??
Yeah, but, that’s always when the aliens kidnap us.
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I just don’t understand why they only come to us when we are asleep… and then draw some giant crop circles in the farm field. Are they making fun of our corn/wheat fields?
Kind of like… you know some people do this to other people car’s window?
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Yeah. I used a Chinese thick cleaver to cut through the thin chicken bones. It is this knife on the lower right.
That being said I have also used the honesuki knife – the knife on the lower left. I think I did a review on the honesuki back on Chowhound, but I am not sure. Either way, both knives are not thin. I did later try to go with the scissors route. I even used the Tojiro Pro Shears, which a few people claim they can be used as chicken shears
https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-Pro-Separetable-Kitchen-Shears-FK-843/dp/B003NKNF0G/
However, I find it easier to cut through the bones using a thick blade knife instead.
At one point, my Toijiro shears also got dented from the chicken bones. That is when I stopped using the scissors.
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Those are amazing scissors.
I wonder why they do not work well for me to cut the chicken bones. Maybe I need to try them again.
IME you get better purchase on a bone with a longer pair with some curvature. I don’t use my scissors for bones, but for pretty much anything else I love them.
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I see. Thanks. May I ask what do you use them for? I need to explore more usages.
OK, CCE: They’re hypotheticals.
I do move my fingers up and down the handle for leverage vs. control. The “chop through bones” is the extreme example for the Chef Knife–calls to mind the front heavy cleaver.
In practice, even the challenge doesn’t come up in my kitchen. I hardly ever cut up a whole chicken. At most, I might sever a joint.
Opening plastic bubbles around things, cutting string, cutting wax paper or parchment to specific sizes and shapes, snipping leaves off bunches of herbs, cutting things that are already in liquid like potatoes, canned tomatoes, or pieces of sausage, splitting the undersides of lobsters…
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Vecchiouomo,
Softer steel knives may well lose the whole bevel structure trying to chop at a bone, but it all can be restored and brought back as before. That’s why I switch to my Wusthof when there is risk.
Major chipping on a hard steel knife will be much more difficult to repair–and full restoration may be impossible.
I see you take out the back of the chicken - a pair of poultry scissors is perfect for that. This is the main reason why I have a pair of poultry scissors. I don’t use these for much else than breaking down a chicken to be honest (and using a knife for cutting through tougher chicken bones).
That is because I already have a pair of Zwilling scissors, see
These Zwillings are perfect for all the little tasks in a kitchen.
As for chopping through bones, I should also add that I do it when I want to cut up a chicken or duck Chinese style, so into little bite sized pieces, of course using my CCK bbq chopper.
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Culinary artistry in full force. These guys have my utmost respect. Bbq meat Cantonese style - some of the best foods available on this planet! And wow look at that CCK… 
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Hi CCE,
The whole point of this thread is that with softer steels, one can throw caution to the wind. Knives like my Wusthof Classic Ikon have been designed to be used over a wide range of kitchen tasks, but even if one goes outside that range and subjects the knives to abuse, they can be restored and resharpened.
It’s worth it to keep them around.
The hard steel knives stay sharper longer but they can chip when abused–and sometimes can’t be restored.
I almost exclusively use and enjoy hard steel cladded knives in my kitchen–but I’m careful–and I worry . . . .
Kitchen scissors are how I cut pizza, or cut up tomatoes that are already in the pot. Mine are take-apart, of course. Some aren’t.
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I probably use kitchen shears every day for something but rarely on food. The main use on food I can think of is to clip off the tip of chicken wings. But still, those shears are irreplaceable.
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I think it is a bit blasé to say that with softer steels you may throw caution to the wind. Using any knife, regardless of the steel, to do things it was not intended to do is just not a great idea. Whacking a bone that does not yield can screw up an edge pretty badly, probably worse than most of us can easily repair. Repairing a seriously damaged edge is not a quick and easy task.
Also, as you have repeatedly said, you prefer your harder steels, use them for fun, and worry. Worrying, at least to me, is not fun. As long as you are using knives as they were intended, worrying about them should never creep into the picture.
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Also for trimming the ends of the leaves on artichokes! My great grandfather contended they were not food. They are my favorite vegetable.
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There is a simplified version of this cleaver work at El Pollo Loco where they feature barbequed chicken halves, taken off, and chop chopped into pieces–packed up with sides for takeout
but
A lot less exciting than Hong Kong.
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Hi Vecchiouomo,
Worrying is what keeps soft steel knives in my kitchen.
I haven’t chipped or even scratched any of my hard steel knives using best practices
and I haven’t had to watch an expert sharpener find that wire in resharpening my Wusthof.
Some of my worry goes away just knowing I have a grabbable Wusthof Classic Ikon fifteen seconds away–sharp, and ready for action.
Hi Meekah,
I have a Wusthof that comes apart that I use on various tasks, but rarely on food.
