Description
I tried spatchcocking (cutting out the backbone) of a chicken using my Wusthof Pull-Apart Kitchen Shears and it wouldn't cut through all the way, unlike the video I had watched.
So I bought vintage stag handle poultry shears (possibly made in Germany, sometime between 1930 - 1970, or newer?) In this video, I show how I removed rust from the spring using a combination of ketchup and citric acid. Ketchup might seem like a weird choice, but after using flour, petroleum jelly, and cornstarch, ketchup is easy to clean and has the bonus of also being acidic. But because rust can lie within the crevices of the spring, an acid bath (like vinegar, lemon juice, or citric acid solution) probably would've been better, but I didn't want to mess with the chrome-plating finish.
This was also my first attempt at breaking down a whole chicken. I tried using both vintage shears and Wusthof shears for most of the cuts just to see their capabilities. Overall, I recommend the shears only for cutting bone and using a knife for the rest.
I'm highly considering sharpening the vintage shears blades, but it's a little iffy because I can't take them apart, the blade is curved, and one blade is serrated. But it would be nice not having to struggle with cutting the skin when using my vintage set.
Even though my shears are hard to hold due to my hand size, I highly recommend getting a vintage set over buying new!