Looking to build up butchering section of my knife collection

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

theplainsman

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Been cooking for a while but my sous is starting to let me cut meat. I am also interested in buying a whole pig to butcher for christmas presents this year. This creates the perfect opportunity to get some new knives i have been browsing the internet but have been disappointed by the lack of variety so i came here.
I am looking for
a cimetar/butchers knife probably 8-12 inches
a boning knife around 6 inches
and anything else that might be good to add to the knife kit
I always prefer wooden grip over plastic and i like carbon steel but I'm not sure how well that would hold up
Thank you for your help
 
I would start off with some Dexter Russell knives. All you need is a butcher, boning and bone saw.

You can use the tip of the butcher to skin if you need. I would throw in a good fillet knife.
 
Ive got a set by www.eka-knivar.se a Swedish company that make a variety of knives, the butcher set has a gut-hook, boning knife, and Skinner/schimtar and steel. Its Sandvik 12c27, I bought it for hunting as it comes in a pouch but great in the kitchen too.
They also sell a great portable bone saw.

On the bay also. Can't post links but look for eka butcher set.
 
As someone that once tried to make a living selling Dexter Russell, F.Dick, and Frosts of Sweden meat packing knives, most butchers prefer Victorinox.

This was going to be my first suggestion, but the original poster preference is carbon steel/wood handles.
 
This was going to be my first suggestion, but the original poster preference is carbon steel/wood handles.
That makes your choices very limited. I think Russell is the only company making professional grade carbon meat packing knives in the U.S. (I don't count Old Hickory etc.) I can't think of a single big name European pro line in carbon.
 
5"-6" boning knife & 8" breaking knife would cover 95% of your butchering needs. You can add a 12" cimetar to cover the other 5%. Victorinox would be your best bet IMO.
 
Thank you probably going to go with victorinox i would imagine that there is a reason so many people use it. is there a reason to have the cimetar and the breaking knife the geometry look very similar. also how much of a difference does an angled boning knife make over straight. I'm inclined to go with a straight blade
 
Most of the butchers I sharpen for like F Dick Ergo grip stainless and vintage carbon, and Forschners
 
Thank you probably going to go with victorinox i would imagine that there is a reason so many people use it. is there a reason to have the cimetar and the breaking knife the geometry look very similar. also how much of a difference does an angled boning knife make over straight. I'm inclined to go with a straight blade

I personally have very little use for a cimetar but there are times they come in handy. The 8" breaking knife on the other hand is my 2nd most used knife (6" curved boning being the most used). You are correct the geometry is very similar...

Look at most knives for butchering and you will see they all have a similar geometry and the size is what changes mainly. Boning>Breaking>Cimetar.

When it comes to straight vs curved boning that's all personal choice. Same could be said about stiff, flexible, vs semi stiff. For meat I would opt for stiff and curved 5-6".

Edit: for what's it worth I think the 5" is more popular, even though I use a 6".
 
I've used a lot of their "Herter" style blades and they were all OK for the low cost but these current Murphy prices seem a little bit excessive for plain wood handled carbon steel knives. WSJ had a short article on a three Murphy knife set for $249 yesterday.
 
Your best bet is to get a few Victorinox knives (butcher, breaker, couple boning knives). Once you figure out what patterns and lengths you use most and like (which will most likely be two knives at the end of the day), have a couple customs made. The Victorinox knives are actually really well thought out for the butcher (probably the best production knives on the market).
 
There has been considerable interest in vintage Forgecraft knives on this site recently. Carbon, good steel, wood handled, many have been re-handled and look sweet. An 8 inch bullnose would certainly earn its keep in a butchers kit. To search forum for examples use google and search syntax: site:kitchenknifeforums.com search for this
 
Consider safety, butchering is tricky you have to navigate the knife around joints and bones its sometimes bloody and fatty and slippery you do really need a knife with a good safe non slip handle, even more so if you progress to actual slaughter.

Also you will cut into bones (unless you are a wizard), a to acute angle and hard steel and it will chip.

With slaughter and butchering we use the Eka line knives, the slightly curved deboner and bullnose do the job well.
 
I picked up a couple of Forgecraft boning / bullnose knives for butchering (mainly deer). I am very happy with the ease of use and how easy they were to sharpen. I only took them up to 1000 grit this year and that worked out very well. Most important to me was the edge retention was much better than anything I have used previously. My dad's favorite is a stainless dexter boning/filet knife. It is a little thicker than a regular filet knife with the big white plastic handle - cheap but gets the job done. I know a couple of professional butchers who use them too.
 
Consider safety, butchering is tricky you have to navigate the knife around joints and bones its sometimes bloody and fatty and slippery you do really need a knife with a good safe non slip handle, even more so if you progress to actual slaughter.

Also you will cut into bones (unless you are a wizard), a to acute angle and hard steel and it will chip.

With slaughter and butchering we use the Eka line knives, the slightly curved deboner and bullnose do the job well.

This is good advice. When it comes to butchering the European knives are superior IMO.
 
Just an FYI: There is a forgecraft butchers set with its original wall caddy on the bay for a buy it now of $70. Needs some cleaning but looks cool.
 
My parents have a farm and we raise, slaughter and butcher our own beef and pork. We use nothing but Victorinox. They are perfect for this type of work.
 
Back
Top