Squash: The not so silent killer of knives

[ChefKnivesToGo]

Every fall we start bracing for the "I chipped my knife, bent my knife, tipped my knife" emails and almost always the culprit is squash. It's amazing and happens like clockwork.

[dAviD]

Sweet potatoes will get you too this time of year.
Just had to fix a knife for someone because of those.

But making lemons into lemonade:
it's a good way to sell the knife repair/sharpening on the site.

Kick it up a notch and offer up some great squash recipes!

[MisoSatisfried]

Kick it up a notch and offer up some great squash recipes!

Cold!

[Kit Craft]

Everybody knows you open a squash with a 10 pound sledge...

[thegingerninja.abq]

Maybe you could post some example of cutting techniques on you Instagram and Facebook.

[btbyrd]

Thinking about a yo deba for splitting squash (and other heavy duties). The Tojiro 210 and 240 seem like obvious choices, though they seem to be more thick-ass gyutos than bona fide western debas.

I'd also been looking at the Kajiwara debas (the smaller ones) -- mostly for slaying chickens -- but have been concerned about how much wedging that thick blade would cause when cutting squash.

Anyone got favorite, durable "beater" knives for this kind of purpose?

[Bensbites]

Thinking about a yo deba for splitting squash (and other heavy duties). The Tojiro 210 and 240 seem like obvious choices, though they seem to be more thick-ass gyutos than bona fide western debas.

I'd also been looking at the Kajiwara debas (the smaller ones) -- mostly for slaying chickens -- but have been concerned about how much wedging that thick blade would cause when cutting squash.

Anyone got favorite, durable "beater" knives for this kind of purpose?

Would the CKTG line knife be a good candidate? I don’t own one.

[Kit Craft]

Thinking about a yo deba for splitting squash (and other heavy duties). The Tojiro 210 and 240 seem like obvious choices, though they seem to be more thick-ass gyutos than bona fide western debas.

I'd also been looking at the Kajiwara debas (the smaller ones) -- mostly for slaying chickens -- but have been concerned about how much wedging that thick blade would cause when cutting squash.

Anyone got favorite, durable "beater" knives for this kind of purpose?

I have never understood the concept of making a VG-10 western deba at 60+ hrc. I think if I were to get a dedicated Yo-deba it would be a Misono Swedish carbon. Said to be 60 hrc but that is very generous. The steel is forgiving and can take a beating yet still get sharp and retain an edge okay. Now, if I wanted a general beater without regards to blade shape/type I'd just use a Fujiwara FKH and I do. OOTB the are pretty robust if you do not change the geometry you can beat the living hell out of them and they don't blink.

If you wanted to go stainless, maybe an FKM WD. AUS8 at 58 should be more forgiving than VG-10 at 60+. However, I do not find it as forgiving as the SK-4 of the FKH nor the Swedish carbon of the Misono. AUS8 is a weird steel. I have blades at 56-57 that are fairly easy to chip and I am used to such soft steel rolling but AUS seems to be different or at least what I work with. Mind you, I use that particular knife (Rat) to shave led...

Anyway, I don't think you actually need a western deba to have a solid beater. I keep a an old hickory in my travel kit for chocolate and the like. I could easily split firewood with it. There are plenty of videos of such being done on youtube too.

Ben makes a good suggestion too! That knife looks "robust" and has a very nice price tag.

[btbyrd]

I think the softer stainless cladding of the VG10 is supposed to help with durability. In any event, I haven't heard any concerns about brittleness and chipping in the reviews, which is heartening.

I can't help but think that CCK must make something perfect for squash splitting. Rhino anyone?

And I'd love to use one of those absurdly huge Takeda cleavers sometime, just to see how she steers through big butternuts.

[Kit Craft]

I think the softer stainless cladding of the VG10 is supposed to help with durability. In any event, I haven't heard any concerns about brittleness and chipping in the reviews, which is heartening.

I can't help but think that CCK must make something perfect for squash splitting. Rhino anyone?

And I'd love to use one of those absurdly huge Takeda cleavers sometime, just to see how she steers through big butternuts.

It is the edge that I'd worry about, not the blade breaking or bending. I don't have the western deba but I have lots of Tojiro knives and while I find them well treated for VG-10 they are not bullet proof. I think it would just scare me a bit to use it like I do a soft Euro knife. Maybe that concern is unfounded.

[gladius]

It is the edge that I'd worry about, not the blade breaking or bending.

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Peeling the hard skin off squash first mitigates excessive edge wear.

[gladius]

Kick it up a notch and offer up some great squash recipes!

----
...or send them to Martha:
http://www.marthastewart.com/968024/how ... nut-squash

[Kit Craft]

It is the edge that I'd worry about, not the blade breaking or bending.

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Peeling the hard skin off squash first mitigates excessive edge wear.

I'd imagine so. If talking about a hard use knife in general I still would be leery. Again, that might be my imagination.

[Lepus]

I use an FKM gyuto. It's never really had an issue.

[Kit Craft]

I use an FKM gyuto. It's never really had an issue.

I use an FKH or a Suisin WI. The Suisin is very similar to the FKM and it shows no issues with squash either. I don't chop nuts or chocolate with it, though. Maybe it can handle it but I don't wanna try.

[Lepus]

The FKM can handle nuts and chocolate fine, too, and herbs besides. I'd be worried about using the Suisin Inox for those tasks; I always felt like the heel on that knife was a little thinner than the FKM.

[Kit Craft]

The FKM can handle nuts and chocolate fine, too, and herbs besides. I'd be worried about using the Suisin Inox for those tasks; I always felt like the heel on that knife was a little thinner than the FKM.

The western? Shit, my mother in-law can't kill hers and she is not easy on it!

But that leaves me with a question. What in the hell does one use a thick as western deba for if a simple FKM gyuto can handle all of the brutal tasks? Decapitating megalodon?

[MisoSatisfried]

A stock Sab Addict plows through all squash as well. I even peel them like a potato with it, ha.

[STPepper9]

Maybe you could post some example of cutting techniques on you Instagram and Facebook.

I have a video on my phone from last thanksgiving of my mother using a rubber mallet on a santoku to split an acorn squash.. Turns out it's a tip from Alton Brown on good eats.

[Lepus]

I don't have any use for a Western deba. A Sabatier, Fibrox, or FKM does everything I could want for sturdier produce and I don't break down anything with bones using a chef knife; for me that's mostly shears and a boning knife.