Butchering knives advice

[kkahmann]

I doubt there is a beef boner alive who doesn’t have at least one Gieser in the sterilizer.

 

[City Boy]

Great thread I'm in the market for butchering knives myself. Is there any benefit to buying a flexible blade over a stiff one? It might be good to get both for fish

Cutting out hip bones, removing thin silver skin, removing all the ribeye meat off the ribs with the rack standing up on its side, using a reverse grip with the blade facing down etc ...... I don’t want a flexible knife. There all kinds of angles that you can use a boning knife at and I want the tip of the blade to be exactly where I intend it to be and not have it flex and slip.

You can do a surprising lot with the boning knife and the big curved blade.

If anyone has less experience with a knife, you can get a cut resistant glove for your other hand for cheap these days from places like Canadian tire.

Fish is a different matter and flexible is good for tiny bones or cutting around the spine of halibut when filleting.

 

[Suther]

My buddy who is a professional meat cutter/manager of a grocery store meat dept. uses nothing but a victoronix boning knife to butcher the quarters we bring his way.

 

[Calgarychef]

My buddy who is a professional meat cutter/manager of a grocery store meat dept. uses nothing but a victoronix boning knife to butcher the quarters we bring his way.

Bingo...that’s all that’s necessary. One 20 dollar knife and you’re away.

 

[City Boy]

Bingo...that’s all that’s necessary. One 20 dollar knife and you’re away.

Plus a 12 dollar boning knife.

 

[Gatehouse]

I've butchered more meat than most hunters will ever see with a simple boning knife like this.

 

[AP]

Very GOOD thread .. thank you.

 

[Butcherbill]

If I didn’t have a bunch of my dads old chef and butcher knives I’d be looking for a couple Henkels or Nella boning and steak cutting knifes, pretty much any small local butcher shop I’ve ever been into used these. Good enough for me, I’ve had a yellow handled Henkel chefs knife for near 20yrs and it never skipped a beat.

 

[alexvass42850]

Victorinox. Best way to go. Butcher for many years and those are the best I've had. Not crazy expensive either good steel to work with easy to sharpen and easy to hone. Get yourself a 10" cimetail butcher knife a straight stiff 6" and a curved semiflexible 6". Cant go wrong

 

[stampede]

In Toronto check out The Knife Store. You can purchase top quality knives, and $500 will certainly give you that, but you're stuffing money up a pig's butt if you don't learn the skills of keeping those knives sharp. When shopping for a knife avoid any that claim to be made out of surgical stainless steel. This is a marketing claim and there is no steel called surgical steel. A good quality knife has the blade marked with the type of steel it is made from. The more you research about quality knife blade steel, the better armed you are when speaking to a sales person. Handle several knives to find out which feels best in your hand, which resists rolling, and which appeals to you. A good knife is much like a good gun in this respect. If you intend to purchase a set of knives, be more concerned with each knife individually, you might find that you prefer a large knife from one manufacturer and a small blade form another, rather than a matching set from one.

Learning what occurs when a knife becomes dull tells you whether the knife needs to be honed, that is the edge is realigned, which is easily accomplished in the field with a ceramic rod, or if it needs to be sharpened, which is what occurs when the edge metal fatigues and must be removed. Understand what abuses the blade and what enhances it. Hardwood butcher blocks are excellent, and prevent the transmission of bacteria, plastic is okay, but glass or ceramic cutting boards will take the edge off your knife quickly.

When you bring your new knives home, perform a sharpness test by slicing through a sheet of telephone book paper held from one corner between your thumb and forefinger. Having done that, package you knives up and send them to a custom knife sharpener like Peter Knowlan who owns New Edge Sharpening in Halifax. Prepare to be amazed. He will probably not change the grind of the blade, but he will make the grind more uniform, and you will be able to see mirror image in the finished bevel. You will simply not believe that a blade can be this sharp. He has posted numerous knife sharpening videos on youtube. Now when you purchase the tools to sharpen your knives, you will have an example to follow.

Good Advice Boomer.

Also know the difference between honing (re-aligning the edge material) and sharpening (removing material).

 

[cement head]

Hey all

Looking for a new set of knives for butchering larger game.
What are your favorites that worked good and kept sharp over the years
And if you know where to get them
Looking to spend around 500 bucks max.
Thanks for your time.
K

Try Nella Cutlery in Hamilton . very reasonable . I bought a couple of boning knifes for a guy at work . they supply knives to the factories that slaughter . I have used them for years. high carbon steel from what I have been told . I remember the butchers in the store where I used to work back in the late 70ties to 80ties saying of you dropped them tip down on concrete the tip would sometimes break . I think they are using German steel now . yellow handles pink blue coloured and they have boning ones and big knives for slicing . I have had one for years and I gave one to a buddy and were still using them 30 plus years later.

don't use them as pry bars . just cut . I think they have a store in Toronto . they even sell used ones. but for the price I buy new. if you want let me know what happens . shoot me a pm . you'll walk out the door with a boat load of knifes for under $100 dollars. good luck .

 

[Northmen]

I'm a Chef by trade, and if you don't want to spend over $500 I'd recommend Victorinox or the Henckels that were mentioned before. I know many who use them professionally, with basic care they'll last a lifetime.

 

[restless]

Henckels yellow handle commercial butcher knives at Cabelas are often on sale. Buy a good steel to go with them. A few licks on the steel and you are in business.
Major sharpening is only necessary when the edge really deteriorates.

I picked up a set of these, double brothers, for something like $100. They do me great processing a deer or two every year

 

[RatFink]

Bingo...that’s all that’s necessary. One 20 dollar knife and you’re away.

I've butchered more meat than most hunters will ever see with a simple boning knife like this.

This is the only knife needed in my books - throw in a bone saw if you want to do some bone-in type cuts that require trimming like racks of ribs and you're done.
When I took the SAIT butchery class for game animals, this is all the chef there used as well. It took Russell Hendrix Restaurant Supply a bit to track down and get me the full flexible model but it was worth it. Most others I have seen out there are only semi-flexible or rigid, which I don't like nearly as much.

 

[shatthatkilledelvis]

Dexter Russell. Basics line.

My dad buys vitorinox. I prefer dexter - I find they sharpen easier, hold an edge well and the price is comparable.

 

[tbrwlf]

My father who passed in the early 70's was a butcher and owned a slaughter house. He had only JA Henkel knives. And I still have them and they are excellent.

When in doubt, talk to someone who uses knives daily, your local butcher.

And a must have is a steel for fast retouching of the edge.

For someone new to this get a butcher's glove. It will save many small cuts and maybe a large one.


In the field I generally carry a Grohman knife. Don't ask which one as I have several and rotate them. Good for most field work.

 

[dutchhunter]

I love the old F #### knives I pick them up at yard sales cheap.i still have the set of knives steel and bonesaw from my early years working summers in the butcher shop.. Restaurant supply stores the best place to get them.ialso have JA henckels.another great knife to have is a skinning knife with the cure blade

 

[Meroh]

Henckels yellow handle commercial butcher knives at Cabelas are often on sale. Buy a good steel to go with them. A few licks on the steel and you are in business.
Major sharpening is only necessary when the edge really deteriorates.

Absolutely correct. I think they call them "ergo-grip"; we have a set of about 12 or more from paring knives, butcher knives, slicers, boning, chefs etc; and the matching Steel. Inexpensive, same great Henkels steel, and clean; molded handles prevent crap from getting into crevices, and the grip is positive and safe. We bought ours from a restaraunt supply store in Windsor Ontario. Under $300.00 invested in the whole works; and we have been using them for over 10 years.

F. ####, another German manufacturer of commercial knives (their handles are blue) are amazing quality, but a bit more money.

 

[Carbon12]

My favourite butchering knives for deer are the Spyderco Bill Moran Upswept Plain Edge Knife and the Spyderco Bill Moran Drop Point Plain Edge Knife. Both are made from amazingly sharp, and easy to sharpen, VG10 steel. They are extremely ergonomic.