Scimitars: Practical or just for show?

Are scimitars actually better in some way than a slicing knife or sujihiki for portioning meats or are they really just for show? Are scimitars actually used for anything other than portioning meats and what is the proper motion for using one?

I used one a while back and loved it both for meat and fish, want to get mike Davis to make me one once I save up some money

There's a reason why they've been the gold standard in butchery for over a millennia.

For a home cook they are a little superfluous.

I have big blue handled forschner one i have used for years on fish, and Salty's scimitar is still my favorite knife ever.

I'm asking because I'm a professional cook and and cut a lot of steaks and do some other simple meat fabrication. I usually use a slicer or a chefs knife depending on what type of fabrication I'm doing. I cut beautiful filets with a slicer but if a scimitar would work better I'd be interested in getting one.

They are capable of making board contact from a much broader range of angles than a slicing knife. When butchering very thick pieces of meat or separating primals on a carcass this is very helpful. Also when making long draw (pull) cuts through dense proteins the ability to use the knife in a reverse grip increases leverage significantly. This turns what would be two or three cuts with a slicer into one continuous cut which reduces the chances of damaging valuable proteins during fabrication.

I don't think you would notice any appreciable advantage on fillets but if you get into larger butchery tasks you might want one around.

Plus they look cool.

Depends what you're cutting. I use one for larger cuts of beef. (Ribeye, top sirloin butts, etc) I use a boner on beef tenderloins and anything smaller. The curved tip has many benefits.

I'm sure you knew it was coming.

The curved tip has many benefits.

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That's what she said.

pretty much what Salty and the clown said.

Wasn't "Salty and the Clown" a buddy cop show in the '80s?

She probably thought that, but the guy had no idea.

I cut filet with a honesuki, for portioning strips and ribeyes a scimitar works well.

been looking into these as i'm thinking of taking up butchery classes.

I love how this devolved into baser comedy- then back on topic without skipping a beat. Have I mentioned lately how cool this forum is?

I've been talking about scimitars all day seems like. Butchery type knives are high on my list right now... Things are changing...

i can't seem to find any good bull nosed butcher knives except for butch harner's semi custom stuff which are well..... too expensive for my wallet. i know they'll work well but i don't think i'll ever be able to afford those til i actually get a job. lol. there are old hickory ones of course, but the newer ones are too short. can't find any vintage ones at the moment.

scimitars too. i want me one.

Butchery type knives are high on my list right now

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I can understand if your using a Kato everyday how you might stop drooling over gyutos for a bit.

i can't seem to find any good bull nosed butcher knives

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There does seem to be a huge void in the middle of the market for some reason. It seems to go from Forschner to Fowler with nothing in the middle except the odd vintage piece.

There does seem to be a huge void in the middle of the market for some reason. It seems to go from Forschner to Fowler with nothing in the middle except the odd vintage piece.

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yessir! nothing so far in the middle or even in the low-mid bracket either....

just goes to show that there aren't enough folks in the butchery industry and not enough demand for the knives. the decline of traditional butchers is quite disturbing. i see this as an opportunity to get into it though. as there is a slight showing of interest of people getting back into butchery and more traditional vocations.

You're spot on with the Kato comment Chuck

I've been effing with a bull nose for about 2 weeks now, that I picked up off eBay about a year ago. Spaced it off(as well as the slicer/mini scimitar, and the weird giant nakiri/cleaver thing that came with it), until I found it in a drawer the other day. I've been thinning/reprofiling/cutting in new bevels every couple nights after work. Tonight I thought I'd screw around with finishes. Kinda broke right now, so I just tried polishing with a cork and some slurry from the Rika 5k, over a 325 scratch pattern. Interesting results. High contrast with some nice gloss. I left a little of the ancient patina on. Gives a weird kurouchi-esque effect. Not gonna stick with this finish, but its fun to experiment on a relatively inexpensive knife, that's made to get beaten on.

wildfire has some interesting ones. Not sure on the thickness though. Although since Franz is in the area, maybe you could pick up one of those older type swords for one. I'm thinking a pira would do good.

There are a ton of people in butchery but with the industrialization of the commodity market and a transition to larger corporate conglomerates driving up production scale there is a corresponding downward pressure on wages to compete. Hence no nice knives for them. When I am left without a choice and must resort to large production sources I am consistently appalled with the quality of the meat cutting. There are, however, many many people in the restaurant industry and in small scale artisanal butcher shops that care deeply about proper practices and refined techniques as well as an affluent customer base providing for relatively livable wages. You would think that that dedicated community would be able to sustain demand for a maker to offer a line of knives suited to these tasks.

The question for me is what is it about a scimitar that makes it a project so rarely taken on? Amount of steel required? Difficulty in forging a long blade with a pronounced curve?

I'm thinking a pira would do good.

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i don't even know where to get them locally. lol. i live in Manila, the main metropolitan center of my country. the pira sword is more of a muslim type of sword, most of them are from the southern part of my country. And as my country is, well, an archipelago.... travel is more....difficult. lol. my fellow countrymen and i would also have a bit of a language barrier as each province has their own dialect, so there's literally quite a few dialects that are spoken in each island. not everyone speaks tagalog, and english is much much less so. and then there's this long standing divide with us catholics and muslims....a few militant groups that like kidnapping people for ransom too....

there are sites that sell them if you really want one. they charge an arm and a leg in my opinion though since the finish on them isn't up there as one would like. basic tools and all that.

traditionalfilipinoweapons and kalahi custom blades are the ones that have of a more online presence so that's where i've actually found those. i can probably procure locally made balisongs as balisongs is made closer to where I live. Batangas, where they're made is actually my father's side of the family are from, which kind of is one of the reason why i'm really into knives. Most of them are either cops or in the army, or farmers or ice cream makers.


mora makes pretty good kitchen knives. they have a line of butchery knives. might be worth taking a look at. made in 12c27 if i'm correct. and in 58RC.

There are, however, many many people in the restaurant industry and in small scale artisanal butcher shops that care deeply about proper practices and refined techniques as well as an affluent customer base providing for relatively livable wages. You would think that that dedicated community would be able to sustain demand for a maker to offer a line of knives suited to these tasks.

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this is what i wanted to be in, artisanal stuff. apparently there's not enough of them to have a demand. are there not enough knife knuts in the butchery world? =(

Maybe cuz scimitars are kinda like swords? I'm only half joking...

And I agree- butchery is making a big comeback in regards to restaurants especially. As well as the concept of people looking to buy from a proper 'butcher'- someone who can cut, describe the cut in terms of texture/taste. The return of the deli is one of the most exciting concepts in our current gastronomical landscape IMO. it's my dream to own a place where we cut fresh every morning, do charcuterie on site, make messy sandwiches, and talk to customers face to face about meat.

it's my dream to own a place where we cut fresh every morning, do charcuterie on site, make messy sandwiches, and talk to customers face to face about meat.

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if ever you do decide, i'd wanna be part of it. lol. i don't mind smelling like raw meat all day, though of course a long shower would be required, and maybe a good long soak in a hot tub after all that work. there aren't any good butchers here!

Interesting results. High contrast with some nice gloss.

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The pictures didn't show up for me for some reason. :bat:

The return of the deli is one of the most exciting concepts in our current gastronomical landscape

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Funny. I am in the later planning stages of opening a place like you described. Although I prefer it when pretty girls are the ones "talking to customers face to face about meat."

Stumblinman said:

wildfire has some interesting ones.

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NOOOOO!!!!!!!! Sorry.... Stay away. Save your money and run.

-Chuck

I use one to skin large sides of fish. The curve helps with skin that curves up, and doesnt lay perfectly flat.

If any of you are in the DC Metro area, try Stachowskis in Georgetown - it is pretty much precisely what brainsausage describes. (And mighty convenient to have within walking distance of the office). Epic grinders, delicious charcuterie (used in said grinder), helpful service, quality sourced meats, and occasionally, attractive greeters.

Butcher knives are what they are. They're perfect for butchering large portions of meat. A scimitar might be a bit much for a home chef, but then again, so are 4 gyutos, 3 sujis, 2 yanagi-ba and a partridge in a pear tree.

However, a good bullnose will come in handy even for a home cook (great for splitting, through joints and working with bone-in quarters). This is coming from a guy who got to do this while trying to stay in university, so trust me.

If it were up to me, I'd have a full set of butchering knives...oh wait, I do.

I have an old foster bros carbon and its sick for cutting cowboy cut steaks butchering whole strip loin I love it