Butcher knife design critique and suggestions

Self Made Knives

Self Made Knives

Well-Known Member
Hey, guys, I've never made a kitchen knife of any sort, but after trying to butcher a deer the other day with my wife's assortment of kitchen knives, I want my own personal butcher knife. She can't use it, it'll be just for processing deer, or other large game.

Here's a quick cad drawing I came up with, just tossing around design ideas. This is what seems like a chef knife to me, but maybe I should be thinking more of a deboning type? Please point me in the right direction as far as design improvements, I'm not a cook at all and don't know much at all about kitchen knives.

Would this design be ok for butchering deer? If not, what would? And lastly, any favorite steels for butchering? I'm thinking a stainless steel.
butcher knife.JPG
 
When processing deer I always use 2 knives and a bone saw. I use a boning knife and what old time butchers call a "breaking" knife. The breaking knife is a large knife used for quartering and breaking down quarters into smaller pieces, hence the term "breaking" knife. If I were only gonna use one knife for everything it would be a true butcher knife.

The 1st pic is of a boning/filet type knife I made, the 2nd is a pic I stumbled upon showing all 3 examples in one pic, & the 3rd shows the "butcher" style that I would choose if I were gonna use a single knife.
 

Attachments

  • Britt Case Filet .jpg
    Britt Case Filet .jpg
    154.7 KB · Views: 41
  • 5_inch_knife_and_8_inch_knife_and_25_inch_meat_handsaw_1000pix_wide.jpg
    5_inch_knife_and_8_inch_knife_and_25_inch_meat_handsaw_1000pix_wide.jpg
    44.2 KB · Views: 39
  • Butcher knife example.jpg
    Butcher knife example.jpg
    9.3 KB · Views: 42
I would personally separate the skinning process from the butchering process, at least if you are trying not to cut holes in the cape.

For the gutting and butchering I'm of the same mind as Darrin.

A good chef's knife will be too thin and probably too delicate to do much jointing. It's also too tall /wide to cut around bones.

I also agree that a boning knife and a good butcher knife serve equally important purposes.

If you're field dressing or butchering in the field that's one thing. But if the deer is all hung up and you can walk around it then a big fillet / boning knife is hard to beat for quartering, and then a good butcher knife to break down the primal cuts on a cutting board.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Anthony,
I don't think your design will work very well for what you have in mind.
This knife is what I use for processing deer meat. I use my skinner and a caper to clean the deer while hanging. I fillet out the back straps and tenderloin then cut off the shoulders and hams. I use the knife pictured in the kitchen to cut steaks and cut the meat off the bone of the hams and shoulders. I made it from D-2 ,the blade is 6" long and it's 1/8" thick at the spine and I hollow ground it all the way to the spine. I used canvas micarta hand finished to 400 grit and made the handle to fit my big hands. I cannot remember how many deer I have cut up with this knife but it is many. I have used it for as long as 9 hours at a time,the handle is so comfortable it does not cause any undue fatigue,and that D-2 blade just keeps cutting and cutting. I will be happy to send you a pattern if you want one.
Please excuse the sorry iPad photo.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    39.5 KB · Views: 72
I gut, skin, and quarter with my hunting knife. I was thinking more about after it's broke down, deboning, cutting steaks, chops, fillets, etc. I've seen some guys butcher and debone while the deer is still hanging, but I haven't tried that yet.

edit: I guess we were posting at the same time Calvin. Sounds like you're going about it like I did. I'd be grateful for a proven pattern to start with. I had a feeling I was headed in the wrong direction.
 
Last edited:
That does look like a really practical design for that type of knife Mr Calvin. I wouldn't mind having a pattern myself if its not too much trouble.
 
Anthony
I do my deer by cutting it in half and cutting it up and then getting the other half ect. I use a knife much like Calvin's to do the boning and cut out the pieces but I use a knife like your drawing but with a 12" blade to slice my steaks. It just works better for me. It is kinda like making knives you have to find what works for you. Ed
 
Self Made Knives said:
I gut, skin, and quarter with my hunting knife. I was thinking more about after it's broke down, deboning, cutting steaks, chops, fillets, etc. I've seen some guys butcher and debone while the deer is still hanging, but I haven't tried that yet.

edit: I guess we were posting at the same time Calvin. Sounds like you're going about it like I did. I'd be grateful for a proven pattern to start with. I had a feeling I was headed in the wrong direction.
Click to expand...

Anthony,
Send me your address in a private message and I will send you a pattern. Remember,I used D-2 blade steel.
 
PM sent Calvin. Thanks for the help guys. The processors around me are charging $65-$75 per deer now and it just doesn't make sense to me anymore to pay that much for what is supposed to free meat, or at least lower cost meat. Plus, I'm kind of a skeptic anyway and I always wonder if you're even getting the actual deer back that you sent or is it all mixed together in batches.
 
'Nother way of looking is.....
Green River Knives makes some slim, high carbon knife blanks that fit your requirements without all the hoopla.
Been using several of their knifes for 15 years or so and am very happy with them.
They actually work much better than my wife's high priced German kitchen knife set.
They resharpen real easy in the kitchen with a round knife steel and the edges stays pretty good, depending on the usage and abuse given to it.
I just go another 6 blades to make for a new daughter in-law.
For their quality and price, don't want to reinvent the wheel.
(PS. I do regrind the upper edge profile to whatever shape is desired, but leave the sharp edge alone.)
Suggest you try their butcher knife blank or a re-profiled hunter blank.
from our website's sponser's website...
butcher.jpg
 
knives are tools and different folks like different knives to do a job. before making one, i would pick up a green river or old hickory in a couple different styles and find what works best for you. again remembering that removing the hide, cutting the animal into chunks, and cutting the chunks into steaks and roasts are three different tasks and you may need three different knives to do it.
a blade like this would work well for step 2 fosterbroscleaver1a.jpg
 
I have an old Cold steel Hudson bay scalper that works great for butchering. Its similar to the Green River but has a bit better steel. I use one of my knives for field dressing and skinning and then switch this bottom one for the rest.
Coldsteelhudsonbay.jpg

-Aaron
 
Thanks for the ideas guys, but I'm weird I guess. I just can't "buy" a knife anymore, when I see one I automatically think to myself, I can make that. My skinning knife is 14c28n, which love or hate it, I can say it will process a deer from field to freezer without resharpening. In fact, it didn't lose any cutting ability that I could notice. It's just not designed for butchering. I think I'll try Calvin's design, and if for some reason I don't like it, I'll pass it to the kitchen knife drawer. I'm really leaning towards using the same Sandvik steel again.
 
I have the same thought process Anthony. I wouldn't buy another knife if I could make it. The Hudson Bay was just one i picked up before I got the knife making disease. Calvin's design looks very effective I'm sure it will work great.

-Aaron
 
Calvin's pattern looks like a dandy to me.

Aside from hunting all of my life, I worked for a deer processor during high school and college, and have literally cut up hundreds of deer. You want a boning knife, not a wide chefs knife. No need to reinvent the wheel, form follows function, take a look at Forschner, or Dexter-Russell boning knives as examples, there are lots of others. There are several styles, personally I don't like the up swept blade, but that's something you'll have to sort out. I like about a 6 inch blade.
 
I think Calvin's design would work great for processing the meat. All your work will be done on a cutting board slicing backstrap, roast and steaks. The curved, narrow blade will work well. I also agree with his steel choice. D2 tool steel is an amazing steel if done correctly. It gets scary sharp and stays sharp. My personal skinning knife is D2 and I love it. I've gutted, skinned and deboned 5 deer with it before touching it up. I deboned the deer while hanging. Just the way I like to do it. D2 is a semi-stainless as well. Almost stainless. It will resist corrosion really well with a higher polish.

Let's not forget edge geometry and grind selection. Thin to win. Full height hollow is the only way to go. Any other grind will be too thick. I would use 3/32" thick at the most. You don't need strength, you need edge holding and slicing performance. I find a flat ground blade isn't that great after a few sharpenings. The main bevel gets larger and larger, where eventually you'll need to thin the entire blade back down. Hollow ground blades aren't this way. Just my 2 cents

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
Well...... My hollow grinding skill is really in its infancy. I've only tried it a few times with mixed results. I kept getting waves or ripples in the grind, mainly towards the tip and kind of gave up on it. Since this will be a keeper, might b a good time to try again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top