When we hear the word “butcher knife,” the first thing that comes to our mind is a butcher with a big knife cutting meat. Alas! That’s not the only place a butcher knife can be used. It’s always advised to have butcher knives and chef knives at home in your kitchen. Many people can’t differentiate between these two, so let’s first talk about the two knives and how different they are. So, how to find the best butcher knives?
Our Recommend Top 3 Best Butcher Knives Comparison Table
| Images | Butcher Knives | Technical specifications |
|---|---|---|
(Value For The Money) Check Price | Ontario Knife Co. 5-Piece Old Hickory Knife Set 705 Read Review | |
 Check Price | Meat Cleaver Heavy Duty - Stainless Steel Chopper Knife with Solid Wood Handle, Professional Quality, for Home & Restaurant Use - 8 Inches Read Review | |
 Check Price | Ontario Knife 7111 Old Hickory Butcher Knife, 10-Inch Blade Read Review |
Summary of Contents
What are the best butcher knives?
Butcher knives are known for their blades, which are normally heavier, wider, and slightly curved. The blades can serve many purposes, including cutting and trimming large pieces. These types of knives are popular with people in the meat trade as it makes the job easier.
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Butcher knives vs. chef knives
The butcher knife and the chef knife are a bit similar in terms of what they do. The chef knife or the cook’s knife was originally used in slicing off large cuts of meat, mostly beef. This has changed recently as they are mostly used as utility knife to dice and slice meat and vegetables in the kitchen.
On the other hand, a butcher knife can be used for other things, but its primary function is to split and cut meat. This explains why this knife is more popular in the meat processing trade. Also, the knives are different from butterfly knives.
Qualities of a good butcher knife
At this point, we will point out the things you should look for when getting your own knife. These are such as:
- The blade
Always go for the best butcher knives with thinner blades, as this makes the cutting and deboning process easier and quicker.
- The Handle
Always keep the handle in mind when going for a butcher knife. The process of cutting meat isn’t easy, and it might take time. There are different types of handles, from wooden to plastic ones. We’d advise that you go for the wooden ones, but in the end, it’s all up to you and what feels comfortable in your hands.
- Design of the blade
You might find two types of designs in the market. The straight design and curved design. Each serves a specific purpose/function. For deboning, it’s best to use the curved design as it’s much more comfortable to use.
Another post: For outdoor activities and advanced cuts, you need to use a machete.
Top 5 Best Butcher Knives Reviews in 2024
Here are what we consider to be some of the best butcher knives on the market:
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Meat cleaver Heavy-duty knife review (Our top pick)
First on our list is these heavy-duty Meat cleaver knives that have an 8-inch blade for cutting meat and bone. The blade has an ergonomic solid wood handle that is triple riveted to ensure comfort and control. The knife has a hole in the top corner for easy storage on a hanging hook or peg. You can also clean it via the dishwasher with no worries.
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Technical Specifications of the Juvale Heavy-duty Meat Cleaver:
| Type | Butcher Knife |
| Handle length measure: | 6 inches |
| Blade length measure: | 8 inches |
| Blade Material Type: | Stainless Steel |
| Material Type: | Stainless Steel |
| Handle: | Triple-Riveted, ergonomic solid wood handle |
| Easy Storage: | Hole at the top corner |
| Easy clean-up: | Dishwasher safe |
| Color: | Silver |
| Weight: | 2.1pounds |
| Dimensions: | 14 x 4.5 x 1 inches |
PROS
- It can cut through meat and bones easily.
- The wooden handle has a nice feel to it.
- It’s good value for money.
- Very high-quality knives.
CONS
- Some have complained about the wooden handle, saying it needs some more sanding.
VERDICT
This meat cleaver is great. The wooden handle could use some more work, but that’s something that anyone can do.
The product does its job as it’s solid and heavy and can cut through the meat easily. Meat cleaver knife is one of the best butcher knives in the market.
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Rada cutlery Old fashioned knives reviews
Here’s another butcher knife that has a 7 and ¾ inch blade. The blade is stainless steel and hand sharpened to ensure that it’s sharp as required. The handle is silver brushed aluminum, so it has a nice look and feels to it. The knife is the best to hand wash. It comes with a lifetime guarantee, and at its sharpest, it can easily go through any piece of meat and bone.
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Technical Specifications of the Rada Cutlery Old Fashioned Butcher Knife:
| Type | Butcher Knife |
| Ideal for: | Meats, Large fruits, and vegetables |
| Blade length measure: | 7 ¾-inch |
| Blade Material Type: | Hefty blade with a traditional butcher skinning tip |
| Material Type: | Stainless Steel |
| Handle: | Silver brushed aluminum handle |
| Edge: | Long-lasting, razor-sharp knives |
| Overall length: | 12-1/8 inches |
| Color: | Silver Handle |
| Weight: | 0.8 ounces |
| Dimensions: | 16 x 2.8 x 0.5 inches |
PROS
- It’s lightweight.
- It cuts meat and bone with ease.
- It’s easy to clean.
- Stainless Steel.
CONS
- The edge needs sharpening from time to time.
VERDICT
The knife normally comes out of the box pretty sharp but might need some tuning after some use. This is normal for many butcher knives.
This knife is a top drawer and one of the best. It’s lightweight and has a nice feel to it.
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Old Hickory Knife review
These Old Hickory best butcher knives have been in production for the last few years. This knife, in particular, comes with a 7-inch blade for cutting meat and bones. The blade is made out of 1095 carbon steel, which is known to provide a sharper edge than stainless steel. The construction of the blade is solid nonetheless.
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Technical Specifications of the Old Hickory Ontario Knives:
| Type | Butcher Knife |
| Paring Carbon steel Knife: | 3.25 inches |
| Slicing Knife: | 8 inches |
| Paring Knife: | 4 inch |
| Butcher’s Knife: | 7 inches |
| Boning Knife: | 6 inches |
| Blade: | Carbon steel blade |
| Easy clean-up: | hand-wash and dry |
| Handle: | hardwood handles |
| Weight: | 1.3 pounds |
| Dimensions: | 7.8 x 13.8 x 1.6 inches |
PROS
- It has a solid blade construction.
- It has a sharper edge.
- They can easily be sharpened.
CONS
- They require more maintenance.
VERDICT
This is unlike most of the other knives that you use and just leave it out, nope. This one requires a bit more maintenance than that. You need to hand wash it and dry it after using it to maintain the edge and make sure it doesn’t rust. On top of that, you also need to store it better to ensure that it doesn’t get dull faster.
If you’re ok with all the maintenance, then this knife is a great one to have. The blade is sharp and well made. Plus, you can easily sharpen it when it gets dull.
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Professional Butcher Knife – 12-inch Straight knife
As the name implies, this knife has a 12-inch blade and is to be used for cutting meats, fruits, and vegetables. The blade is extremely sharp to ensure that you can get uniform slices when using it. The blade is made of stainless steel and is designed to have an edge that will need minimal sharpening. The handle is ergonomically designed with balance and comfort in mind. It’s also non-slip to ensure that the handle can be used when slightly wet.
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Technical Specifications of the 12-inch Straight Butcher Knife:
| Type | Butcher Knife |
| Handle length measure: | 12 inches |
| blade length measure: | 8 inches |
| Blade Material Type: | Stainless Steel |
| Material Type: | Stainless Steel |
| Handle: | black handle |
| Slices: | all kinds of meats and different kinds of food |
| Easy clean-up: | Dishwasher safe |
| Color: | Silver and black |
| Weight: | 4.8 ounces |
| Dimensions: | 14.8 x 5 x 1 inches |
PROS
- It’s extremely sharp.
- It has a comfortable grip.
- It can be cleaned in the dishwasher.
CONS
- The knife is slightly off balance.
VERDICT
A butcher knife needs to be well balanced to ensure that it doesn’t slip when using it with a bit of force. The knife isn’t well balanced, but it’s not bad to use overall.
The handle of the knife is well made and has a comfortable grip. On top of that, it’s convenient as you can use the dishwasher to clean it.
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Ontario knife review – 10-inch blade knife
Here’s an Ontario 10 inch blade knife that has been on the market for quite some time now. These best butcher knives are made in the USA and combine value and performance for the user. The knives are made to endure and last as well. The blade is carbon steel, which has sharper edges than stainless steel. They have a wooden handle that is well made and a 10-inch blade for cutting meat, fruit, and vegetables.
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Technical Specifications of the Ontario Knife 7111:
| Type | Butcher Knife |
| Overall Length: | 15 in (38.0 cm) |
| Blade length measure: | 10 in (25.0 cm) |
| Blade Material Type: | Carbon Steel |
| Blade Thickness: | 0.1 in (0.25 cm) |
| Handle: | Triple-Riveted, ergonomic solid wood handle |
| Hardness: | 53-58 HRC |
| Handle Color: | Brown |
| Blade Color: | Silver |
| Weight: | 8.8 ounces |
| Dimensions: | 5 x 2 x 4 inches |
PROS
- It’s value for money.
- They are easy to re-sharpen.
- The blade is sharp.
CONS
- It needs more concentration on the maintenance part.
VERDICT
This company has been making knives for quite some time, so you can be sure about the quality of the product. This knife is made using carbon steel, which is sharper but needs more maintenance as it can rust faster. The Ontario Knife is awesome as it comes sharp and is easy to re-sharpen when needed.
Butcher Knife Uses
It doesn’t matter if you’re a butcher or a professional cook; you need the right knives to be part of your kitchen arsenal. This includes a chef knife, filleting knife, deboning knife, carving knife, skinning knife, butcher’s knife, and a cleaver. All these have their advantages, and having them in your kitchen will make the preparation of food to be easy and quick. One of those must-have knives is a butcher’s knife. It is used to carry out the hard and tough cutting, slicing, chopping, and stripping tasks in the kitchen. Below are various ways through which a butcher knife can be used:
Cutting, slicing, and trimming of meat
A butcher knife is a utility knife that can be used to cut, slice, and trim meat. Cut large meat into pieces that you like by use of this knife. Also, the butcher knife can be utilized to slice and trim different types of meat.
Cut and slice tough fruits and vegetables.
Large fruits and vegetables are very challenging to slice using a chef or any other standard knife. A butcher knife can be used to slice these tough and large fruits and vegetables such as watermelons, pineapples, squash, and papaws. Also, you can use this knife to cut different vegetables.
Deboning of meat
Large meat can be difficult to debone using small knives like a chef knife. To ensure that none of your meat goes to waste, get a butcher’s knife to remove all the meat, even that stuck on the bones.
Disjoint chicken, duck, and turkey
For you to separate or disunite the chicken, duck, or turkey, you will need a strong and sturdy knife to do so. A butcher knife is one of the sturdily built and sharp knives to use. Disjoint a chicken, duck, or turkey using a quality butcher knife. After disuniting the chicken, you can go ahead and chop the meat with the butcher knife into small pieces.
Cleaving, stripping, and chopping of meat
Do you have large meat that you need to chop into small pieces but don’t have the right knife to do it? Get a butcher knife as it will help you cleaver, strip, and chop meat. Also, the knife allows you to slice or cut cooked meat.
Conclusion
A butcher knife is an essential tool to have in the kitchen. It will help you cut the big and tough fruits like watermelons, trim larger meats, debone the meat, slice cooked meat, disjoint chicken, and cutting of large vegetables. When choosing the best butcher knives, make sure it is heavy-duty and tough. Also, it should have a wide belly and clip point. The knife’s edge should be extra sharp. The handle should be ergonomically made and of quality material such as wood or rubber. Such a grip will give you firm handling of the knife.
With such features and uses, a butcher’s knife is a must-have for every kitchen. Get a quality butcher knife from a renowned brand to make your work easier in the kitchen.
Don’t buy something which is useless or could damage within a few months. A quality butcher’s knife can easily survive a couple of years.