Preferred lenght for your carvingknife?

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Peco

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Looking into buying one but are a little confused about which lenght would be good. I will be carving filet, tenderloins etc. and would like to be able to cut is one stroke (without using a sword). Experiences?
 
I love my 300 mm suji, but I don't have much to compare it to other then an old 8" wusthof slicer. But the 300 mm is much more useful to me then the ~210 mm slicer. But I generally use it for bigger pieces of meat then filets and tenderloins (i.e., pork shoulders, rib roasts, etc.)
 
The usual answer to this is "the longer the better", but I think it's foolish to give a recommendation on length without knowing the area you will work in. A cramped area might mean that you are limited to a 270 or even a 240.

Try this: cut out a few cardboard knives in 240, 270 and 300 lengths, go to where you will be working and see for yourself which length works best for you. Use the actual carving board you plan to use. I have a beautiful 300 suji that Dave rehandled, but it is too long to comfortably use with the carving/serving board I normally use because the board has a slanted surface forming a well to catch the juices. I found myself having to be real careful not to stub the point on the lip of the well, and had to drop to a 240 length.
 
Get your point Rick, don't wanna stab the guest on the other side of the table when cutting a slice of tenderloin ;)
 
I like 210 or 240 for slicing of steaks, and cleaning of tenderloin, etc... but for true carving, ie; roasts, etc... 300 all the way...
 
:spiteful::coffeelots:


49944dca.png
 
Great looking blade, don't like the handle though.
 
I have found 270 to be perfect for everything except a prime rib.
 
Burke 270 suji w/ charred chicken breast handle :p

One of my favorite knives around here....just something about it.

Charred chicken breast?? Were did you come up with that one, but I like it.
It's sheep horn
 
Charred chicken breast?? Were did you come up with that one, but I like it.
It's sheep horn

I've been drooling over your knife for years and knew it was horn handle...it just reminded me of chicken breast with grille marks in that picture, so thought I'd have some fun and see if anyone picked up on it.
 
Depends on the size of the target. :) I did a decent job on a turkey with a 6 in utility over Thanksgiving. Luckily, I brought a stone to resharpen earlier in the day. It would have been nice to have something at least 240 mm. If it's just slicing duty on a roast or something, 270 seems too short oftentimes.
 
I have often felt handicapped by a small knife for slicing, but never felt likewise with a too long a knife. 300mm is the smallest I would go for a dedicated slicer.
 
I have a 285mm suji, two 300mm sujis, and soon a 12" slicer. So something in that range. The 285 is very light and nimble, I often use it at work as my line knife, hasn't gotten in the way yet.
 
When I portioned the turkeys this last TG, I used a 210 suji. I find it more nimble, being able to get around the joints and working to get the meat off the carcass. I say that 240 would be a good choice, because the 210s are very limited. I still wished they made a 210 in the TKC steel. There would have been no way for me to easily get the meat off of the bird if I used my 300mm.

But what I just described was deboning and carving, not slicing. For slicing, like brisket, go 300 all the way.
 
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