Things To Read

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Kitchen Knives, What We Use

Hi Everybody, Frank here.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to offer you my opinion on a product that I have used for over 30 years. 30 years has been a long time. What I'm about to share with you is not pretty, but it works. It stands the test of time, and it does a good job. What I'm going to talk about are Old Hickory knives.

Old Hickory has been around a long time, it has changed owners a few times, but they're still being made the same way with the same materials, in the United States of America. Here is a link to their manufacturer's site. Old Hickory is currently being manufactured by the Ontario Knife Company. You will notice that Ontario Knife Company makes many different types of knives and tools. The purpose of this article is to talk about Old Hickory kitchen knives.  As with most
products, it behooves you to look around as prices vary sharply from the manufacturers site. There are a number of retailers that carry these knives. When I purchase Old Hickory knives, I purchase them in a set of five. They come in a cute little box, and it is identified by No. 705.  I've included below a couple of sites, don't forget to figure in shipping. Of course, one of the sites is Amazon, and one of the sites I've included is KnifeCenter.com, which is where I get the vast majority of the knives that I buy.


 
Did I mention that Old Hickory is made in the USA? I'm not going to tell you that every knife I buy is made in the USA, but most are.




Okay, let's talk about the knives. The set of five I mentioned above comes with five individual knives, an 8" slicer; a 7" butcher; a 6" boning; a 4" parer; and a 3 1/4" parer. The two biggest knives, the slicer and the 
butcher, we seldom use, but we do use them on occasion. The other three we use daily. These knives are made of carbon steel and have hardwood handles. Now, I am not a knife expert by any means, and have other knives that we use also. We have a set of knives for butchering, but we've also used these knives for butchering chickens. The reason we use other knives for butchering, is that they have a finger guard. When your hands are wet, or bloody, we like to use a finger guard in butchering. It keeps your hand on the handle. But, don't get me wrong, we have used the Old Hickory knives many a time for butchering. My butchering knives have a blade of stainless steel, and they're all made by Buck Knife Company, and they do a good job. But the carbon steel blades seem to stay sharper longer. Maybe in another post I'll talk about sharpeners. I have struggled for years trying to find a good way to keep knives sharp, but we'll talk about that sometime later.

The two Old Hickory big knives some folk use for survival type knives. I've included a video to give you an idea. I've also included a picture showing the different thickness in blades that the man in the video makes reference to. The knife I'm using in comparison is my big outdoor knife, which I seldom use anymore, but I wanted to use it for comparison purposes. My big Buck knife, I've actually had it longer than Fern and I have been married. There are few things I can talk about that I have that is older than our marriage. But they both seem to work just fine. So much for survival knives.


A little story here. Fern and I met about 34 years ago at a major university in rural Oklahoma. A couple of years later we were married. We both worked part-time jobs, went to school full-time, and were very poor. For entertainment we would walk through the small downtown area and window shop. One night while doing this we noticed on the side of the road was what looked like a kitchen knife. We picked it up, brought it home and
cleaned it up. I don't have a clue how old the knife was when I got it, but it wasn't brand new. And I don't have a clue how it got to be on the side of the road, but it wasn't all gooey and sticky or anything like that. So, I don't believe it was involved in any sinister type activity. But, the knife came to our house and has lived here happily ever after. I've included the old Old Hickory knife next to one of it's newer cousins. You can see one is slightly more worn, and it has worked a lot in our house over 30+ years. This knife has processed sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, King salmon, Silver salmon, Red salmon, northern pike, caribou and moose. And it's probably cut more than a few plastic water lines in it's life. Sounds like a keeper, doesn't it?











A couple of years back we discovered the No. 705 Old Hickory five pack and have given a handful of these to folks as gifts, along with a number of Lodge cast iron skillets. What utterly surprises me the most is that most people don't care for cast iron or Old Hickory knives. They don't seem to fit their modern kitchen decor. They're just not pretty enough. This may sound a little tacky, and the reason it sounds that way is because it is tacky. Now don't get me wrong here, there are some high quality pretty knives, but the truth of the matter is most folks don't care how well a knife cuts or performs, all they care about is the looks. They don't care about good quality metal, they don't care about years of durability, what they want is pretty and cheap, and that's what they get, a cheap knife that won't cut, because they wouldn't know a good knife if somebody gave them one. It doesn't take a very good knife to slice a microwave burrito. But in my house, we use knives as a tool and like grandpas taught all of us, buy the best tools you can get. He didn't say the most expensive or the prettiest. Grandpa said the best. Fern just reminded me that there is too much comparison mentioned above. But that comparison between pretty and cheap vs. functional and effective applies to multiple other facets of life.

So this is my take on Old Hickory knives. If you want something that will start the race, finish the race and be prepared for the next race, then I would recommend these tools. Old Hickory, an American institution. Please share with me your comments, what your favorite knives are, and why you use them. As always, use knives safely. Don't use them when you're altered, and don't use sharp knives inappropriately. Safety first, always. I have used this brand of knife for over 30 years, Old Hickory.

We'll talk more later, Frank

14 comments:

  1. Hi Frank and Fern,
    I got the collection of knives recommended by America's Test Kitchen. They all are really well balanced for my hands. I especially love the Victorinox Meat Slicing Knife. I have never had a knife like that before and it makes a huge difference in slicing meat - it slices so clean and neat - I no longer have meat slices that look like I ripped them apart. I also use the Victorinox chef knife many times every day. It is so much easier on my hands and I feel I cut better with it than with the random knives I have had in the past.

    I hope you do a sharpening post - I struggle with that as well. Maintaining our tools is so important!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. O.C. These are both nice looking knives. I hope other readers will take the time to look at them also. If it feels good in your hand, and it works, then that's what I would stay with. We basically use three knives. That's it. Thank you for sharing. We'll do a knife sharpening post in the future.

      Frank

      Delete
  2. I am using knives that are 70 years old. They aren't pretty, but their blades do have a unique shape after sharpening all these years. Have a couple of Old Hickorys, too. Nowadays, most people don't cook from scratch so they don't have any use for sharp knives, plain or otherwise. Old Hickory knives are like old friends.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tewshooz, isn't it funny how people have their favorite old knife, screw driver, and just things like that? I have a Phillips screw driver, that I don't know how long I have had it, but it's still the one I use. Now I have a set of tools in the barn, a set of tools in the garage, a set of tools in the house, and a set of tools in the garden shed.

      You're right about the knives. Things that work seem to hang around a whole lot longer than things that don't. I'm glad other folks like Old Hickory also. Thank you for your comment.

      Frank

      Delete
  3. We are divided here over knives. I am with you though, I like Old Hickory and I have a set. The wife has a set of different knives she loves that I think are OK but overpriced.

    I can recommend this book:
    The Complete Guide to Sharpening – October 9, 1995
    by Leonard Lee

    My brother had a copy and after I saw it I had to get my own copy. Covers both the science and practice of sharpening just about everything.

    Terry
    Fla.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Terry, thank you for the reference for the book, I will certainly give it a look. As for the battle between you and the wife, you're on your own, Bud. Thanks for the comment.

      Frank

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the book recommendation! I will check it out.

      Delete
  4. My husband introduced me to Wusthof knives in the late 1990's. When we were married, we purchased a small set of these knives with gifted money and I absolutely love them. Those and my cast iron pans are two of the best investments I have made. They may not be the prettiest things, but they sure do get the job done efficiently.

    On a side note, I love to cook and when I am at someone's house, I always offer my services. Then I always regret it when they have terrible knives. But it does make me appreciate my investment in my good knives that much more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amanda, I have a wusthof paring knife and bread slicer. They are great. You are so right about using other people's knives. Kinda makes me want to get one of those cases chefs use to carry their knives and bring my own.

      Delete
    2. Amanda, it is neat to go to someone else's house, and when you come home, you appreciate the things that you have. Knives and cast iron, are like tools, a good investment. We bought a stainless steel set of cookware shortly after we were married, and we're still using it today over 30 years later. We tried an inexpensive Teflon set, and it didn't last two years. Our cast iron just keeps getting better and better, and it keeps getting heavier and heavier. I'm glad you like your knives. When we find something that works, we stay with it. Thank you for reading and thank you for the comment.

      Frank

      Delete
  5. Really great post as usual. Knives are miss understood I think or at least ignored as a must have tool. I think your's is the first knife post I have read. For Graduation from High School I received a Solingen jack knife with three blades [Long Blade, castrating Blade and hole punch] and it died just three years ago. It was 38 years old. A good pocket knife is extremely handy on a farm for so many things. Good knives make for so much easier work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fiona, thank you for your comment. I can't agree more, a good pocket knife is an extremely handy tool. Everything from cutting baling twine and when you don't have a pair of wire cutters handy, a knife works great. I would feel like I had left a piece of equipment at home, if I didn't have my knife in my pocket.

      Different topic. A number of years ago, a lot of kids carried pocket knives at school, for the same reason I mentioned above. Then in the rule books they started establishing a length of blade requirement. Now pocket knives, for the most part, are completely banned in schools. I wish I really knew what has changed. I guess someday they'll ban scissors, too, who knows? Take care.

      Frank

      Delete
    2. Frank,
      In reference to pocket knives, I have my "particulars". I've always preferred Buck knives. Back in the sixties, I worked at KMart, in the sporting goods department. We carried Buck and Case. In my opinion, the Buck fit my hand better and I always carried a three blade pocket knife since then. Well, I lost my knife last year. Without it I felt like I was nude. I had to get another one. Looking at the Buck knives, l noticed they were all made in China. Need I say more? I decided to have a look at Case on Amazon. I was looking for a medium size 3 blade, carbon steel that was made in the good old USA. I found one with my specs and ordered it. When I received, I notice the box, said made in China. I was hot..... I looked at the knife. Good weight, good steel, well made. Usually on the main blade, it will be stamped where it is made. This knife didn't have it on any blade. Sad to say, I wanted an USA knife but I have one that is from nowhere.

      Delete
    3. Hi, Alfred, interesting story. Chinese products have come a long way in the last number of years. I don't agree with our country's import/export policies, but they are what they are. I understand wanting to buy American, and I do every chance I can. That being said, China makes some quality products. Thank you for the story.

      Frank

      Delete