Broke my boning knife mid-breakfast rush last Saturday

I was breaking down a side of pork for our Saturday brunch service, about 7:30 AM, and the tip of my favorite 6-inch boning knife just snapped off. It was an old Victorinox I'd had for maybe 4 years, and I think the metal finally gave out from all the sharpening and abuse. I had to grab a backup from the drawer, but it was duller than I remembered, so I spent a good 10 minutes on the steel. Anyone else had a favorite blade just die on them at the worst possible time?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_ben1mo ago

I read somewhere that Victorinox uses a lower carbon stainless steel that's great for toughness but eventually the heat treatment just starts to go after a few years of heavy sharpening. Four years of weekly boning is a lot of metal removal, especially if you're using a steel every time. I snapped the tip off a Wusthof once trying to twist through a chicken thigh bone, totally my fault but still hurt because it was my first good knife. Now I keep three boning knives in my roll specifically for Saturday brunch, one for each station pretty much.

troy_wilson81mo ago

Three boning knives for Saturday brunch? That's wild dedication, @the_ben.