Tips on purchasing a boning knife?

[jeremy_winn]

Hello!

I was hoping to get some help on buying a boning knife. I am going to be using it mostly for chicken and beef, but I think some fish will be involved. I know there are certain styles of knives for fish, but if there is a not crazy expensive all purpose boning knife I would love some help in finding it. I'm still finding my way in the knife, and sharpening world. Thank you for your help!

 

[EdipisReks]

Honestly, I really like my Forschner semi-stiff boner. It takes a nice toothy edge, keeps it for a reasonable amount of time, responds to a ceramic hone well (which is a plus with very curved knives, IMO), and is very nimble. For the amount of butchering I do, which can range to a pretty fair amount for a home cook, I find it more than adequate. Can't beat the price. For fish, you might want the regular boner, but I find the semi-stiff to be really good for breaking up beef and pork.

 

[Dardeau]

I also like the Forschner line of butcher knives a lot. When I was breaking pigs a lot I used almost every knife in this line and they are all winners, it's just about preference on shape and stiffness.
I have an R. Murphy boning knife that is my all time favorite, but my job doesn't call for a lot of meat fabrication. The last place I worked was a lot more meat oriented and I used it all the time. Now for the once a week or two I do meat fab I just use my 210 petty because it's out on my station.
A petty might not be the worst idea for you. A 210 or 180mm petty would double duty into small fish well, and would also give you a good veg knife.

 

[IndoorOutdoorCook]

Semi-stiff boner... but really, it is a good knife for butchering. When your hands are covered in fat and guts and blood, you'll appreciate that non slip handle. I butchered a whole hog. We used a band saw and a breaking knife, but once it was in sub primals, the rest of the trimming and cutting was with semi stiff boning knife.

I have a honesuki for breaking down chicken in the japanese way. I haven't tried to cut through the breast bone with it, and I don't plan to. I could break down a chicken in about 45 seconds.

For small amounts of trimming, ex. removing silverskin off tenderloin, I just use a 150mm petty. Really, you could do any of these tasks with any of the knives I mentioned. For budget, you can't go wrong with the forschner semi stiff. There's a reason all the butchers use it. Unless you were a hong kong butcher, they'd have something like the CCK KF2201. I wouldn't call it all purpose though. That's for pig.

 

[chinacats]

+1 on the Forschner...great knife, very inexpensive and takes a great edge...oh yeah, mine is also a semi-stiff curved edge.

 

[labor of love]

Anybody here used a rosewood handle forschner boning? Are those handles better than the regular black forschner handles?

 

[EdipisReks]

Anybody here used a rosewood handle forschner boning? Are those handles better than the regular black forschner handles?

The fibrox handle is going to give a better grip.

 

[chinacats]

The fibrox handle is going to give a better grip.

Yep, fibrox here as well. Better grip and cheaper.

 

[Chefu]

agreed, fibrox will equal better grip even though rosewood looks nice. I've been a big fan of Forschner boners, paring, and bread knives w/fibrox handles for years especially at their price point they're hard to beat.

 

[Noodle Soup]

I've had good luck with Victorinox, F. Dick and the Pro grade Swedish Frosts. The Frosts used to be the favorite of the west coast commercial fishing industry but I'm not sure they offer the pro line in the U.S. anymore. Haven't seen them in a while.

 

[ThEoRy]

How much money do you have?

 

[lobby]

As a proper butcher for 2 years and now a butcher for a kitchen, i can attest to the forschner semi stiff boner. With that knife and a breaking knife, i could do just about any size job or task, and the fibrox handles grip very well.

 

[Arty]

I have a Warther "outdoor" 6" fishing fillet knife in S35V. I haven't used it much, and bought it for fishing. It is more like a boning knife than a flexible fillet knife. It comes in S35V, so you need to be sure you can sharpen it.
I used it to remove the skin from a number of chicken legs. I liked it so much, that I just ordered their 4 1/2" version. The smaller knife is $60 without a sheath and worth a look. The knife cuts like a scalpel.
S35V should hold an edge much better than VG10 and is desirable, if you want stainless steel, and I do for this application.

 

[Casaluz]

I use a Suisin carbon steel honesuki from Korin that came with an incredible edge and I use it very happily for chicken and ribs, I would suggest consider it as a very affordable option