All About Pocket Knives

I picked up an Old Hickory 7 inch butcher knife at an antique mall a while back and was struck by the quality and appearance of the knife. It looked to be fairly old, with a lot of patina and just the faintest impression of the words "Old Hickory" left in the handle. Some internet research turned up current production that looked very similar, along with some advertising verbiage as follows:

"Ontario Knife has been manufacturing "Old Hickory" kitchen knives for over 100 years - in fact since 1889. The "Old Hickory" knives have stood the test of time and proved themselves as the best carbon steel kitchen knife sold today. Each "Old Hickory" knife is made with 1095 carbon steel, fully heat treated and tempered to provide a razor sharp cutting edge which is easily sharpened when needed. The knives are fitted with an attractive hardwood handle branded "Old Hickory" and secured with brass compression rivets."

I decided to order one of the new ones and see just how close it is to my old one. Of course I know the old one is not 100 years old, but it could well be 50. My new one came in today and as far as I can tell, it is identical in design and construction to the old one. I like seeing a company do something like this - design something right to start with, then make it for decades on end, so all the tooling costs are amortized and they can make a quality item and sell it at a profit for ten bucks.

Amazing!

I saw this thread, opened my storage cabinet and got out EXACTLY this knife.

What a LOVELY blade shape!

Thanks for showing these!

Trail,
We have one just like yours and also a smaller boning knife as well. They are both used almost daily and have been for 25+years. Still going strong too.

Phil

Hey Phil, what did you think about the edge on the new one? I bought a couple and they were duller than dirt

Construction and quality were good and they had that 'ol fashion' feel to them, but one thing I really hate is a brand new knife that has to be sharpened.

TM,
Trail is the guy with the new knife.
I think they leave the new knives less than shaving sharp for a reason. Many household cooks prefer a blade that is not terribly sharp. I know that sounds crazy to us knife nuts but I am confident that is the truth. Some folks are just afraid of a really sharp knife.
Now I was in the Boy Scouts growing up and they taught me that a dull knife is a lot more dangerous than a sharp knife, but I don't think a lot of cooks, especially lady cooks, ever learned that or believed it. Thus the demand for a not too sharp knife. Go figure.
Phil

philco wrote:TM,
Trail is the guy with the new knife.

Whoops.. got to the end of the thread and forgot who started it - Trail, I guess my question would be directed at you

You know after looking at this topic I went to my kitchen knife drawer because I knew I had one of those that my mom and dad gave me (used for many years) when I left home 23 yrs ago and pulled it out to look at it and remembered that I had another one that I got out of my Grandparents house when they Passed. No telling how old either one of them is,but both have lots of life left in them

I recall having 3 "Old Hickory" knives.

I could not train my wifey to stop from putting them in the dishwasher. Ever time I found it, it was all rusted and the wood handle was rough. I do not know what happened to them nore will I ask my wifey. It was a lot ezer for me to just buy CUT-CO...

CutCo =Chinck

Yes, TM, I'd agree that the new knife is not extremely sharp. But for cooking, a lot of people look for a knife with a bit of a ragged edge, like you would get from a medium stone, because it actually works better for the kind of chopping that a cook does. Just like you find a lot of rope knives with a ragged edge. Not that the Old Hickory comes with that - like you said, it's just plain dull. But for tool knives, you just about have to figure on putting the right edge on it yourself. Collector knives come sharp, because sharpening them decreases their value. So for me, if it's a collector knife, I would expect it to come sharp, if it's a working knife, I wouldn't care as much.

Thanks trail - you're right, these are for using. They are a sturdy and well made product.

My guess would be they come with the same edge (or lack of one!) that they've always had. I remember my grandparents had a set that they used regularly.