In search of a real kitchen folder

[hoimin]

http://knifenews.com/compression-lock-food-prep/
Alistair Phillips (Cubane on this forum) put this together for kitchen work.

[anagarika]

http://knifenews.com/compression-lock-food-prep/
Alistair Phillips (Cubane on this forum) put this together for kitchen work.

Looks nice! And a lockback no less ... :cool: It’s compression lock :o

[gmhauy]

http://knifenews.com/compression-lock-food-prep/
Alistair Phillips (Cubane on this forum) put this together for kitchen work.

Looks nice! But from extensively using my Manixe's in the kitchen I find that a blade in the 3.5" region comes sometimes short, especially to cut some fruits / vegetables on the large side. Reason why I was wondering about the Police 4 with its 4.4" blade.
(And yes, a fixed blade knife is easier and more practical in the kitchen, but I like the sheer pleasure of using the well made tools that are my folders :) ).
To depart from Spyderco, I have also used a lot my Brous T4 (it has a 4.0" blade) to great satisfaction. Some will deem its blade too thick I am sure, but it performed well IMO, especially carving chicken or the occasional lamb leg.
(Using the Brous in the kitchen was a way to use a well-made knife that I cannot carry, due to the clip being so absurdly stiff that it is a real PITA to clip/unclip from a pocket; I gave up carrying it just for that reason, not due to its size/weight).

Gerard

[xceptnl]

Despite really enjoying my Spydiechef for edc as well as some board work, very few folding knives could rival the Catcherman for its abilities as an improvised folding kitchen knife.

[NoFair]

Despite really enjoying my Spydiechef for edc as well as some board work, very few folding knives could rival the Catcherman for its abilities as an improvised folding kitchen knife.

I used to bring the Catcherman when travelling since most places have ****** kitchen knives. It is very light and performs very well. Now I often bring a 9" chef knife if we are staying in a rented house for more than a few days.

[ross8425]

Spyderco Police brutal destructive testing. Hide your kids, NSFW!

Part 1 - A mere 3mm of VG10 steel challenges an aged block of cheese

Part 2 - What's left of the Police attempts to dice a potato *shudder*

It pains me destroying my trusty police after a decade of rough use, but it was worth it for the sake of science :D

Put a towel under your cutting board to prevent slipping when aggressively powering through a potato.

[hoimin]

Looks nice! But from extensively using my Manixe's in the kitchen I find that a blade in the 3.5" region comes sometimes short, especially to cut some fruits / vegetables on the large side.

I don’t disagree. Even 5” feels short to me for kitchen work.

Folding knives are, by definition, a series of compromises, so I can see why 3.5” was a target (pocketability, scariness factor). It can get at least halfway through most fruits and vegetables you’d prep on the go.

[m6steen]

I also suggest a Police4 (or a Police3 if you want stainless). Despite its name, I think it's better suited in the kitchen with its long thin blade (112 mm x 3 mm). It also carries nicely in the pocket with its overall thinness and four-way clip. It's also worth noting that a Police4 FRN is in the works, which should have better balance and lack the sharp edges of the G10 model.

I've used a Miltary as my kitchen folder for cheese, fruit, and vegetables (no meat, vegetarian), but its blade (3.7 mm x 102 mm) is often too thick for slicing and a little too short for larger food like grapefruit.

[bearfacedkiller]

I think Cubane's folder looks excellent. I would like a slightly longer blade but otherwise it appears to be a nice design with a lot of Spyderco qualities. Sign me up.

[vivi]

Spyderco Police brutal destructive testing. Hide your kids, NSFW!

Part 1 - A mere 3mm of VG10 steel challenges an aged block of cheese

Part 2 - What's left of the Police attempts to dice a potato *shudder*

It pains me destroying my trusty police after a decade of rough use, but it was worth it for the sake of science :D

Put a towel under your cutting board to prevent slipping when aggressively powering through a potato.

If I'm actually prepping a meal I do that with a wet towel. I can hear my old chef yelling at me when I watch my destructive testing clips

[Ted]

This is still the best design I've ever seen for a folding kitchen knife. It was made by EKA in Sweden (model 597) and at the time ( mid '90's) it was quite popular in Holland and sold by a large outdoor retailer (Erdman Schmidt, now 'Bever'). I contacted Eka many years ago but they are not making this model anymore and are not planning to either. Showed it to Sal as well, he made some drawings of it but I don't know if they ever put more thought in it.

It has a back-lock (the lanyard thing at the back is the release). There is a small design issue, because the blade rests on a pin so over time it develops a small nick in the blade. But it still goes with us on every single holiday, and it works like a charm. Another benefit due to the tip design is that is great for scraping out stuff ( peanut butter) out of jars. I think I've already sharpened a few mm's of it so orignally it was a bit wider. It's a pretty thin blade as well, about 2mm. Flat on on side and sabre on the other and then a secondary edge.

I would love to see something like this back in production.

[rybu0305]

The Opus might work well in the kitchen. Cutting edge is over 3.5”. Thin blade stock.

I would love to see Spyderco make a kitchen folder like we are discussing here.

[btbyrd]

This is still the best design I've ever seen for a folding kitchen knife. It was made by EKA in Sweden (model 597) and at the time ( mid '90's) it was quite popular in Holland and sold by a large outdoor retailer (Erdman Schmidt, now 'Bever'). I contacted Eka many years ago but they are not making this model anymore and are not planning to either. Showed it to Sal as well, he made some drawings of it but I don't know if they ever put more thought in it.

Wow... that's a fantastic design. I love how the handle is adjusted so that you get a bit of board clearance and that there's very little belly on the blade so you can actually chop with it. I don't know why so many folder guys think having a belly on a 3.5" blade makes it good in the kitchen. Bellies make things worse on a short blade, which is why paring knives and petty knives are, as a rule, close to flat. It could benefit from a sharpening choil. Anyway, I love the look of the thing. I'm not sure that I like sabre grinds in the kitchen, even on just one side. To facilitate food release, a slightly hollow FFG works better in my experience and doesn't cause wedging like sabre grinds almost always do (in my experience).

If they slapped a granton edge on it, that'd be pretty baller. Sound silly on such a short knife? I dunno... Misono offers a version of my UX10 petty with a Granton...

misono ux10 petty.jpg (11.32 KiB) Viewed 2587 times

I wish the dimples started a bit higher above the blade, because if you take it to the stones on the reg, you're going to bite into them pretty quick. But the concept is worth exploring...

[ChrisinHove]

That’s it!

[xceptnl]

Yet another night of food prep where my first instinct was to give the Catcherman a try. Shredding romaine lettuce, mincing onion, chopping chives and gutting/prepping jalapenos all for taco night. It may not be the most optimal tool for the job, but it performs really well in all my uses.