My $7.00 short sword

[hillbilly]

Today, I hit an estate sale.

I got $11.00 worth of knives.....five total knives.

First. I got a batch of four knives for $4.00

Three are very old Solignen butcher knives of various profiles. All old German steel, and arm-hair shaving sharp even when I got them.

After a few minutes with my Spyderco sharpmaker, they are even more sharp. I've got a nick on my forearm where one shaved a bit closer than I anticipated, even.

Another was a cheesy "Made in Japan" bread knife.......It came with the Solingen butcher knives.

The other one? The one I got for $7.00??

The other one is another butcher knife, only it's got a 14 inch blade and is 19 inches long overall.

When I picked it up in its sheath improvised out of brown paper bag and duct tape, I thought it was a machete.

It was the right size, only it's not a machete.

I touched it up a bit on the Spyderco Sharpmaker, and then took it out to play.

In short order, I sliced a soda can full of water in half with one swipe. Then, I tried a 20 oz water bottle.....slice.

And finally, I tried a two-liter full of water.......Slice.

It's not quite as effective a cutter as my bowie knife. The blade on the old butcher kinfe just doesn't have the cross-sectional thickness as the blade on my bowie.

When I hit a two-liter perfectly with my bowie, the sucker splits in half without me even feeling the impact.

I definitely feel the impact with the old butcher knife, but it cuts the bottle in half, just the same.

I figure any day I can pick up what's basically a short sword for $7.00 is a good day.

Yeehaw, indeed.


hillbilly

 

[Valkman]

Sweet! I'm gonna have to find estate sales - can't get up early enough for garage sales.

 

[Soap]

I like it! Very "orcish".

 

[Balog]

You've gotta wonder what purpose that would have in a butcher's shop? Any heavy duty chopping would be handled w/ a cleaver, and that seems too large to easily control whilst slicing. Hmmm

 

[GunnySkox]

Totally your next halloween costume with that knife.


That's it, Pyramid-head! Drop a train on 'em!

~Slam_Fire

 

[Brian Williams]

Tis Not a Butchers knife but a large French knife, mostly used for cutting veggies. Butchers tend to used cleavers or long thinner blades to get in next to things like ribs or thigh bones

 

[Balog]

Well, that would still beg the question of what type of veggies one would need a 14in blade to cut. Anyone remember "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes?"

 

[Sunray]

"...basically a short sword for $7.00 is a good day..." $7.00 yes, but that's a French knife, not a short sword. It's for chopping veggies, smashing garlic, etc. And it depends on where it was made. A 14" Victorinox is worth nearly $100. A cheap 14" French knife is still worth $50ish US. That one looks like it has a carbon steel blade that has been abused.
"...what type of veggies one would need a 14in blade to cut..." Ever try to cut up a rutabaga or a turnip or a cabbage? No offense, but professional chefs use better knives than you could ever think about. My regular, 30 plus year old, Victorinox, French knife has a 10" inch blade. Had it professionally sharpened, twice, in 30 some years. Holds an edge, so it does.
The same brand boning knife I have has a serial number. Thought it was kind of daft myself, but you're not dealing with junk and good knives are indispensible tools for a working chef. Knives to a chef are tools the same as a good hammer to a carpenter or a multimeter to an electronics tech. An experienced chef can slice your 'Killer Tomatoes' in about 5 seconds.

 

[zahc]

lol at pyramid head