A question About Work Knives in a Working Kitchen

[Porthos]

I supply the knives that my kitchen crew uses in our ren faire ktichens. This runs the gamut from volunteers just cutting up some celery to a culinary student who is doing very well. We do a catering-style gig feeding about 80 participants, prepping and cooking fresh food to do it.

 

Among my knives I have 2 Forschner 10" chef's knives that I have been very happy with. The other day I was in Restaurant Depot and was looking at some Dexter knives. They have a lower price tag than the Forschners I buy elsewhere. But they felt like less of a knife, not the weight and feel I am used to. Are there Dexter fans out there? Would I be reasonably happy with them in your opinion? Or are they indeed less of a knife than my Forschners?

 

Just a note on why they will never see something like a Henkels 4-star knife available: I lost an 8" chef's knife when someone decided to borrow it and open a can of paint or something. The tip was bent over at a 90 degree angle by their thoughtless action.

[Lisa Shock]

Every place I've worked has just supplied the $20 knives with the white plastic handles.

[weinoo]

I've got a Dexter knife or two.  They're the knives I'd take out on my boat when I go fishing.  If I had a boat. And went fishing.

 

They're probably just fine for those volunteers to use at the faire. You'll stay happier with the Victorinox/Forschner.

 

Price appears to be around the same for a 10" chef's knife with fibrox handles.

 

Fisher-Bone Knives

 

Forschner

Edited June 12, 2015 by weinoo (log)

[radtek]

I actually decommissioned my JA Henckels knives after buying Victorinox Fibrox 10"& 8" chef''s knives. I keep a steel handy and haven't had to sharpen once, so far. And very reasonably priced.

 

Sorry. Not about the Dexter knives you're asking about...

[Edward J]

I've used Dexters, and while they are not my first choice, they do fit in with what you want to use them for: A general purpose workhorse that is not geared to an individual, but rather a group of people.  It'll do fine.

 

My choice is VIctorinox, but then I'm biased since I am Swiss, and was trained with Victorinox and/or Wenger.

[rotuts]

once you EP's them, few would notice any diff.

[daveb]

I've used Dexters as camp knives, have had some variant of their filet knife in my tackle box for 20+ years and they make the best oyster knife ever. .  A catering company I do some part time work for uses a mix of Dexter, VNox, and other white plastic handled knives as their house knives (I bring my own).  They are fine for what they are,  whack some chicken bones, leave them out, leave them dirty, put them in the dishwasher, whatever.   That's the environment they were born for.  Hit them with a steel occasionally and they will continue to make big things into small things.

 

Dexter and VNox are the prevalent brands.  Costco sells a no name brand occasionally for ""2 for $20".   I doubt you could find a dimes worth of difference.between any of them.  

 

Some friends do Ren Faire festivals, is yours an annual event?  If so I would sharpen them before hand, (a grinding wheel would be fine), steel them during and sharpen them after. 

 

And Rotus:  Friends don't let friends use Edge Pro.  Ha!

[rotuts]

Ooooooo Yeah !

 

 best oyster knife ever

 

I just don't have oysters currently

 

""   Friends don't let friends use Edge Pro.  Ha! ""

 

if you mean i don't lend out the EP's  you are correct.

[Porthos]

Some friends do Ren Faire festivals, is yours an annual event?  If so I would sharpen them before hand, (a grinding wheel would be fine), steel them during and sharpen them after. 

 

And Rotus:  Friends don't let friends use Edge Pro.  Ha!

 

Ren Faire - in the spring it's the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire, as in the one that started it all in 1963. In the fall it's the Northern California Renaissance Faire near Gilroy, CA.

 

Hate to tell you but all of my knives get a new edge once a year - with my beloved EdgePro. Last year I did the sharpening while on vacation in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. About 2 1/2 hours on a beautiful afternoon. That's 2 knife-rolls worth and a few extras. The only complaint I would have, but I don't care, is that I can accidentally leave scratch marks on the knives but these are not things of beauty to start with.

[paulraphael]

I'd stick with the Forschner/Vnox knives with the plastic handles. They're cheap, thin, and the steel is quite good ... if anyone cares enough to sharpen them on stones and maintain them, they'll take good edges and will slightly outperform most of the expensive German knives.

 

While I haven't used the Dexters, I haven't heard the same praise of them. The vnox knives are unusual in this price range. At home I use their boning and fillet knives with the wood handles.

[dcarch]

Get what you feel are good knives which may cost more.

 

Have someone deep engrave your name/company name etc. on the blade so no one will "borrow" them.

 

Or engrave yourself with a Dremel tool.

 

 

dcarch

[paulraphael]

The thing is, people who care about knives will bring their own, and won't let anyone else near them.

People who don't care will use the house knives, and will beat them to hell. 

I haven't heard of it going any other way.

[radtek]

EdgePro? Google...

 

DO we have a thread on this? Apex or Professional?

[rotuts]

this one

 

http://www.edgeproinc.com/Apex-Model-Edge-Pro-System-c3/

 

if you get the 'tingle'

 

take some time, but PM me first

 

you do not need some banks  but two  of others

 

you might go to knife forum  and look at what they say

 

you might loose your mind

 

just saying

[Porthos]

Some eG EdgePro discussions include:

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/104022-knife-sharpening-systems-edgepro-apex/

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/83987-edge-pro-apex-knife-sharpener/

 

And it is talked about in this:

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/26036-knife-maintenance-and-sharpening/

 

I happened upon eGullet when searching for information on knife sharpening.

[Edward J]

There's nothing "bad" or "Wrong" with an edge-pro or any other type of mechanized abrasive.  Fact is, the knife doesn't know or care who, what, or how it is abraded, just that two surfaces meet at a clean sharp junction.

 

However mechanized abrasives will remove a lot of steel very quickly (or quickly compared to doing it by hand on a 8 x 2 stone...).  Again, this is not necessarily bad, especially if you need to grind out a nick, or re-profile the bevel.  But if you use mechanized abrasives for daily touch-ups and honing, it will eat up your knives rather quickly--it does what it does, abrade steel. 

 

Just my observation, but the further I climbed up culinary ladder, the less my knives had an impact on me.  As I got into more and more supervisory positions I only cared that I had enough knives and that they were clean and sharp. I spent more time finding bodies to wield those knives, and I really didn't care who supplied the knives, I only cared that the work got done, properly, and on time.  

[dcarch]

"---However mechanized abrasives will remove a lot of steel very quickly ------"

 

​The biggest problem with motorized sanding is that you can in fraction of a second, permanently ruin a good knife by de-tempering the thin metal edge.

 

Don't do it.

 

dcarch

[rotuts]

"""   mechanized abrasive  ""

 

???

 

 

not the EP

 

its operated by hand. 

 

yours  mine  anybodies.

Edited June 12, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[Edward J]

"---However mechanized abrasives will remove a lot of steel very quickly ------"

 

​The biggest problem with motorized sanding is that you can in fraction of a second, permanently ruin a good knife by de-tempering the thin metal edge.

 

Don't do it.

 

dcarch

Of course you can de-temper or "cook" your edge, I have done this on occasion.  But if you use light pressure and keep the piece moving fairly quickly (ie multiple passes) you can avoid the de-tempering.

 

However, I only endorse mechanized abrasives for bulk metal removal, and for this reason, I never use anything finer than 60 grit, be it grinding wheels, or sanding belts.  Again, with this coarse grit and light passes and moving fairly quickly, de-tempering can be avoided pretty easily.

 

However, to remove the coarse grit scratch pattern and polish the bevel  I'll use my stones and hands.  

Edited June 12, 2015 by Edward J (log)

[minas6907]

I use the victorinox as my work knives, and I have messermeister meridian elites at home. I used to take these to work, but sadly I dont trust my fellow cooks as much as I used to. I will say, when purchasing a new victorinox, keep an eye on ebay. I got a new 8 inch knofe for $18 and free shipping. It can be hard to find, and takes some patience, but you can find deals. Dexter arent bad, also a common work knife, they are in all the restaurant supply stores, I just like the handles better on the forchners better.

[Porthos]

I know one mistake I won't make twice. I purchased a Smart and Final house brand Chef's Review 10" chef's knife a few years back. It just can't hold an edge.

[boilsover]

"---However mechanized abrasives will remove a lot of steel very quickly ------"

 

​The biggest problem with motorized sanding is that you can in fraction of a second, permanently ruin a good knife by de-tempering the thin metal edge.

 

Don't do it.

 

dcarch

Oh, my.  I'm 56 years old, a knifemaker, and a son of a packing plant owner.  I've been sharpening knives since the training wheels came off my first bike.  I've owned and used virtually all types of sharpening methods.

 

The one I keep coming back to is my dad's Pittsburgh-Erie "Hook-Eye" belt machine. Used judiciously and with worn belts to finish, it does a great job and doesn't spoil an edge at all.

[dcarch]

Oh, my.  I'm 56 years old, a knifemaker, and a son of a packing plant owner.  I've been sharpening knives since the training wheels came off my first bike.  I've owned and used virtually all types of sharpening methods.

 

The one I keep coming back to is my dad's Pittsburgh-Erie "Hook-Eye" belt machine. Used judiciously and with worn belts to finish, it does a great job and doesn't spoil an edge at all.

 

I am a knife maker also. I use a belt sander also. but for the general public, don't do it.

 

Besides, you cannot tell if an edge has been de-tempered. A ruined edge can be just as sharp, but not for very long.

 

 

dcarch

[Porthos]

I found 2 new-in-the-package Dexter 10" chef's knives for a total of $9.00 while thrift shopping. At that price even if I only get a few seasons from them I'm happy. Yeah, I like my Forschners better but at tbat price I couldn't pass them up.