Spyderco Culinary Utility Knife - a good gift for my mother?

[Palestrina]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone here has some experience with the Spyderco Culinary Utility Knife in Spyderedge configuration.

The issue is - my mother is an excellent cook, but for some strange reason she refuses to sharpen knives herself. No amount of arguing will get her to do it - she just doesn't care. It seems like to her knives are basically a necessary evil to deal with in order to get the meal done.

She is used to the common middle of the road kitchen knives in Europe. My goal would be to gift her a knife that stays sharp at least a bit longer and does not require special care.

I thought about buying a Utility Knife SE, but first I would need to know some things:

- how does the handle material feel? Is it comparable to FRN?

- how does the MBS-26 steel hold up?

- is the SpyderEdge - in your opinion - a good all-around blade in the kitchen?

I just want her to have a tough "workhorse" in her kitchen.

Please let me know your thoughts.

[sal]

Hi Palestrina,

I would get her the blue handled K04SBL. She will love it. You will need to caution her as to how sharp it is, but it will stay sharp for her for many years.

sal

[Skywalker]

Hello,

- how does the handle material feel? Is it comparable to FRN?

- how does the MBS-26 steel hold up?

- is the SpyderEdge - in your opinion - a good all-around blade in the kitchen?

Yes, handle material is comparable to FRN.

Steel is stainless enough to leave wet around the kitchen and in takes a fine edge easily. For a plain edge I do prefer something more wear resistant along the lines of VG-10 or SG2 - but in SpyderEdge MBS-26 is great. No issues with breaking tips off of teeth even with some rough use.

In general the SpyderEdge has great cutting longevity in the kitchen as even when the tips dull the sharp scallops will continue to cut aggressively as they press down into or gather food along the slice. If I'm sharpening my SpyderEdge kitchen utility it's usually because the little plainedge section at the tip has dulled beyond what I like. Sometimes the serrations also need a touch-up; a lot of times they don't.

Fair warnings, though:
- SpyderEdge will tear up cutting boards more than plainedge if you cut into them with much force
- The serrations are ground on one side - this can kind of "steer" the knife in cuts through harder foods (not sure if this is a bigger issue for me being left-handed or not?)
- If you do need to sharpen the serrations, you'll need a sharpmaker or other rod-type sharpener that can get between the teeth.
- The K04/K05 Spyderco kitchen utilities are more "petty"-style knives, without a ton of knuckle clearance when used on a board. Depending on hand size and usual technique this may be less comfortable than a larger, taller chef's knife/gyuto/santoku-style knife.



For your use case where you want it to be as sharp as long as possible with minimal/no maintenance - a SpyderEdge utility sounds perfect (as long as it's replacing something of similar size, and not a full chef's knife).

It's probably one of my wife's two most-used kitchen knives, along with a little nakiri I keep screaming sharp for veggie slicing. :)

[Palestrina]

Hi Palestrina,

I would get her the blue handled K04SBL. She will love it. You will need to caution her as to how sharp it is, but it will stay sharp for her for many years.

sal

Thank you! Lucky me, Knives and Tools has one on stock here in Europe as well!

Yes, handle material is comparable to FRN.

Steel is stainless enough to leave wet around the kitchen and in takes a fine edge easily. For a plain edge I do prefer something more wear resistant along the lines of VG-10 or SG2 - but in SpyderEdge MBS-26 is great. No issues with breaking tips off of teeth even with some rough use.

In general the SpyderEdge has great cutting longevity in the kitchen as even when the tips dull the sharp scallops will continue to cut aggressively as they press down into or gather food along the slice. If I'm sharpening my SpyderEdge kitchen utility it's usually because the little plainedge section at the tip has dulled beyond what I like. Sometimes the serrations also need a touch-up; a lot of times they don't.

Fair warnings, though:
- SpyderEdge will tear up cutting boards more than plainedge if you cut into them with much force
- The serrations are ground on one side - this can kind of "steer" the knife in cuts through harder foods (not sure if this is a bigger issue for me being left-handed or not?)
- If you do need to sharpen the serrations, you'll need a sharpmaker or other rod-type sharpener that can get between the teeth.
- The K04/K05 Spyderco kitchen utilities are more "petty"-style knives, without a ton of knuckle clearance when used on a board. Depending on hand size and usual technique this may be less comfortable than a larger, taller chef's knife/gyuto/santoku-style knife.



For your use case where you want it to be as sharp as long as possible with minimal/no maintenance - a SpyderEdge utility sounds perfect (as long as it's replacing something of similar size, and not a full chef's knife).

It's probably one of my wife's two most-used kitchen knives, along with a little nakiri I keep screaming sharp for veggie slicing. :)

Thank you for the great summary.

Adressing some of your points:

Destroying cutting boards can be seen as part of a learning process.

Using SE knives is slightly different, but again, something she'll get used too, I'm sure.

I have quite some experience with sharpening SE blades on the Sharpmaker, my main EDC is a Delica 4 K390 SE, so I think it won't make any difference. I'll just visit with my Sharpmaker four times a year and touch the blade up.

Since she owns a few knives with more knuckle clearance I don't think this will be an issue. I just want a "get the job done" knife, something she just grabs without thinking about it.

[zhyla]

- is the SpyderEdge - in your opinion - a good all-around blade in the kitchen?

No, not at all. It has its uses. For basic vegetable slicing (e.g., a “low cut” in culinary terms), it’s terrible. The serrations drag on the board and slow everything down. It’s very handy for certain things such as tomatoes and all the things you see serrated utility knives recommended for (tough squash, crusty bread).

An SE blade will never replace a good large chefs knife/santoku/gyuto.

As for that particular knife, 4.5” is too short IMO.

[Fireman]

Also a side gift to go with it should be a kitchen first aid kit. You can make one in a mint tin. Include the obvious and some superglue with some duct tape to keep pressure on.

[Palestrina]

No, not at all. It has its uses. For basic vegetable slicing (e.g., a “low cut” in culinary terms), it’s terrible. The serrations drag on the board and slow everything down. It’s very handy for certain things such as tomatoes and all the things you see serrated utility knives recommended for (tough squash, crusty bread).

An SE blade will never replace a good large chefs knife/santoku/gyuto.

As for that particular knife, 4.5” is too short IMO.

I think I have phrased it the wrong way, of course you are right. I've ordered the 6,5'' version. But I thnik she'll find enough used cases to justify the purchase.

Also a side gift to go with it should be a kitchen first aid kit. You can make one in a mint tin. Include the obvious and some superglue with some duct tape to keep pressure on.

So, it's that sharp?

[sal]

Hi Palestrina,

I think she will use it for more than you think.

sal

[Palestrina]

Hi Palestrina,

I think she will use it for more than you think.

sal

She will receive it on Monday, I'm looking forward to her reaction.

I'll provide a review on her behalf here after some time of testing.

[N. Brian Huegel]

It was my mother's favorite kitchen knife. If was never put away ... just washed and dried along with a small cutting board and put back on the kitchen counter. As we have a knife store (Country Knives Inc.) she had dozens of various kitchen knives, but this is the one she used 99% of the time for daily food prep. It is still going strong in our employee kitchen ... 40+ years later! It gets touched up every six months or so on a Sharpmaker.

nb

[Scandi Grind]

I'll provide a review on her behalf here after some time of testing.

I look forward to that. I've been trying to figure out what is the best thing for my mom as well. Fortunately for her, I do most of the cutting, but when she wants to get in on the action, I would like her to have something that will handle tomatoes lickity split. Serrations seem like a good idea for her, I just don't have experience with them, so I am still trying to sort out whether they will work out well in my parents kitchen.

[Palestrina]

I look forward to that. I've been trying to figure out what is the best thing for my mom as well. Fortunately for her, I do most of the cutting, but when she wants to get in on the action, I would like her to have something that will handle tomatoes lickity split. Serrations seem like a good idea for her, I just don't have experience with them, so I am still trying to sort out whether they will work out well in my parents kitchen.

Presents for parents can be quite tricky. I'll let you know how my mother likes it!

It was my mother's favorite kitchen knife. If was never put away ... just washed and dried along with a small cutting board and put back on the kitchen counter. As we have a knife store (Country Knives Inc.) she had dozens of various kitchen knives, but this is the one she used 99% of the time for daily food prep. It is still going strong in our employee kitchen ... 40+ years later! It gets touched up every six months or so on a Sharpmaker.

nb

Thank you! This is exactly what I am hoping for!