KNIVES!! What kind/brand is best?

[Beekissed]

I use RADA, made in the USA. Stainless steel and razor sharp, sharpens up quickly and lasts for years and years and years. Use them in the kitchen and also in butchering. VERY reasonable price too. We've been using these knives since the 70s and haven't gotten tired of being impressed by the brand.

My granny used to love her Old Hickory and had it sharpened down to a thin slice by the end of her days. My Mom had some Old Hickory too...wicked sharp knives.

 

[lcertuche]

Bee I just ordered their catalog. I've been looking to get a couple of new knives. I realized when butchering my chickens that mine were not up to the job.

 

[Red the butcher]

Those are good knives. I've used them. More of kitchen knives than butcher knives but work well. The bottom one on bee's pic works very well for chickens. I didn't like any of them for deboning, skining, or general breaking down of the carcass on pigs. Not flexible enough for my liking. The very top one works great on making cuts on a loin or carving out a roast. They do hold a really good edge as well. Plus good sani safe design. Definitely a very good product.

 

[greybeard]

Those are good knives. I've used them. More of kitchen knives than butcher knives but work well. The bottom one on bee's pic works very well for chickens. I didn't like any of them for deboning, skining, or general breaking down of the carcass on pigs. Not flexible enough for my liking. The very top one works great on making cuts on a loin or carving out a roast. They do hold a really good edge as well. Plus good sani safe design. Definitely a very good product.

Pretty good reviews everywhere you look too.
I like cutlery that I know I have in my hand--some weight.
Do the RADA have some heft to them or pretty light?

 

[Red the butcher]

Pretty good reviews everywhere you look too.
I like cutlery that I know I have in my hand--some weight.
Do the RADA have some heft to them or pretty light?

Yes they do have good weight. They are solid metal. Now saying that, i can't say how they compare to other cheif style knives. Im a butcher, different game. For me none of the knives in this set are butcher knives. Besides blade shape the weight was a factor in not liking them for butchering. After a days worth of hogs you don't want a heavy knife anymore, atleast i didn't. As far as kitchen knives for me the average home cheif, awesome! Great edge too, very sharp.

 

[cahooncustomcutting@gmail]

For me I always carry an outdoor edge folding knife with the interchangeable blades. But as a butcher for most of my cutting I use J.A. Hankels, F. Dicks, or Vixtorionox (makers of the original Swiss Army knife). These are all very standard knives in slaughter houses and butcher shops.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I know this is old.



We have used the Gordon Food Service knives for butchering everything from rabbits to poultry to pigs to lambs and goats, zero complaints. They are easy to sanitize, you should never use a wooden handle knife for slicing up your meat, killing is fine but the actual slicing not a good idea. We have used those same knives for 5yrs now. I also use a chef knife version of the same knife in my kitchen every day for 5yrs.
Record is 18 lambs/goats in one day and the 1 knife used for the day was sharpened 3 times. That same knife was used to skinning, gutting, cutting joints etc....only thing it wasnt used for was breaking bones. We have a weston meat saw and a cleaver for those jobs. Bonus they are cheap to buy!

On a side note GFS also sells to best ice cream scoops I have ever found, they dont break every after years. I use mine for portioning cookies, cupcake batter, meatballs etc. Used to use it for ice cream until I got one of those bomb liquid filled ones!