by kitchen standards, but the grind is nice enough to do some sausage slicing (but it's best for non-food items). The satin finish shows fingerprints like nobody's business. The scales on the Resolza are made of aluminum, and the blade has a matted stone-washed finish that I prefer. Both are pretty badass. I paid roughly the same amount for each new. The ER was purchased from Xtremeknives.com, which offers an additional discount if you pay via money order (which I did).

Here are some pics of the Spidercos next to my Delica. Until recently, the Delica has been my only folding knife, and I've had it for 17 years.









Comparison shots of the Resolza and the Pattada:




The ER is much lighter than the Pattada, even though it's longer. 93.5g for the ER vs 117.8g for the Spyderco. The ER will open with one hand, but with some effort. If you adjust the pivot slightly, it will snap open with a flick of the wrist. There's some jimping on the liner lock mechanism. There are no proper liners, but the scales are aluminum so it makes sense. The screws on the scales protrude from the body slightly, where they're either flush or slightly recessed on the Pattada. The stonewashed finish on the blade is fantastic, if not traditional. The sharpening choil is much appreciated. The blade tapers more quickly than on the Pattada, and was slightly sharper out of the box (though both could shave). The top side of the blade has been rounded slightly on the sides (similar to the Spyderco Slysz Bowie) while the Pattada has hard edges. Obviously, there's no clip. The black finish on the aluminum scales looks great, but I'm sure it would get bashed to **** if you carried it in your pocket with any real regularity. The contours on the handle are nice from an ergonomic standpoint, but not quite as nice as the machined G10 scales on the Pattada.

There's lots to like about both, but they're very different knives despite their shared heritage.

The Resolza looks to be a better knife for culinary purposes, but I haven't put it to the test.

It also comes in a freakishly large 150mm size. Bajabbers!



Still trying to find a Dark Talon.

 

[scott.livesey]

i would guess a folding box cutter would be a good carry. with my luck, i would be using a personal folder on the line when the food police came in and found some fault with it, lowering our sanitation score.

 

[DitmasPork]

I tried the Slysz Spyderco chef thing, but it wasn't for me. Too much belly... didn't fit my cutting style. But if you're doing a lot of work off the board, or if you're an angler (or live at the beach) it's a great knife. The steel is close to rust proof, so it'd be great for cleaning fish.

I tried the Roc, but the blade is too thick and chunky to slice anything. It's not a great cutter, and has a very wide bevel. It's something you'd hack through bones with, if that wouldn't make the knife disgusting. The grippy G10 is very grippy. I don't know if I like that. It is a huge pocket monster. It sure is fun to open and close and open and close and open and close. But I can't find anything that I actually want to cut with it, so I'm probably going to sell it.

I also got a couple of blades based on the traditional Italian Pattada / resolza pocketknife. I found out about this blade style in this clip of Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations, which focuses on the knife style:

[video=youtube;8bez-pMf8Rw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bez-pMf8Rw[/video]

The traditional versions have non-locking, high carbon blades with handle scales made from animal horn. The ones I got are modern takes that have modern scale materials, locking blades, and stainless steel. The ones I got are the Spyderco Pattada and the Extrema Ratio Resolza, which are both made in Italy with the same sort of blade steel. The Spyderco has contoured G10 scales, which are a luxury to hold. The blade stock is thick by kitchen standards, but the grind is nice enough to do some sausage slicing (but it's best for non-food items). The satin finish shows fingerprints like nobody's business. The scales on the Resolza are made of aluminum, and the blade has a matted stone-washed finish that I prefer. Both are pretty badass. I paid roughly the same amount for each new. The ER was purchased from Xtremeknives.com, which offers an additional discount if you pay via money order (which I did).

Here are some pics of the Spidercos next to my Delica. Until recently, the Delica has been my only folding knife, and I've had it for 17 years.









Comparison shots of the Resolza and the Pattada:




The ER is much lighter than the Pattada, even though it's longer. 93.5g for the ER vs 117.8g for the Spyderco. The ER will open with one hand, but with some effort. If you adjust the pivot slightly, it will snap open with a flick of the wrist. There's some jimping on the liner lock mechanism. There are no proper liners, but the scales are aluminum so it makes sense. The screws on the scales protrude from the body slightly, where they're either flush or slightly recessed on the Pattada. The stonewashed finish on the blade is fantastic, if not traditional. The sharpening choil is much appreciated. The blade tapers more quickly than on the Pattada, and was slightly sharper out of the box (though both could shave). The top side of the blade has been rounded slightly on the sides (similar to the Spyderco Slysz Bowie) while the Pattada has hard edges. Obviously, there's no clip. The black finish on the aluminum scales looks great, but I'm sure it would get bashed to **** if you carried it in your pocket with any real regularity. The contours on the handle are nice from an ergonomic standpoint, but not quite as nice as the machined G10 scales on the Pattada.

There's lots to like about both, but they're very different knives despite their shared heritage.

The Resolza looks to be a better knife for culinary purposes, but I haven't put it to the test.

It also comes in a freakishly large 150mm size. Bajabbers!



Still trying to find a Dark Talon.

That Spyderco Pattada is a nice looking knife! How does it handle with so much belly?

Recently I've been looking at the Benchmade 940-2, ever tried one? But unfortunately, much to my chagrin, it's not sold in NYC.

 

[Customfan]

Been looking at these forever, thanks for opening this thread!

A lot of options and Points of view I handn’t even considered...

 

[Noodle Soup]

Folding knives are fine for cutting traditional shepherd bread, cheese, sausage and fruit lunches in the country but they really don't have much purpose in the kitchen.

 

[btbyrd]

Folding knives are fine for cutting traditional shepherd bread, cheese, sausage and fruit lunches in the country but they really don't have much purpose in the kitchen.

This pretty much hits the nail on the head. And for folding knives to cut food, it's hard to do much better than Opinel. And it's hard to get much cheaper than Opinel, too. Plus, they're easy to customize if you want to mod the handle or whatever. And if you screw it up, you're only out $20 (or whatever).

Most non-traditional, modern folding knife designs feature really thick blade stock (3mm or greater) and often have fat grinds. I guess that's so that they can (1) have a stronger lock and (2) have a more durable edge so you can cut down trees or whatever the hell people do with those larger outdoorsy folding knives. But these things make them bad slicers. And there are few pocket knives that actually make me want to cut anything, even though I'm more enthusiastic about knives than the average bear. The Roc, for example doesn't make me want to cut anything. Which is a shame, because it sure does look swell.

That Spyderco Pattada is a nice looking knife! How does it handle with so much belly?

Recently I've been looking at the Benchmade 940-2, ever tried one? But unfortunately, much to my chagrin, it's not sold in NYC.

I have nothing but nice things to say about the Pattada, really. It has a flat grind and a bit of distal taper down to that point. I haven't used it on anything edible, but it cuts very well in the hand (on boxes, envelopes, clamshell packaging) so far. The knife carries very thin, on account of the contoured handle. You can't do the "spidey flick" open, but I've never done that anyway. It's not a good knife for lefties, since the opening hole is only accessible on one side. But those aren't issues for me. It's probably a little too refined to be a perfect "EDC" knife if your everyday knife needs are more demanding. But for light to medium household use, it's awesome. I'm sure you could put it through some torture tests and split logs with it or something, and I'm sure it would do well enough. But it feels too expensive to want to do that with.

The Benchmade 940s are knives that everyone seems to love. Never held one, but it's more of a "normal" EDC knife in most respects. It's a knife that would be equally at home on the trail or in the mailroom. The Pattada doesn't have the "I'd use this outdoors all the time!" look and feel that the 940 & Fam do. I've heard nothing but good stuff about Benchmades and the 940s, so if you end up getting one let us know your thoughts.

I ordered a Spyderco Slysz Bowie, which was just discontinued, to try as my higher-end, outdoorsy, heavy-ish weight EDC option. It's supposed to have a relatively thin flat grind that slices well, despite the thick-ish blade stock. We'll see how that goes...

 

[DitmasPork]

This pretty much hits the nail on the head. And for folding knives to cut food, it's hard to do much better than Opinel. And it's hard to get much cheaper than Opinel, too. Plus, they're easy to customize if you want to mod the handle or whatever. And if you screw it up, you're only out $20 (or whatever).

Most non-traditional, modern folding knife designs feature really thick blade stock (3mm or greater) and often have fat grinds. I guess that's so that they can (1) have a stronger lock and (2) have a more durable edge so you can cut down trees or whatever the hell people do with those larger outdoorsy folding knives. But these things make them bad slicers. And there are few pocket knives that actually make me want to cut anything, even though I'm more enthusiastic about knives than the average bear. The Roc, for example doesn't make me want to cut anything. Which is a shame, because it sure does look swell.



I have nothing but nice things to say about the Pattada, really. It has a flat grind and a bit of distal taper down to that point. I haven't used it on anything edible, but it cuts very well in the hand (on boxes, envelopes, clamshell packaging) so far. The knife carries very thin, on account of the contoured handle. You can't do the "spidey flick" open, but I've never done that anyway. It's not a good knife for lefties, since the opening hole is only accessible on one side. But those aren't issues for me. It's probably a little too refined to be a perfect "EDC" knife if your everyday knife needs are more demanding. But for light to medium household use, it's awesome. I'm sure you could put it through some torture tests and split logs with it or something, and I'm sure it would do well enough. But it feels too expensive to want to do that with.

The Benchmade 940s are knives that everyone seems to love. Never held one, but it's more of a "normal" EDC knife in most respects. It's a knife that would be equally at home on the trail or in the mailroom. The Pattada doesn't have the "I'd use this outdoors all the time!" look and feel that the 940 & Fam do. I've heard nothing but good stuff about Benchmades and the 940s, so if you end up getting one let us know your thoughts.

I ordered a Spyderco Slysz Bowie, which was just discontinued, to try as my higher-end, outdoorsy, heavy-ish weight EDC option. It's supposed to have a relatively thin flat grind that slices well, despite the thick-ish blade stock. We'll see how that goes...

Thanks for the observations on the Pattada—I'm a lefty.

 

[parbaked]

Thanks for the observations on the Pattada—I'm a lefty.

For lefties it's hard to beat the Benchmade Axis locks and the Spyderco back lock knives. Both are 100% ambidextrous.

The Spyderco Delica 4 and Endura are thin slicers (full flat grind) with great corrosion resistance (VG-10) and can be run under a hot tap to clean out.