Swore by my cheap steel for 8 years until a old timer let me try his carbon knife on a whole hog last Tuesday

The way that thing glided through the shoulder without any sawing made me realize I'd been fighting my tools every shift, has anyone else switched off stainless after one try like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

jasonp711mo ago

And ngl I felt like a total clown standing there with my cheap stainless trying to do the same thing and just making a mess of the whole situation. Honestly though the first time I used a carbon knife I sliced my finger open because I was so used to pushing through meat instead of letting the blade do its job. Now I keep a towel on my hip like a weirdo but at least I'm not fighting my tools anymore.

iris3941mo ago

Bro you said "glided through the shoulder without any sawing" and honestly that's the exact feeling that got me too. But I gotta say, stainless isn't always a fight - it's just that cheap stainless is awful. Like some of the good Japanese stainless stuff in higher HRC ranges cuts way closer to carbon than people give it credit for. Not saying carbon isn't special though, once you feel that difference in how it bites into meat it's hard to go back. My main thing is just remembering to wipe it down between cuts so it doesn't get that weird smell or start spotting on me.

rayc381mo ago

Right? That weird smell is the worst, it's like a little reminder you gotta be on top of it. I totally get what you're saying about good stainless though, my buddy has a Takamura and that thing cuts like a dream, zero drag. But man, there's just something about how a carbon blade grabs onto the meat, like it knows what it's supposed to do. The wiping thing becomes second nature after a while, I just keep a damp towel right next to my board now.