Professional "S" 5.5-inch Flexible Boning Knife

Great knife to trim Brisket. Very sharp out of the box!

I will start to say, I generally love ZWILLING knives, at least the higher quality lines that they have. I have a ZWILLING Damascus set that are my favorite go-to knives, but the set did not include a boning knife. If you do a lot of cooking, like I do, then a good boning knife is essential to your arsenal. Unfortunately, I could not find a matching Damascus boning knife, but after reading the reviews and being familiar with the brand, I figured this would make a nice addition to my go-to knife set and the handle was similar to the others. I was not wrong! It is an excellent knife and gives you plenty of maneuverability when cutting around the rib cage of a chicken and etcetera. I would highly recommend this knife or any in the Professional S series (I have a few). Now, if I could only find a highly flexible filet knife in Damascus, I would be all set (pun intended, sorry)!

A thin, very sharp knife that stays sharp and works very well carving around bones and chicken carcass.

Superb knife even by Zwilling’s high standards.

I do a lot of butchery, from venison, to breaking down chickens, ducks, turkey, and trimming pork. A good knife is a must. A GREAT knife is a joy. This knife was the America's Test Kitchen pick and after using it for a while, now, I can say that they nailed it. This is a great boning knife. Can you get by with a lesser knife? Of course. But if you want to really enjoy butchery, this is your knife. BTW, this replaces a still serviceable Zwilling Henckels boning knife I got in 1985. These blades are razor sharp, and hold an edge nicely. Get it on the steel regularly and you won't have to sharpen much or very often.

Fits in my hand good. Blade is flexible enough to debone meat. I like the slightly rounded point when cutting meat off the bone. Blade works well when removing silver skin. I use sharpening steel rod to rehone the blade.

I cut up a whole chicken now once a month. I freeze the breasts, and make stock for soup with the dark meat and carcass. Occasionally I cut off the dark meat and air fry. The shape of the handle means even with slippery raw chicken, I don't lose control. Cutting is laser focused and gives confidence. Depending on how much chicken you intend to buy, this investment could be paid off really quickly. Very sturdy and well made. A pleasure to hold and use. I highly recommend.

About six months ago I purchased a KYOKU Daimyo Series - 7" Boning Knife, and while it is a VERY GOOD knife, the blade is stiff enough that I cannot use it for its intended purpose (boning). It will trim just fine, and it silces tomatoes and fruit with precision, and it stays sharp for weeks at a time with lots of use. So I went back to purchase the Henckels flexible boning knife which a friend has and I liked but judged it to be too expensive initially. Now that I have it, the difference between the two blades is significant - it is shorter (5.5" blade) with a handle that is not downsized at all. And with enough weight behind the tang that you don't feel like you are always lifting the tip. It fits my hand and handles very well. I noted in the reviews that others had complained about the low quality of the initial (as delivered) edge, and I too found it to be quite ugly. I have included an image with some magnification showing that it has simply been factory ground and never honed before shipping. The result is a rough but quite sharp edge, one that can be fixed in a few seconds with a proper hone. My sense is that it is just an effort to cut costs rather than a manufacturing flaw.

Good product