Butcher's Knives are sharp

[Manticore]

The good news is, my new knife that I bought this weekend is very sharp.
The bad news is, my new knife that I bought this weekend is very sharp.

I bought a new non-serrated knife specifically for cutting meet because I wasn't comfortable using my old serrated knife for that. I finally decided to get around to washing it, which meant that I had to get it out of its package to wash--one of those fun little molded ones with the melted-together edges that are pains in the ass even with scissors? Well, the rips and tears started going in the direction of the edge, and I followed their natural tendencies without even thinking about it. I didn't realize my mistake until I finally got the knife free and my hand jerked because of the sudden release of tension.

So yeah, I have bandaids on my index finger and my middle finger. the one on my index finger was a fairly clean cut, but the middle finger was much larger, and I'm keeping my eye on it. That said, it stopped bleeding fairly quickly once I got proper pressure on it, and it hurts less than my index finger, so I'm not too concerned. But I still need to wash my dishes, and I'm not sure how to do that now!

I'm sure that most of you don't know me, but I felt like complaining anyway.

 

[Kestra]

But I still need to wash my dishes, and I'm not sure how to do that now!

You have other fingers left! Get to it!

Also I'm sorry that you hurt yourself. I was just sharpening knifes (probably completely incorrectly) yesterday. Luckily no one was hurt in the process.

 

[Manticore]

But I still need to wash my dishes, and I'm not sure how to do that now!

You have other fingers left! Get to it!

Also I'm sorry that you hurt yourself. I was just sharpening knifes (probably completely incorrectly) yesterday. Luckily no one was hurt in the process.

The trick is doing it without ruining the bandaids and their benefits.

Well, in my case, I was just being a moron. >.< Ah well, it happens, and hopefully the skin didn't actually get cut through. I'd think that if it had, it would have bled more. That's mostly what I'm watching out for, since it is very deep.

 

[Rocketman]

Maybe you should've bought butcher's gloves along with your butcher's knife

 

[backstept]

you have a pair of the ubiquitous yellow rubber-house-cleaning gloves right? that should keep your hand from getting wet while you wash . . .

I can totally sympathize with the finger cutting . . . back in 2005 I was testing to see how sharp my cheap ninja sword was and I was using a piece of card stock held in my left hand and was cutting the corners off . . . well on the third corner I missed and took a great big chunk out of my left index finger . . . now I must warn you that if you click on great big chunk you will see the actual injury

 

[tharpdevenport]

Note to self: Knives are sharp

 

[Mistral]

Note to self: Knives are sharp

Must add to personal database. As well as journal I am keeping for my son.

 

[Timby]

Note to self: Knives are sharp

Well, good ones are. My parents sent me a Chicago Cutlery set of knives for Christmas last year, because I had made an offhand comment to them a few months prior that my chef's knife and my paring knife were really starting to get long in the tooth.

I appreciated the thought, but I cringed when I saw it, because buying a knife set is a complete waste of money (particularly for overpriced stuff like Chicago Cutlery). This sucker came with paring knives of three different sizes, a "utility knife" (), four steak knives, a 7-inch santoku and a terrible bread knife (I think that bastard is only eight inches). While the steak knives were great, the rest of it ... guh.

All you need in a kitchen are an 8- to 10-inch chef's knife (preferably Shun, Wüsthof, Henckels -- I finally got my hands on a Wüsthof recently), a paring knife, and a decent bread knife (I have a 12-incher that I adore, bigger is better in this case). Knife sets are just a terrible waste of money.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

Note to self: Knives are sharp

Who knew?

 

[tharpdevenport]

Note to self: Knives are sharp

Who knew?

Well, I'm pretty sure The Shadow knows...



I cut myself once, but I earned it 'cause it was stupid on my part. I had a small object in the palm of my hand since it was easier to hold, and I was running a paring knife over it to slice it open. Needless to say, it slipped and cut me open. Bled like crazy, then I got it to stop. I could see inside my hand.

 

[Captain Ice]

Maybe you should've bought butcher's gloves along with your butcher's knife

I honestly think that all really good knives should come with a cut resistant glove. You can get a good one over the counter at any decent restaurant supply store for less than $25.

All you need in a kitchen are an 8- to 10-inch chef's knife (preferably Shun, Wüsthof, Henckels -- I finally got my hands on a Wüsthof recently), a paring knife, and a decent bread knife (I have a 12-incher that I adore, bigger is better in this case). Knife sets are just a terrible waste of money.

Not sure what the brand is, but we've got a really nice porcelain chef's knive and pairing knife here. Best thing is that neither requires sharpening.

That being said, I would love to have some professional grade Forschner's or better quality Henkels. That's the rub though. A set of either in the quality I would want will run $500 or more.

 

[Timby]

A set of either in the quality I would want will run $500 or more.

YOU DON'T NEED A SET.

A decent Henckels or a Wusthof chef's knife will run you in the neighborhood of $100. All you need beyond that are a paring knife and a bread knife. The combined total of those, from any reasonable manufacturer, won't run above $75.

 

[Captain Ice]

A set of either in the quality I would want will run $500 or more.

YOU DON'T NEED A SET.

A decent Henckels or a Wusthof chef's knife will run you in the neighborhood of $100. All you need beyond that are a paring knife and a bread knife. The combined total of those, from any reasonable manufacturer, won't run above $75.

I never said that I needed one. I said I WANT one. Eventually.

That being said, I'll be buying it in piecemeal fashion. I agree with you that it's better to buy these that way. Will start with Chef's, paring, and steak knives first. Others will come later.

 

[Timby]

Don't buy knife sets. Buy individual knives that fit your hand and your preferred method of use. I have a Wusthof chef's knife, a Henckels bread knife and a shitty off-brand paring knife that I keep sharpened to a razor's edge. You are wasting your money if you buy knife sets. They're far less-quality than the individual knives you can buy, and you're throwing your money away on a set of knives that's priced due to its collective brand price point.

EDIT: Not meant towards you, Ice, but more a general sentiment. If you're on a budget and if you have less than 50 dollars to spend on knives that don't suck, then Forschner by Victorinox is by far your best friend.

 

[RobertVA]

Better sharp than dull. It takes more force to cut with a dull knife. With the added force there's more chance of loosing control of the knife when you've finally forced it through what you were intending to cut, increasing the chance of cutting something you weren't planning to cut (like a finger).

 

[propita]

Hubby was washing dishes one day and sliced the side of his thumb, feeling the blade hit the bone. After washing blood down the drain, he finally called me and I took him to the doctor. They gave him a shot to numb it, and the doctor and I caught Hubby as he proceeded to fall off the examining table/bench/what-is-that-thing-called? Hubby is 6' 1", so catching him was a good trick.

When Hubby didn't respond, I worried; but it turned out the ammonia/smelling salts thing wasn't working (evidenced by the doctor nearly inhaling it to check it). But he came around quickly. Hubby doesn't lose blood well--he passed out the one time he donated blood. I'm told the bigger they are, the harder time some have donating blood.

Anyway, I don't like him washing knives and always tell him when I'm moving around him in the kitchen with a knife. Okay, so I continue to tease him a bit about it. He laughs.

 

[RAMA]

Marshmallows are soft.

 

[J.T.B.]

I agree about not buying a set, but I have to have a boning knife as well as the chef's, serrated and paring knives.

As for the godawful plastic packaging, I got a pair of "as seen on tv" package-opening shears at the hardware store one day and they do the job very well.

I cut two fingers on glass back in '05, tendons and nerves and all, so I feel for you, Manticore!

--Justin

 

[Manticore]

I agree about not buying a set, but I have to have a boning knife as well as the chef's, serrated and paring knives.

As for the godawful plastic packaging, I got a pair of "as seen on tv" package-opening shears at the hardware store one day and they do the job very well.

I cut two fingers on glass back in '05, tendons and nerves and all, so I feel for you, Manticore!

--Justin

Ouch. Mine's just a nasty, deep gash.

it also looked like it was started to heal already, which amazed me.

 

[Hoser]

I snapped a swiss army knife around my finger while whittling when I was 18. Of course, the worse cut was when I stuck an axe in my foot at age 13.

Cooking accidents, not so much. There was this pickle slicer at the Harvey's I worked at, the pickle was pushed through several parallel blades. I manage to slip and put my thumb into four of them....

And yes, for me all I need is a good chef's knife.