Most gun guys also like knives. If you're a gun guy who cooks (I'm the chief cook and bottle washer in our house), you probably like working with good knives that take and hold an edge. I've tried more than my fair share of knives that I picked up at estate and garage sales over the years and currently have a personal preference for Wusthof Classics, but I do use a few other specialty knives for certain tasks.
My daily users:
These are some of the knives I've tried, or were just too good of a deal to pass up. They currently reside in the basement and include Case, Cattaraugus, Chicago Cutlery, Cutco, Ekco, Flint, Forgecraft, Forschner, Gerber, Henckels, Hoffritz and some more Wusthof's.
As I said, I like my kitchen knives!
To help put the size into perspective, keep in mind that each of these two Boos Blocks cutting boards are 12" x 18".
Chef Knives
Top to bottom: Hoffritz 6" (probably made by Wusthof), Wusthof 8" and 10", antique Sabatier "La Trompette" 12" and a massive Henckels Twinworks 14". The knife to the left is a 6" Masahiro "Deba" made in Seki City Japan out of MBS-26 stainless. They're all razor sharp but the 8" Wusthof sees the most use because it's a handy size with good balance and requires very little care.
The 12" Sabatier is the oldest. The carbon steel forged blade marking loosely translates to, "The Trumpet, Medal (winner) of the Expo of 1878, M. Pouzet France". It features an ebony handle with three large brass rivets and a tapered full length tang. It's very well balanced for a big knife, but I don't use it much because it doesn't fit in my block and the carbon steel need to be carefully maintained or it will rust.
The 14" Henckels Twinworks is another carbon steel knife and is the largest chef knife I've ever seen! The handle is probably rosewood and is attached with three nickel silver rivets. This monster also has a tapered tang and it makes short work of a large squash or head of cabbage, but it's just too big to use regularly. It is good for showing off!
This is what a tapered tang looks like. It's done to improve the balance by reducing weight in the handle.
Don't tick off the cook when they're holding one of these!
Slicers
Left to right: F. Dick (German) 12" fluted roast slicer, 11" Wusthof salmon slicer (very thin flexible blade, great for skinning fillets), 10-1/2" Wusthof Avantgarde "Super Slicer" and some Wusthof Classic slicers ranging from 9" down to 5". The one on the bottom is a Wusthof bread knife, but I prefer their "Super Slicer" for fresh breads (fewer crumbs).
One knife that I only use about about once a year (but wouldn't part with) is a 12" Robeson slicer that I got from my father. It was probably a gift from a vendor at work. This knife is very sharp and will take a deer's front shoulder clean off in no time at all! I show my wife the box label every time I break it out and tell her, "Now DON'T touch this"!
Scimitars
Top to bottom: Unmarked, Russell and a Harrington Cutlery "Dexter". They all have 10" carbon steel blades and are great for butchering large pieces of meat or sectioning ribs.
Paring/Utility
When my wife cooks, these are about the only ones she reaches for. The tiny one at the top is a Case, the weird one in the middle is a Gerber "decorating" knife and the others are Wuthof's. They're boring little knives, but they come in handy and serve a purpose.
Boning
Top to bottom: 6-1/2" Global heavy, 6" carbon steel Chicago Cutlery 72-2 and a 4" Wusthof. These are great for removing skin and bone.
Most Chicago Cutlery that you'll find have stainless steel blades (signified by an "S" after the model number). They're decent knives for the money and are easily found. I've only found a couple of their carbon steel knives and they really take an edge. A couple swipes on a good steel and you can shave arm hairs! If you ever come across one, grab it.
Cleavers
Top to bottom: Unidentified Chinese Caidao (vegetable cleaver), Village Blacksmith, Chicago Cutlery PC-1 and a Case P 2032. The one on the right is an antique made by Wm. Beatty & Son in Chester, PA.
"Three Rams" Caidao and a Cattaraugus.
All the cleavers are carbon steel, with the exception of the Case and the Cattaraugus. I've tried to warm up to cleavers, but about the only one I ever use is the Chicago Cutlery. It's good for sectioning chickens and hacking through frozen foods. The vegetable cleavers and OK for chopping and scooping up veggies, but I almost always reach for a chef knife instead.
The Village Blacksmith is a really heavy cleaver and is scary sharp. Note how thick the tang is (that's a quarter I'm holding up to it):
The Beatty & Son is probably the oldest and is not very ergonomic, but it's heavy and could star in a horror movie!
This is the marking on the unidentified Caidao. If anyone can translate it, please fill me in.
Shears
Top to bottom: Wiss Tailor shears, Anton Wingen Jr. poultry shears and Cutco #77 "Super Shears".
The Wiss tailor shears are huge and will cut through just about anything. The guy I got them from used them to cut pizza. I've cut everything from leather to gun case foam.
I'm generally not that impressed with Cutco and think think their products are way overpriced, but their shears are about the nicest I've ever seen. Their warranty is excellent, so don't hesitate to pick up a used or abused piece if you can get it cheap enough.
Misc.
Case "Noble Duo"
Gerber
Warther Knives, Dover Ohio.
These are actually quite good and really hold an edge. The engine turning on the blades is a dead give-away. The company has been around for over 100 years, but few people know about them.
Sharpening tools
I've used various stones, but diamond hones are tough to beat for putting an edge on a dull knife. Once they're sharp, I use a steel or ceramic rod to maintain them. The small "Eze Lap" on the right is great for touching up a serrated blade.
There you have it... Probably more than you ever wanted to know about household knives and cutting tools.
I'll end this thread with a knife that I'll probably never cut anything with, a Randall #10-5 "Salt Fisherman and Household Utility". This is number 6 of 40 made for the Gold Coast Knife Collectors Club in Y2K and has a Lignum Vitae handle. I just can't bring myself to actually use a Randall.
My daily users:
These are some of the knives I've tried, or were just too good of a deal to pass up. They currently reside in the basement and include Case, Cattaraugus, Chicago Cutlery, Cutco, Ekco, Flint, Forgecraft, Forschner, Gerber, Henckels, Hoffritz and some more Wusthof's.
As I said, I like my kitchen knives!
To help put the size into perspective, keep in mind that each of these two Boos Blocks cutting boards are 12" x 18".
Chef Knives
Top to bottom: Hoffritz 6" (probably made by Wusthof), Wusthof 8" and 10", antique Sabatier "La Trompette" 12" and a massive Henckels Twinworks 14". The knife to the left is a 6" Masahiro "Deba" made in Seki City Japan out of MBS-26 stainless. They're all razor sharp but the 8" Wusthof sees the most use because it's a handy size with good balance and requires very little care.
The 12" Sabatier is the oldest. The carbon steel forged blade marking loosely translates to, "The Trumpet, Medal (winner) of the Expo of 1878, M. Pouzet France". It features an ebony handle with three large brass rivets and a tapered full length tang. It's very well balanced for a big knife, but I don't use it much because it doesn't fit in my block and the carbon steel need to be carefully maintained or it will rust.
The 14" Henckels Twinworks is another carbon steel knife and is the largest chef knife I've ever seen! The handle is probably rosewood and is attached with three nickel silver rivets. This monster also has a tapered tang and it makes short work of a large squash or head of cabbage, but it's just too big to use regularly. It is good for showing off!
This is what a tapered tang looks like. It's done to improve the balance by reducing weight in the handle.
Don't tick off the cook when they're holding one of these!
Slicers
Left to right: F. Dick (German) 12" fluted roast slicer, 11" Wusthof salmon slicer (very thin flexible blade, great for skinning fillets), 10-1/2" Wusthof Avantgarde "Super Slicer" and some Wusthof Classic slicers ranging from 9" down to 5". The one on the bottom is a Wusthof bread knife, but I prefer their "Super Slicer" for fresh breads (fewer crumbs).
One knife that I only use about about once a year (but wouldn't part with) is a 12" Robeson slicer that I got from my father. It was probably a gift from a vendor at work. This knife is very sharp and will take a deer's front shoulder clean off in no time at all! I show my wife the box label every time I break it out and tell her, "Now DON'T touch this"!
Scimitars
Top to bottom: Unmarked, Russell and a Harrington Cutlery "Dexter". They all have 10" carbon steel blades and are great for butchering large pieces of meat or sectioning ribs.
Paring/Utility
When my wife cooks, these are about the only ones she reaches for. The tiny one at the top is a Case, the weird one in the middle is a Gerber "decorating" knife and the others are Wuthof's. They're boring little knives, but they come in handy and serve a purpose.
Boning
Top to bottom: 6-1/2" Global heavy, 6" carbon steel Chicago Cutlery 72-2 and a 4" Wusthof. These are great for removing skin and bone.
Most Chicago Cutlery that you'll find have stainless steel blades (signified by an "S" after the model number). They're decent knives for the money and are easily found. I've only found a couple of their carbon steel knives and they really take an edge. A couple swipes on a good steel and you can shave arm hairs! If you ever come across one, grab it.
Cleavers
Top to bottom: Unidentified Chinese Caidao (vegetable cleaver), Village Blacksmith, Chicago Cutlery PC-1 and a Case P 2032. The one on the right is an antique made by Wm. Beatty & Son in Chester, PA.
"Three Rams" Caidao and a Cattaraugus.
All the cleavers are carbon steel, with the exception of the Case and the Cattaraugus. I've tried to warm up to cleavers, but about the only one I ever use is the Chicago Cutlery. It's good for sectioning chickens and hacking through frozen foods. The vegetable cleavers and OK for chopping and scooping up veggies, but I almost always reach for a chef knife instead.
The Village Blacksmith is a really heavy cleaver and is scary sharp. Note how thick the tang is (that's a quarter I'm holding up to it):
The Beatty & Son is probably the oldest and is not very ergonomic, but it's heavy and could star in a horror movie!
This is the marking on the unidentified Caidao. If anyone can translate it, please fill me in.
Shears
Top to bottom: Wiss Tailor shears, Anton Wingen Jr. poultry shears and Cutco #77 "Super Shears".
The Wiss tailor shears are huge and will cut through just about anything. The guy I got them from used them to cut pizza. I've cut everything from leather to gun case foam.
I'm generally not that impressed with Cutco and think think their products are way overpriced, but their shears are about the nicest I've ever seen. Their warranty is excellent, so don't hesitate to pick up a used or abused piece if you can get it cheap enough.
Misc.
Case "Noble Duo"
Gerber
Warther Knives, Dover Ohio.
These are actually quite good and really hold an edge. The engine turning on the blades is a dead give-away. The company has been around for over 100 years, but few people know about them.
Sharpening tools
I've used various stones, but diamond hones are tough to beat for putting an edge on a dull knife. Once they're sharp, I use a steel or ceramic rod to maintain them. The small "Eze Lap" on the right is great for touching up a serrated blade.
There you have it... Probably more than you ever wanted to know about household knives and cutting tools.
I'll end this thread with a knife that I'll probably never cut anything with, a Randall #10-5 "Salt Fisherman and Household Utility". This is number 6 of 40 made for the Gold Coast Knife Collectors Club in Y2K and has a Lignum Vitae handle. I just can't bring myself to actually use a Randall.
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