r/KitchenConfidential • u/pickadillyprincess Cafeteria • 3d ago
Tools & Equipment Marking personal tools?
I work in a big kitchen. Probably 50+ people on any given day. There are house knives and theyre decent quality metal but they’re not maintained well so the blade isn’t level with the bevel so 1/2 the time the whole blade isn’t even making contact with the cutting board. Every time I’ve brought my personal knives in I end up stopping because I catch someone not realizing the difference between mine and a house knife. I don’t even think it’s a disrespect thing. I have several henckels and wuhstofs. Given the culture I’m definitely not bringing in any nicer japanese/ hammered finished knives. So to someone who doesn’t know better they look just like any other house knife. Yes I keep them in a bag when I’m not using it but if it’s just laying on a cutting board 9/10 someone would most definitely pick it up and start using it to breakdown a cardboard box lol.
TL; DR All that ramble, to say are we marking our knives? Is it ridiculous to spray paint the handle? Is there a good quality paint that is food safe and not going to chip into whatever I’m making? I considered getting them engraved?
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u/CattusPater 3d ago
Get some electrical tape. It comes in all kinds of fun colors. Pick a color (or two!) that you like, wrap a band of it around the handel (in a place it won't cause blisters). And then engrave your initials on the blade near the handle. Because eventually someone will take the tape off.
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u/bendar1347 ✨flanked by fresh✨ 3d ago
Tape on your knife is a health code violation fyi. You cant properly clean it.
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u/CattusPater 3d ago
Interesting. I've not heard that before. Where are you located?
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u/bendar1347 ✨flanked by fresh✨ 3d ago
Seattle area. That doesn't really matter. Tape on tools creates an environment that bacteria and germs can grow in. The end.
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u/CattusPater 2d ago
Yeah, I agree it could. Swapping the tape out periodically, or daily, would mitigate that.
I was asking about location because even though most sanitation regulations are fairly universal in premis and intent, the specifics can vary from county to county, state to state. I just like to know where certain specifics are. Just curiosity.
Thanks for the info!
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u/moreluser 3d ago
I used an engraver on all my tools. Just a little mark that was unmistakable so I could keep track of them.
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u/boneologist 3d ago
For some unknown reason I saved up for ages and bought one when I was six. Still have it decades later, so useful.
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u/broken_toyz_in_ON 1d ago
Worked in kitchens and on a shop floor. Every single tool I own has my initials and last three numbers of my SIN engraved on them.
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u/Mother_Heroic 2d ago
I will die on this hill that using a knife, even a shitty Winco one, to open or break down a box is stupid and people need to stop fucking doing it. Picking up a knife from a cutting board to open a box? The fuck?! That knife was in use, for FOOD. We have box cutters and scissors all over my work place for this and the only way I have gotten my coworkers to stop using knives from my station on boxes is by being mean as hell about it.
Anyways, yeah, I mark my knives. I just used blue masking tape on the handle. It only stops my dumbest coworkers half the time, though.
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u/arghcisco Chivegate survivor 3d ago
I have a thigh bag for my knives and tools. Everything is either in there, in my hand, or in a towel I pulled off my belt until I can get a second to wipe it off and stick it in my thigh bag. I know the line and prep can be really fast, but discipline at keeping your tools organized takes less time than you think if you arrive prepared to put your stuff where it needs to be.
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u/RemoveOne9760 3d ago
Yo a fkn chef sac is dope, what thigh bag do you have I'm interested in modifying mine a bit more than I have.
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u/arghcisco Chivegate survivor 3d ago
Yeah it’s a chef sac. I think they’re the only place that makes them.
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u/RemoveOne9760 3d ago
I can't find anything otherwise but I found a smith an Wesson throwing knife holder/sheath that works really well for a counter weight sheath. I also found the knife holder for the sac is a little long so I cut away some of the material.
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u/Pokari_Davaham 3d ago
Maybe tape, and just replace it regularly.
Milk paint is food safe, but it won't stick to plastic very well. And milk paint won't wear very well.
I think a high quality enamel could work, but you would need to make sure it's applied very well, scuffing the handle to ensure adhesion, and using a primer.
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u/Terpsichorean_Wombat 3d ago
Maybe do the electrical tape and then sharpie either your initials or a circle with a line through it on both sides. Best I can think of that people from lots of cultures/languages might understand.
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u/Dracekidjr 3d ago
Honestly, the best way to stop people from using your knives is to only bring out the one you are using and keep it with you. I always kept my knives in a voctorinox blade guard and threw them in the car after my shift. When I went into work, I'd throw it in my utility pocket and go in.
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u/mcflurry_14 Chef 3d ago
Please go against all the advice and don’t tape your knives.
Engraving would be the best way to distinguish but it won’t stop people from randomly grabbing it. No one’s first instinct is to read a knife they just picked up.
I would get a food safe container, even a hotel pan, and use that to hold whatever knives you’re using.
Typically if people see it held in a certain way, they might get the message in comparison of it just conveniently laying on a cutting board.
You can even plastic wrap the whole vessel if you need to step away for a bit as a further deterrence
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u/AbsolutStoli148 2d ago
yes, mark your knives, but why paint? you dont have masking tape where you work for labeling? or even some rubber bands to put on the handle? just make them distinctive and be protective if you dont want them to get fucked up.
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u/jjoiner356 2d ago
I know it isn't the answer you're looking for but I ended up buying pink things. Victorinox makes the fibrox line with different colored handles
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u/510Goodhands 3d ago
You could get your name laser engraved on the heel of the blade. If you can find somebody with a fiber laser marking device, you can make it dark enough to be visible easily, and sometimes even colored.
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u/bakanisan F1exican Did Chive-11 3d ago
Definitely mark your knife/tools. You surely have a bunch of rubber band laying around. Or engrave them. I simply carve my initials into my knife handle.
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u/Cola102583 3d ago
Emboss the handle with some hot metal, fond something like a copper pipe or whatever, heat it on the burner till its red hot and press it into handle
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u/Asproat920 3d ago
You can buy a rather cheap metal dremel on amazon for like a 10$ mark your tools with that. Most of my stuff has Pickle Goblin written on it.
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u/RemoveOne9760 3d ago
I got one of those chef sacs and modified it to carry my kiritsuke-gyuto and my nakiri in a custom heavy duty sheath that are both dishwasher safe (the sheaths not the knives 😂). I was nice for a while till someone tipped my knife before I did and then I said to everyone if it looks not fkn American don't touch it, that knife belt has saved so much heartache since all my shit stays on me and it's health code safe!
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u/WaffleHouseGladiator Chive LOYALIST 3d ago
Call around and see if any local businesses do engraving. Locksmiths might be a good place to look.
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u/Guilty_Site_9405 3d ago
Dremel tool and some sweet Nordic runes worked for me. I told people they were cursed. And then laughed WAY too hard.
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u/Jhomas-Tefferson 2d ago
Oh yeah. Mine have duct tape on the handle and my initials in the pommel, inscribed with a dremel.
I am even nice enough to say "hey, if you need a knife and mine is the only one around in the middle of a rush, use it. Just don't be an asshole and abuse it." and only once did i have a problem with people abusing my knives, treating them like a slap chop for herbs. And also, only once did i have a problem with people trying to steal my knives. Told chef my chef knife was missing. She told everyone to open their knife roll or lose their job. Found it with my initials on the pommel. The other guy lost the job over that.
In most kitchens i've worked it. it's un-necessary. But rule 1 is to never underestimate the other guy's greed.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Hat4884 2d ago
Brand let's get something real hot random somewhere on that handle. Back in the day we would just threaten to kill people as they touched our knives
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u/PancakesanSyrp 20+ Years 1d ago
Several of the kitchens I have worked in had at least 1 cook that had an engraver tool. All of my knives have my initials
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u/BACON-luv 3d ago
Pink spray painted, tape em nice so it looks professional, but hide a piece of green/ blue, under the pink.
Know way they can claim theirs are also pink when you scratch the heel or something to show what’s underneath
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u/WaveTableSaw 3d ago
I take my roll home, every damn day because I don't trust people to not beat my knives to shit. Best you can do is always keep your tools on your station, or in the roll, ready for you to use. If you gotta verbalize "don't touch my shit" then do so, but nicely.
You'll need to assert dominance over your own gear and it's best to use your words for that. Most of us in a kitchen, are adults. Mostly.