Folders for food prep?

[Albatross]

I don't see why some of you are so hung up on the comparison. It's not about what is best, it's just about enjoyment. Is the loss of performance in the kitchen really that unbearable of a loss that you can't make it through a meal prep unless you have your kitchen knife? Are you cooking for 20 people everyday where the efficiency of dicing your veggies becomes a critical issue? I just don't get the big deal. I like using my knives. That means using them for whatever, whenever the need arises. I'm usually one for over thinking things but I think y'all are over complicating this one.

I definitely don't enjoy using much more pressure to make the same cut, because the geometry was intended for more general purpose tasks. That can be a safety hazard. Try cutting up some squash with a folder. To me, this is the same as, "a sharp knife is a safe knife", because a dull knife, just like a folder in the kitchen, requires more pressure to make a cut, increasing the odds of slippage.

Another issue is ergonomics. Most folders become uncomfortable MUCH faster than a fixed blade. If you use a folder to cut potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery for a stew, you will most-likely have a sore hand. The design of folders(generally) doesn't allow for an even distribution of pressure, due to the scales(think PM2, with the gap between them), whereas a fixed blade excels in this area, allowing for longer periods of much more pleasurable cutting.

I've never had an issue with ergonomics using a folder to prep a meal for 1-3. I do it pretty frequently since I camp and hike multiple times a week.

Something full flat ground from 3mm stock with a reprofiled edge cuts just fine. If your folder is slipping cutting basic foods it simply needs sharpened.

Skip six minutes in:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hl3n-BtLoaI

Now with a Police 4:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1Xw4u6LMt14

Both work just fine for simple food prep tasks.

Sure, it's not impossible, I don't think anyone is suggesting that. If you have no issues, that's good.

I disagree, because reprofiling can help, but still leaves a lot to be desired. Sharpness and how thick the edge is, can also get you only so far. A thick stock can get bound up in harder materials, such as the squash I mentioned, which can cause slipping, due to excess pressure required, and the added resistance. The edge can only bite into materials, if the stock thickness isn't limiting the edge's contact. I can sharpen a knife to hair whittling, but if the stock thickness is too great, it will cut hard foods like a butter knife.

Stock thickness makes onion slicing more difficult than it needs to be, especially if thin slices are needed. Again, not impossible, but more difficult than necessary. Cut an apple with a thick stock and you'll see it more splits than slices the apple. When the entirety of the blade needs to pass through a dense material, or one that needs be cut thinly, I'll take a kitchen knife, and save myself the hassle of reprofiling a folder to use it for food prep.

I have seen those videos before, there's no doubt the knives are capable, and work well for you for your purposes.

If kitchen knives weren't the superior tool, people would buy folders for their kitchens.

Also, it seems that most people consider food prep to include mostly just soft foods. That's fine and all, but not all foods are soft. My P4 has considerable lock rock, so it doesn't get used for food prep. The only knife large enough, in my collection, is a Military, and that's got a thick blade. Smaller than that is even more unpleasant to use.

[Evil D]

Not all kitchen knives are equal. I'm certain I have folders with better blade geometry than some kitchen knives that I've seen and used. Maybe this is where the mental constipation is coming from in this thread, some of you have never used a Walmart kitchen knife and it shows :D

[vivi]

I don't see why some of you are so hung up on the comparison. It's not about what is best, it's just about enjoyment. Is the loss of performance in the kitchen really that unbearable of a loss that you can't make it through a meal prep unless you have your kitchen knife? Are you cooking for 20 people everyday where the efficiency of dicing your veggies becomes a critical issue? I just don't get the big deal. I like using my knives. That means using them for whatever, whenever the need arises. I'm usually one for over thinking things but I think y'all are over complicating this one.

I definitely don't enjoy using much more pressure to make the same cut, because the geometry was intended for more general purpose tasks. That can be a safety hazard. Try cutting up some squash with a folder. To me, this is the same as, "a sharp knife is a safe knife", because a dull knife, just like a folder in the kitchen, requires more pressure to make a cut, increasing the odds of slippage.

Another issue is ergonomics. Most folders become uncomfortable MUCH faster than a fixed blade. If you use a folder to cut potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery for a stew, you will most-likely have a sore hand. The design of folders(generally) doesn't allow for an even distribution of pressure, due to the scales(think PM2, with the gap between them), whereas a fixed blade excels in this area, allowing for longer periods of much more pleasurable cutting.

I've never had an issue with ergonomics using a folder to prep a meal for 1-3. I do it pretty frequently since I camp and hike multiple times a week.

Something full flat ground from 3mm stock with a reprofiled edge cuts just fine. If your folder is slipping cutting basic foods it simply needs sharpened.

Skip six minutes in:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hl3n-BtLoaI

Now with a Police 4:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1Xw4u6LMt14

Both work just fine for simple food prep tasks.

Sure, it's not impossible, I don't think anyone is suggesting that. If you have no issues, that's good.

I disagree, because reprofiling can help, but still leaves a lot to be desired. Sharpness and how thick the edge is, can also get you only so far. A thick stock can get bound up in harder materials, such as the squash I mentioned, which can cause slipping, due to excess pressure required, and the added resistance. The edge can only bite into materials, if the stock thickness isn't limiting the edge's contact. I can sharpen a knife to hair whittling, but if the stock thickness is too great, it will cut hard foods like a butter knife.

Stock thickness makes onion slicing more difficult than it needs to be, especially if thin slices are needed. Again, not impossible, but more difficult than necessary. Cut an apple with a thick stock and you'll see it more splits than slices the apple. When the entirety of the blade needs to pass through a dense material, or one that needs be cut thinly, I'll take a kitchen knife, and save myself the hassle of reprofiling a folder to use it for food prep.

I have seen those videos before, there's no doubt the knives are capable, and work well for you for your purposes.

If kitchen knives weren't the superior tool, people would buy folders for their kitchens.

Also, it seems that most people consider food prep to include mostly just soft foods. That's fine and all, but not all foods are soft. My P4 has considerable lock rock, so it doesn't get used for food prep. The only knife large enough, in my collection, is a Military, and that's got a thick blade. Smaller than that is even more unpleasant to use.

No ones saying a Police is the best kitchen knife. I'm just saying if I go over to a girls house to cook us dinner and find the only sharp knife in her house is the one in my pocket, its gonna be ok. The difference between a 4mm tactical fixed blade and a 1.5mm true paring knife simply doesn't matter when you're working with such low volume:



Maybe I'm biased from working jobs where I had to dice 50lbs of onions per day. Slicing up one only takes what, thirty seconds? I've cut plenty of rigid foods too. I've used this same knife, the 4mm stock Street Beat, to make soups at camp. Potato, celery, carrots, onions, meats, etc. Again, working with such low volume, the knife used doesn't matter much.

Lock rock doesn't make a knife cut apples worse.

[The Deacon]

I don't see why some of you are so hung up on the comparison. It's not about what is best, it's just about enjoyment. Is the loss of performance in the kitchen really that unbearable of a loss that you can't make it through a meal prep unless you have your kitchen knife? Are you cooking for 20 people everyday where the efficiency of dicing your veggies becomes a critical issue? I just don't get the big deal. I like using my knives. That means using them for whatever, whenever the need arises. I'm usually one for over thinking things but I think y'all are over complicating this one.

Chalk it up to human nature, David. It's easy to be critical of the way others do darn near anything and everything. I'll freely admit that I'm no exception to that rule. I'm baffled that there are folks who think a folding knife is worthless if you can't baton with it. It also astounds me that there are folks who'll routinely use a folder that cost several hundred dollars to do a task that could be handled better by a ten dollar prybar or a five dollar utility knife. Also folks, other than the few who go on hikes that last for a few days or more, who will pass on "knife A" because it weighs a fraction of an ounce more than "knife B". Yeah, I'm judgemental, sue me. :p

[Albatross]

No ones saying a Police is the best kitchen knife. I'm just saying if I go over to a girls house to cook us dinner and find the only sharp knife in her house is the one in my pocket, its gonna be ok. The difference between a 4mm tactical fixed blade and a 1.5mm true paring knife simply doesn't matter when you're working with such low volume:



Maybe I'm biased from working jobs where I had to dice 50lbs of onions per day. Slicing up one only takes what, thirty seconds? I've cut plenty of rigid foods too. I've used this same knife, the 4mm stock Street Beat, to make soups at camp. Potato, celery, carrots, onions, meats, etc. Again, working with such low volume, the knife used doesn't matter much.

Lock rock doesn't make a knife cut apples worse.

I'm married and have a family, so fortunately, I don't have to use my folders in a scenario similar to your example, and there are plenty of kitchen knives in my house.

Again, if that works for you, that's good, but I wont be using folders for food prep, regardless of what others think or say. It's just not enjoyable or efficient for my uses. I never said it couldn't be done, I said it takes more effort and doesn't make sense for me to chop food with my folder.

I never said lock rock would make a knife cut apples worse, just that I wont use my P4 for food prep, because of the lock rock. I noticed it when cutting cheese, so it's certainly not going to face more difficult cutting tasks.

Diversity is good. Fortunately we don't all do or like the same things.

[Notsurewhy]

I hope I didn't imply that anyone else was doing it "wrong" just that some techniques with a longer blade like a kitchen knife can improve efficiency and it might be worth looking into.

That said, a Prius would probably be the most efficient way for me to drive to work and I wouldn't enjoy that nearly as much. Sometimes it's a lot more fun to be a little more inefficient. So I get that too.
:D

[vivi]

Dinner prep :D

[brj]

I don't regularly use my folders for food prep, but as mentioned elsewhere giving them a couple of moments on the board is a quick and handy test to develop a first impression on ergonomics, potential hot spots, etc (That way I was able to learn that I really don't like using back locks on the cutting board as I tend to feel the vertical movement / rock of the blade and it annoys the heck out of me. From this perspective, liner/compression/frame acts way better, in my experience.)

Anyway, these days I mostly use my home-made Santoku for anything related to food prep :)

[ChrisinHove]

.....

That said, a Prius would probably be the most efficient way for me to drive to work and I wouldn't enjoy that nearly as much. Sometimes it's a lot more fun to be a little more inefficient. So I get that too.
:D

How very dare you!!! I enjoy driving my Prius - even more since I completed my tax return this morning and saw how cheap it is on tax.
:D
Just kidding, really - I ride motorcycles for fun!