Are American made kitchen knives a thing of the past?

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Fat_46

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Sharpened a few Old Hickory knives this morning on my WEPS, which got me thinking, then Googling.

Are there any American made kitchen knives still in production? Old Hickory still makes them, but from what I've read the newer ones are thinner than the old, and I really don't care for the handles.

I'd like to find a nice set of carbon steel kitchen knives at a reasonable price. I just can't stomach the thought of buying some of the kitchen knives I've seen, where many of them cost more than a really good custom hunter-style knife.

Your input is appreciated.
 
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Thanks ctdair. I'd found them already, but they use S35VN. I don't have any blades in that stainless variety(I have very few stainless at all), but believe, based on a few posts on BF that it is very prone to rolling the edge under use. Probably not a good match for a kitchen knife.
 
hso, my friend, you are a/an non-HighRoad collection of words!

Very nice. i did look at Fowler's work today, as a matter of fact. However, with a 10 year old daughter wanting a new bolt rifle for deer hunting, and both the daughter and wife accompanying me on my annual SoDak prairie dog trip this summer(meaning I'll need to load an extra 1200 rounds), plus my setback fun money for "impulse steel" I can't come up with the scratch needed for a set of Fowler's.

I'm really uncertain at this point if you're my protagonist or antagonist!
 
xjsnake - Cutco is 440 stainless. I can pick that crud up at any Wally-World. I'm spoiled, and like my D2 and similar carbon stainable blades!
 
Old Hickory and Chicago are still cranking out knives.

American kitchen cutlery never was the chief's tool of choice. It used to be Sabatier, Henckel and Wusthof (all European), now you can add Global, Kershaw/Shun, Misono of Japan and, surprise, the American company MAC.

Or you could do what I did this Thanksgiving and use a BKT #5.
 
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Myself, I have one old Sabatier that was hardly used before I got my hands on it, a couple of newish Henckels, a couple of customs, and a bunch of Tramontina we got for our wedding that, with some work, turned out to be decent knives. And one Dexter-Russel paring knife that gets used more than most of them put together.
 
Ebay Old Hickorys

You can still find relatively inexpensive Old Hickorys on ebay, this one cost me $7.
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Last Thanksgiving I sharpened about ten incredibly dull and crappy kitchen knives at my girlfriends sisters house.. at least there was a usable stone. Quite a few were pretty bent up but hey, they came out pretty sharp.
I ordered her a made in (not "finished" in) Switzerland Victorinox (gotta do research these days it seems to see where things are made) 8" Chef's knife with blade protector.. she doesn't have a block or bar magnet

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-88520-8-Inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B0009NZ6G6/ref=sr_1_45?ie=UTF8&qid=1353942314&sr=8-45&keywords=Victorinox+kitchen+knives

and a Fiskars ceramic wheeled pull through sharpener.

I would have got her a top of the line Henckel or Wusthof but the turkey wasn't really that good and she and her husband don't know how to take care of a good blade.
 
The "Chef's Choice" brand knives are made in the U.S.A. and are of excellent quality and very well researched.
They ain't cheap however.
 
I live in pretty much the knife capital region of the U.S. (Ontario, Cutco/Ka-bar, and Case all in a 25-mile drive of my house). We still make 'em here.

Old Hickory's are a tad thinner than the old ones, but are carbon steel and $36 for a full set on Amazon :). The small knives are part-tang, but the bigger ones are full. If you don't like the handles, drill out the rivets and make some new ones, heh.

Cutco are stainless, but very nice. Many of my friends/coworkers started life either making them or selling them. Case doesn't make kitchen stuff, though.

My favorite kitchen knife is >gasp< a Sabatier 10" chef's knife. It's French, been in my family for about 30 years, and is still available for $150. Next favorite are my Old Hickorys. My deer knife is a Case 316 I found in the woods when I was 4 or 5.
 
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