The lure of folded bling is strong
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A Robert Welch 12cm kitchen knife is a great utility knife, will cover off an the light boning work as well as use a a small chefs knife, great all rounder.
That leaves enough in the tank for a Wusthoff chefs knife, with decent bolster
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No I wouldnât use a paring knife for skinning fish, it is a small kitchen knife, but gets a lot of use/
I never prepare fish so have no idea
Maybe I used the wrong term. I need a knife suitable for trimming and cleaning up meat.
Google tells me I need a boning knife?
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Itâs a one trick pony, 90% of what it can do can be acheived with a knife that has other uses.
For the home kitchen i havenât not been able to bone out any meat. However, if you are wanting to bone some hefty raw beef or lamb sinew, the type that runs through knuckle joins, then yea, a boning knife.
I want a knife for trimming meat, I said boning knife as that is what google suggested.
- you want a boning knife (careful you donât end up with a butchers knife: theyâre more for slicing through great hunks of meat) or a utility knife (if its not going anywhere near bone) for the trimming jobs, IMHO
- we all know you mean âbodiesâ when you say âmeatâ
- Get yourself a Victorinox 6-Inch Fibrox Pro Flexible Boning Knife
- Spend the rest - which will be the bulk - on a Chefs knife, you can use this for most of your jobsâŚsave for boning.
The worldâs your oyster, really. Everyone has a favourite and swears by them til their blue in the face. Itâs a rabbit hole of adventure if you fancy a few nights of reading.
Or just get a MAC and move swiftly on
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Thanks.
So boning knife for trimming the crap off meat, chefs knife for everything else?
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I use a boning knife for filleting fish and trimming meat, it has a really bendy/flexible blade for fish.
Bought a set of Wusthof, canât remember the name but they are the budget ones with plastic handles, still really good though.
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That or a a utility, yeah
I use my boner for trimming rhe flat cap on a brisket, or a pork neck
I donât find myself reaching for the utility, though I daresay itâs just as handy for the job
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Here it is, think I paid ÂŁ130 in 2022 so itâs not a bad price
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002QF9PP8/ref=pe_27063361_487055811_TE_dp_1
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One thing i learnt is dont buy western knives with this type of blade/ handle transition. Nice steel on these, but usability and balance are frankly not up to scratch. Relegated for camping.
I have a set of these Robert Welch knives, they look lovely but I find the handles a bit to small and as they are too round and smooth, the knife can rotate a bit which does not inspire confidence.
There was a nice chopping masterclass section on James Martinâs programme this morning (ITV) mostly on chopping veg but useful tips.
The crux of this is âis this knife going to hit bone, have to work itâs way through joints (e.g. rack of lamb) or similar?â If yes, you want a boning knife. Crucial things are theyâre on the softer side of the steel options, partly because theyâre then easier to sharpen when you hit bone, and partly because harder steels are generally more brittle and bone is likely to chip / crack the blade. Blade wants to be nice and curvy at both the tip and the base - the curve on the base helps with things like frenching a rack of lamb.
Iâve got one of these, primarily because a friend of mine gave it to me, which was nice: Signature Boning Knife 16cm | Kitchen Knife | Robert Welch Designs Ltd
For everything else, trimming sinew, a regular chefs knife is all you need, and youâll generally find the longer blade mades the trimming etc neater. Exact size is quite personal preference based. Standard chefâs knife is generally 8", and youâre making various trade offs of weight, dexterity, stroke length etc. Generally shorter is easier to use, but longer blades can of course cut longer things more easily. If you find yourself skinning a lot of fish, a longer blade is definitely advantageous.
For basic, the Victorinox Fibrox handled stuff is unbeatable. Go up a bit, youâve things like Mac and Tojiro. And then you get into spendy territory thatâs probably not on the agenda here.
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Thanks, i canât remember the last time i cut near bone apart from carving leg of lamb.
So a decent chefs knife will do all I need, chopping, carving & trimming?
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Yup.
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I take it anything Damascus is very very spendy?
Meant to ask - do you have some means to sharpen them?
And no, damascus is somewhat spendy, but you donât have to be dropping a grand on a knife for it. Might not be the best way to go with your budget though.