Folding knife for food or use in restaurants

[cjk]

I'm really only interested in feedback from folks that actually use folding knives regularly for food.
If you don't and think this is weird/odd/gross/bad idea, I get it. I used to think that.

I recently used a serrated Delica to cut up some pizza crusts when the restaurant's supplied cutlery was butter knife dull. My knife cut them like butter, so I'm thinking I may actually do this more regularly (depending on spousal tolerance).

I know that some of y'all use a folding knife for food, particularly in restaurants.

If you actually do this, what knife do you use?

Do you prefer a serrated knife?
It seems to me that a plainedge could easily get dull spots from a ceramic plate.
Even if a ceramic plate dulled the points on a serrated knife, the scallops would still be sharp.

My father in law does this fairly regularly, but uses a tiny knife, either a slip joint or a pe lil Native. He might use the UKPK salt I recently gave him, but I haven't seen him do that yet.
I'd think using a serrated VG10 Endela or even a SE Stretch 2 XL would be miles better. Maybe a SE Leafjumper.

Anyhow, what folding knife do you find to be most ideal for restaurant use? What do you like?

[cabfrank]

I've used Salt 1's for sushi and they were excellent for the job. In this case, and maybe only this one, I preferred PE to SE. I'm sure Pacific Salts would be excellent as well. No worries at all about rinsing and putting away wet after dinner.

[Danke]

OK Part 1) Find better restaurants where they know how to cook and plate food. I'm struggling with the picture of a place just tossing a half cut up pizza on the table.

Part 2) Spyderco has 2 folding knives meant for food. The Spidiechef (I have one and it's a great) and the Kapara (which I should probably get.

[endura3]

I will say this was pretty effective



In all seriousness, my wife and I do have a local steakhouse we frequent that has great food but pretty terrible knives. I just use whatever knife I have on hand, but I'd definitely second your idea that SE is better for cutting on ceramic plates. If I thought to carry a specific knife ahead of time, it would probably be my SE delica like what you used. Serrations do dull much less because of the limited contact area with the plate, and having less belly (relative to something like the Stretch) is also better because you can more easily cut through your food with only the tip contacting the plate, rather than the full belly of the knife. So again, less dulling

[Dutch336]

When my wife and I go to sushi restaurants and I order sashimi, I will bring a tiny cutting board and a wharncliffe Cara Cara 2 to slice the sashimi into smaller pieces so I can extend the flavor.

I tried to use my PM2 to cut up the pork in my ramen last week. It worked ok, but I was missing that cutting board. Need to keep it in the car.

[vivi]

can't recall ever being in a restaurant and needing to whip out my folder to cut food,but I do order steaks rare to midrare.

[cjk]

I will say this was pretty effective



In all seriousness, my wife and I do have a local steakhouse we frequent that has great food but pretty terrible knives. I just use whatever knife I have on hand, but I'd definitely second your idea that SE is better for cutting on ceramic plates. If I thought to carry a specific knife ahead of time, it would probably be my SE delica like what you used. Serrations do dull much less because of the limited contact area with the plate, and having less belly (relative to something like the Stretch) is also better because you can more easily cut through your food with only the tip contacting the plate, rather than the full belly of the knife. So again, less dulling

This is very Interesting. I would have thought that the more belly would be easier rather than less. This is good to know.

[cjk]

OK Part 1) Find better restaurants where they know how to cook and plate food. I'm struggling with the picture of a place just tossing a half cut up pizza on the table.

Part 2) Spyderco has 2 folding knives meant for food. The Spidiechef (I have one and it's a great) and the Kapara (which I should probably get.

Kid ate slice and left crust, then wanted to dip the crust in ranch dressing (ewww, but whatever) or marinara. The ranch and marinara were not exclusive to the kid. So, SE Delica to the rescue. Double dipping was avoided.

[Danke]

[Halfneck]

I remember the 1st time I ever used my knife in place of the crappy restaurant steak knife I was blown away at how much easier it was to cut my steak. Last time I did that I used my SE Endura. I also recall my wife was not too pleased due to the stares from the table next to us & our young boys snickering.

And before someone else comments about properly cooked steaks etc, I only have use of my right arm/hand. Majority of the time I can get by just using the side of the fork to cut up my meal. Sometimes I may resort to using the restaurant supplied cutlery. Using my own knife though is far better than shaking the table trying to use a dull steak knife or stabbing it with my fork & eating it like a turkey leg. Last year or so I've swallowed my pride a bit and had my wife cut up my meal if I was unable to.

[PMBohol]

With all these newer steels the restaurants had better beef up their serving plates.

[RustyIron]

I recently used a serrated Delica to cut up some pizza crusts when the restaurant's supplied cutlery was butter knife dull. My knife cut them like butter, so I'm thinking I may actually do this more regularly (depending on spousal tolerance).

I use my folding pocket knife all the time at restaurants. I've been doing it so long that I think nothing of it. I don't try to conceal my behavior, nor am I ostentatious.

Recently a waitress asked if she could bring me a knife from the kitchen. I thanked her and explained that I prefer my own. Just before Christmas at a casual affair at someone's home, a lady approached and said that she liked that I cut my pizza with a knife. Odd, right? Maybe she was just being kind to the weirdo who brings his own knife to dinner parties. Or maybe she was intrigued by the idea that it really is ok to eat your food like a civilized person.

My advice is to keep doing what you're doing. When you've been married a little longer, your wife will come to the realization that she married a kook who eats with pocket knives, and she'll give up on trying to fix you.

Word of advice. Do not screw up someone's nice plates. And at casual events, do not cut through a paper plate and into the table.

[hobbyist]

I do this all the time. Always serrated. Both a stretch 2 XL and endela. VG-10 in both cases. I do have the SE H2 stretch but I actually folded the tip on a chicken bone. I also have a SE pacific salt but it’s both too large for me and doesn’t have the belly the stretch does.

I use it to carve rotisserie chicken daily, use it as a steak knife. Sometimes for veggies. I’ve tried PE lc200n for this but sometimes it gets too dull and slides across the cooked meat. Serrated never does.

I prefer the size of the endela in my hand but the belly on the stretch 2 xl is better for a cutting food.

My ideal knife would be a serrated stretch (not xl) with bonus points for liner less. Straight spine or not, I don’t care.

[Wartstein]

I'm really only interested in feedback from folks that actually use folding knives regularly for food.
If you don't and think this is weird/odd/gross/bad idea, I get it. I used to think that.

I recently used a serrated Delica to cut up some pizza crusts when the restaurant's supplied cutlery was butter knife dull. My knife cut them like butter, so I'm thinking I may actually do this more regularly (depending on spousal tolerance).

I know that some of y'all use a folding knife for food, particularly in restaurants.

If you actually do this, what knife do you use?

Do you prefer a serrated knife?
It seems to me that a plainedge could easily get dull spots from a ceramic plate.
Even if a ceramic plate dulled the points on a serrated knife, the scallops would still be sharp.

My father in law does this fairly regularly, but uses a tiny knife, either a slip joint or a pe lil Native. He might use the UKPK salt I recently gave him, but I haven't seen him do that yet.
I'd think using a serrated VG10 Endela or even a SE Stretch 2 XL would be miles better. Maybe a SE Leafjumper.

Anyhow, what folding knife do you find to be most ideal for restaurant use? What do you like?

I use my folders for cutting food a lot, though admittedly very rarely (but still not "never") in restaurants.

- I´d definitely go with SE: Obviously not the choice of real Chefs most of the times, but I personally found SE a lot better and practical for the kind of "rough and basic" food prep I do. And it does not even have to be sharp to perform (sure it´s preferable when it IS)
Also, in tasks like cutting a tomatoe or bread SE might even be objectively better than PE, unless the latter is kept really sharp.

- Potential food prep is also one of the main reasons why I like to carry LONG bladed folders (like Spydercos founder apparently does too viewtopic.php?p=1511659#p1511659 ; viewtopic.php?p=1804479#p1804479 ; viewtopic.php?p=1609574#p1609574 )
For reasons of convenient carry I don´t go longer than Endura/Stretch XL, but I figure a Police 4 must be great for food prep.
My Stretch XL SE is probably the best I actually own at the moment, followed by Pac Salt ffg SE (serrations being not as good as on the XL and less belly) and Endela SE (shorter blade and edge than the Stretch XL)

[Farmer]

They may not be Spydies, but for a combination of effectiveness and some disguise from prying eyes, it's hard to beat either a stainless Opinel or Laguiole. I guess it's no surprise the French have folding knives geared towards eating :)

[Wartstein]

They may not be Spydies, but for a combination of effectiveness and some disguise from prying eyes, it's hard to beat either a stainless Opinel or Laguiole. I guess it's no surprise the French have folding knives geared towards eating :)

You have a good point here - food prep is one of the tasks that would profit if Spyderco made (more and more pronounced in that direction) LONG bladed folders with THINNER stock (something Opinel definitely offers).

[holokai]

I use my PE Magnacut UKPK at restaurants a lot. It has titanium scales so it blends in well with other cutlery; most people don’t even notice it.

I’ve also used a K390 Stretch 2 and found the belly/tip to help a lot when cutting on plates as draw cuts are less likely to pierce paper/plastic takeout containers.

Just picked up a SE Chaparral and might try it out as the SE grind is less pointy/toothy so shouldn’t tear food as much.

I have a Spydiechef too but for some reason haven’t tried it out at a restaurant yet but may do so as the titanium frame should help it blend in.

No issues with my PE knives getting dull as I run them relatively low grit (sharpmaker cbn rods) so they keep cutting even if they contact a ceramic plate.

[JSumm]

If I recall, Sal has mentioned multiple times this is one of the reasons he likes longer blades.

I used to use my folders often to cut up food when my kids were younger. Don't do it much any more except when on vacation, or at the pool or beach and we end up feeding the kids there.

When the kids were younger, the Kapara was my go to. I ended up trading that one for a SpydieChef and now that knife always accompanies me on vacation.

Militaries of all varieties do well due to the extreme negative blade angle. Just this week, I brought a bunch of summer sausage to the office and cut it up for friends.

[Zipper]

A couple of times I have been caught out at restaurants where the serrated steak knives provided were as about as effective as a butter knife.
We have knife laws that would allow someone to take in public a knife with a reasonable excuse. That would include food prep. The smaller Spyderco knives mentioned would not turn heads, but they are of course pretty small. Whipping out any currently available @ 4 inch Spidie would turn some heads (here in Oz anyway).
I would be less concerned if the knife was something like a Victorinox Swiss Classic Foldable Paring Knife. I have no experience with this model, but I am sure it would be fine. Four inches and serrated.
(Please delete my message if I am breaking rules over posting a non-Spyderco).

[Brock O Lee]

I like all-titanium and linerless construction, and broad drop-point blades for food. Linerless ti have less nooks and crannies for food or juices to get trapped, are easy to wash with open construction, and the internals dry out quickly, so less chance for corrosion. Smooth ti feels "cleaner" in my mind than FRN or peel-ply G10. Knives like the Spydiechef or CRK Insingos.



A SAK, like a Pioneer, also works for me in a pinch as a people-friendly alternative, but is a bit small.

Serrated blades for cutting food on plates make a lot of sense. I've used a Caribbean SE before, but it was a bit too pointy to be ideal.