Product Description

Every element of this renowned cutlery contributes to its precision and ease of use. The high-carbon stainless steel blades are hardened to maintain a sharp edge and full tangs provide perfect balance with riveted, high-impact composition handles. The Flexible Boning Knife is useful for carefully trimming meat, poultry and seafood that is delicate and has smaller bones. Keeps all your pieces intact while separating out the skin and bones you don't want.Prized possessions of professional chefs, Wusthof knives are an invaluable asset of any kitchen. In Solingen, Germany, each piece is hand-forged in 38 manufacturing steps by skilled craftsmen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23784 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Size: 6"
• Brand: Wüsthof
• Model: 4603-7
• Released on: 2001-07-31
• Dimensions: .90" h x 2.80" w x 12.50" l, 4.50 pounds

Features

• Narrow yet flexible blade best for boning poultry
• Forged high-carbon stainless steel blade, hand-honed for razor-like sharpness
• Traditional-style composition handle is triple-riveted for strength and permanence
• Dishwasher safe
• Lifetime guarantee

Amazon.com Review
The thin and narrow yet flexible blade of this knife makes it perfect for working around the delicate bone structures of small fowl, such as squab. Unlike many other boning knives, this one has a full bolster so your cutting hand is protected as you work.

Part of the Classic series, the knife represents two centuries of unexcelled Wüsthof craftsmanship. Like other cutlery in the series, it's hand-forged from a single piece of stainless steel for maximum strength; the hand-polished blade is exactingly calibrated to be hard enough to resist dulling yet soft enough to take a keen edge when it's honed or sharpened. Dishwasher-safe and with a traditionally shaped, ergonomically designed handle that is triple-riveted for durability, this knife brings a guaranteed lifetime of low-maintenance cutting to any cook who owns it. --Arthur Boehm

Customer Reviews

great for heavy use
I am a sous chef and I use this knife to break down everything from shell steak to veal chops, and I love it. I also like the flexibility of the blade. It holds an edge very well, with minimum touch ups. Overall I am very happy with the Wusthof line.

Edit 4/6/05: Still using it, still like new, almost 3 years of almost daily use later. Can't beat Wusthof!

Good Knife, But Do You Need It?
There are really two main competitors in the high-end mainstream kitchen knife market: Henckels and Wusthof. Those who have used both usually have a preference. My preference (and therefore bias you should know about) is for the Wusthofs.

The Wusthof Classic line is the more conservative counterpart to the Grand Prix line. The only difference, however, is the handle style. I personally prefer the Grand Prix, but this is an issue of personal preference. The balance and grip of these knives are as close to perfect as I have found. For those wondering what benefits a higher priced knife provides, one benefit is that the blade (or tang) is one piece all the way through the handle. This makes the blade much stronger, and less likely to snap.

This particular model, the 5 inch boning knife is a good knife. In my review of the 6 inch cleaver I noted that most people really don't use a cleaver anymore, as they buy either pre-cut/pre-packaged meats, or they have the butcher cut the meat into loins or steaks for them. However, I think this knife is slightly more useful for the everyday cook than the cleaver. I find this knife useful for both boning and fat trimming. Although this knife is probably not essential for a starter collection, I would add this knife before a cleaver.

An excellent knife and great value to your kitchen
For what it is, this 5-inch boning knife from Wusthof is fantastic. Note I wrote "for what it is" and not for what it isn't. No, it's not a cleaver. No, it's not a Chicago Cutlery knife, which is a "nice" knife, but see for yourself why it doesn't compare to a Wusthof. Why reviewers compare apples to oranges and claim that you probably won't use various knives is beyond me. Just because THEY don't use a cleaver or a boning knife in the kitchen doesn't mean that rest of us shouldn't. How many more reviews will you remind us of what knives you DON'T use to discourage us from buying them? Weird. That's like complaining that an action movie isn't Shakespeare, and "Will you really read Shakespeare?".... Enough already.

So if you want a flexible boning knife to trim meat, silverskin, fat, or heck, even fillet fish, this 5-incher from Wusthof is just about perfect. I've used the 6-inch version since 1996 and last November I bought this one. What a pleasant surprise! I use it for every trim detail short of turkey prep. Both strong and precise, it delivers as thin a slice as you want. And once again, just because some reviewers never learned to use a cleaver, don't let that scare you from buying this fine boning knife.