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What to get for butchering knives?

37K views 38 replies 39 participants last post by  matthewtaylor89 
#1 ·
Hey, I want to start butchering my own deer this year. What is a good set of butchering knives to get?
 
#2 ·
#4 ·
Check it out. I just recently got a new knife for my birthday. It's ceramic. And it is awesome! SUPER sharp! My sister got this for me from Harbor Freight. They're like $15 and I will not use anything but these for a VERY long time. I plan on getting several more. They work great for everything from filleting fish, to deboning a deer, to slicing tomoatoes.
 
#25 ·
They are awesome, but they break very easily, don't try to cut at an angle with any kind of torque on the blade.
 
#6 ·
If you guys are in need of a set of knives to get the job started, I have this set for sale for $75 They cost $120+ new. THese were used one time. They are much like the Knives of Alaska in all areas including quality and craftsmanship. THis set is called the "Browning Wasatch Guthook Skinner with Caper" if you want to look it up on google. or check out this site Browning_Wasatch_Guthook_Skinner_with_Caper_pid27522.html







 
#7 ·
I use a Rapala 7" fillet knife to butcher all my animals. They sharpen easily and hold a good edge. It's all I have used for the past 30 years.
 
#8 ·
Use the Outdoor edge set good knives and about 60.00.Go to a hobby store and buy a leather belt kit and use the leather to strop them after you sharpen them,you will get a razor edge.The kit has everything you need to butcher any animal.
 
#14 ·
no need to spend a lot of money---forschner fibrox knives

I purchased a semi flexible boning knife, 6 inch skinning knife, 8" breaking knife, and a 8" chefs knife last year, along with the diamond sharpening steel.

These are great for butchering. Learn how to use a steel if you don't already, and your set for a loooong time!

I'm using mine today:)

nice and sharp and easy to service/keep sharp.

This is where I purchased mine. Great timely service and delivery!

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=2873

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/forschner_fibrox.htm

L8TR
 
#16 ·
I used to cut meat for a living, I LOVE cutting meat, I have dozens of GOOD knives - some that I got from my old job - very good quality boning knives......and whenever I butcher deer (like this afternoon) THE olny knife I use is my BUCK 110 folding pocket knife.
I love this knife for anything/everything.
 
#22 ·
As posts above, I only need a couple of Rapala fishing filet knives. One 5" and one about 7" in length. I keep a Smith's carbon steel sharpener close at hand as well. I debone it entirely while the skinned carcass is hanging head down from the mandrel. No meat saw needed. For skinning you can use any sharp knife you have handy. After the critter is down to a skeleton, out comes the wood cutting board and my helper. I slice and dice while the LW (Little Woman) wraps and labels. Local shops are now charging 100$ more or less for doing the same thing. Good Luck to you.
 
#30 ·
As posts above, I only need a couple of Rapala fishing filet knives. One 5" and one about 7" in length.
I would also add a stadard butcher knife to the set. Not needed, but it takes the blunt of the work when you start cubing things up for the grinder and allows you to keep the fillet knives sharper longer by only using them for the boning process. Of course I didn't learn this until I had acquired about $100 worth of Dexter brand butcher knives. I now use my two Rapala knives for processing just about everything.

Get a good knife sharpener. Your knives MUST stay razor sharp. I prefer using a Spyderco Sharpmaker. Runs about $50 on Amazon. It's not worth a darn for sharpening a really dull knife, but it does a fantastic job of keeping a knife razor sharp. I've got about 20 guys that I hunt with, and we all use the system. Some of us just hunt, some do leather work for a living, some do custom wood work, some make custom knives. We've all tried other sharpeners and we all use the Spyderco. For a dull blade, I picked up a cheap set of diamond coated blocks. They are 2" wide and 6" long. IT was a 3 pc set on Amazon for around $10. It had a 150 grit, 300 grit, and 450 grit. I only use the 150 and 450 grits. I lay one of them on top of the Spyderco stone to get the correct angle, and sharpen away. About 40 strokes on a 150 grit is enough to reshape and correct even the dullest of blades. Switch to the 450 grit and repeat with another 40 strokes. Then to the coarse Spyderco stones for another 40 strokes to work out the scratches from the diamond blocks. All of this is being done using the 30 degree back bevel setting on the spyderco. Then I go to the 40 degree edge position and use the fine stones. About 20 strokes and she's hair splitting sharp. I can go from a dull blunt edge to a fine 20 degree hair shaving edge in about 10 min.

If you're going to butcher your own, you'll need a grinder..... and that's a whole other story....
 
#26 ·
If you have the money and need to have "butcher knifes" go for it. All you need are basic kitchen knifes. I use a 10" inch knife to cut steaks so I can cut them in one slicing cut and I use a paring knife for all other work. I also keep a steel with to help keep the edge sharp while working.
 
#31 ·
My opinion would be to start with only a few knives. You dont need anything fancy for the butchering of whitetail. A six inch boning knife will be your go to knife for all your cuts. Im a fan for Dexter Russel knives for the quality and there pricing. Thats just my .02 cents.
 
#33 ·
I've worked as a professional chef for over a decade and that entire time I've owned quality steel.

When it comes to cutting up a deer, nothing really beats a good curved boning knife (or a filet knife) just about any knife will get the job done though.

When cutting steaks I won't use anything but my 10" messermeister meridian elite slicer.
If you drop the coin on a shun or messermeister you won't be sorry. You don't truely know razor sharp until you've bought quality steel. Not to mention they hold an edge ridiculously longer.

A good steel and leather strope will save you time and hassle of actually putting an edge back on a dull knife. Every dozen or so cuts, hit it on the steel and finish it on the strope. It will prolong the edgelife and keep you from having to take it to a grinder most of the time.
 
#36 ·
Victorinox Curved 6" Semi-stiff boning knife is all you need for deer.

Get 3 because they're cheap.

Go to any butcher shop around you and they will most likely be using these OR the Dexter version of the same thing. I've been to 8 or 10 of our local butchers and this is what they use.


They come very sharp from the factory and are easy to keep sharp.

Anything that comes in a 'kit' from a big box store is generally junk and has a bunch of stuff you won't use. They'll have junk handles, junk steel, but a real nice carry case that makes you look cool at camp. So if you're looking to look cool in front of your buddies, get one. Then proceed to struggle with the junk knives. If you want performance, use what the professionals use.
 
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