An essential meat processing tool for slicing a lamb roast, quartering a chicken, or preparing your favorite piece of meat for a barbecue cook-up, a butcher knife has some serious meat cutting, chopping, and slicing power.
The 7 Best Butcher Knives
- Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Butcher Knife
- Dexter-Russell Butcher Knife (Our Top Pick)
- Ontario Knife Old Hickory Butcher Knife
- Global Model X Chef’s Knife
- UltraSource Butcher Knife
- Update International Forged Butcher Knife
- Rada Cutlery Stubby Butcher Knife
Our Top Pick for the Best Butcher Knife
Our top pick for the best butcher knife is the Dexter-Russell Butcher Knife.
A hot favorite with professional chefs all around the world, the Dexter-Russell 8-inch butcher knife is the perfect cutting tool for the home chef. Designed for effortless cutting and slicing of meat, with a solid construction, a nice edge, and excellent balance, the Dexter-Russell is the knife you need for carving up a Sunday roast or cutting up steak for a barbecue.
Check the price on AmazonHeavy-duty Razor Sharp Knives for Professional Chefs and Home Cooks
A butcher knife, which is sometimes called a butcher’s knife, is primarily used to butcher and dress animal carcasses, as it features an extra hefty, strong, and razor-sharp blade. It is also the knife of choice for professional chefs who need an efficient cutting tool for a wide range of food preparation tasks such as slicing, trimming, and cutting through thick meat and cartilage, and stripping the meat off the bone.
This highly versatile kitchen knife is an excellent meat cutting tool for those home cooks who frequently have meat dishes on their menu.
As opposed to other types of knives, a butcher knife has a distinctive design. It looks similar to a cimeter or scimitar with a heavy, long, broad, curved blade that tapers to a razor-sharp tip. Whatever type of meat you love to cook, rib-eye steaks, lamb roast, chicken, or leg ham, for the oven, griller, or smoker, the butcher knife is the right knife for the job.
How to Choose a Butcher Knife
To find the perfect butcher knife for your kitchen, here are some important features to keep in mind.
Stamped and Forged Blades
Butcher knives are designed with a stamped blade or a forged blade.
– Stamped Blade
A stamped blade is made with a hydraulic press which cuts the blade into a scimitar-style shape from cold-rolled pieces of steel. The blade is then ground, tempered, and sharpened. As stamped blades are easier to manufacture, they are usually less expensive than their forged blade counterparts.
Most stamped blade butcher knives have a seamless design as there is no bolster between the handle and the blade which means they are very easy to keep clean.
Stamped butcher knives, such as the Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Butcher Knife, are easier to use, with a lighter blade than a forged blade, which makes quick work out of slicing up a chicken roast or trimming ham off the bone.
Stamped-bladed butcher knives may not have the heftier blade and cutting power of a thicker and heavier forged blade. So they may not be strong enough for cutting or chopping through extra thick meat or have the long-term durability of forged steel.
– Forged Blade
While forged blade butcher knives are more costly than stamped blade knives, forged blades have undergone an extreme manufacturing process that produces a thicker and stronger blade and will not chip, dull, or shatter. A forged butcher knife has a bolster between the blade and the handle to add extra strength. Forged blades are ideal for chopping and cutting thick meat and splitting bone but they are heavier to hold than stamped steel.
Whether you choose a stamped or forged blade, use a whetstone to keep them super sharp and always ready for action.
Size
Butcher knives come in either 7, 8, 10, or 12-inch sizes. An 11 or 12-inch butcher knife is an excellent choice for cutting through thick meat. However, depending on the size of the handle, it may be hard to wield and not give you much cutting control.
7 or 8-inch butcher knives are a great choice for slicing and trimming smaller pieces of meat and they are easier to maneuver and give you good control over the knife. However, they are not designed for cutting and chopping thick pieces of meat.
A 10-inch butcher knife gives you the best of both worlds. It’s long enough for cutting into thicker pieces of meat while also being small enough to trim the meat off a roast.
Blade Construction
Butcher-knife blades are either made out of stainless steel or high-carbon steel. While stainless steel is strong and sharp and has extra anti-staining and rust-resistant properties, it can still develop rust over the long term if the blade is not maintained properly. High-carbon steel is by far the superior type of material for a butcher knife. It is durable and has very good edge retention and long-lasting sharpness and can handle heavy-duty cutting tasks.
A blade should be well-balanced and sturdy and have a good level of flexibility but it should not bend too much otherwise it can get stuck in thick meat.
Blade Edge
While most butcher knives have a straight cutting edge which is ideal for chopping up thick meat, some butcher knives have a special Granton edge. The Granton edge design features hollowed-out sections along the blade that might look like a row of identical dimples such as the Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Butcher Knife which has grooves that fill with the fat and juices of the meat being cut and allows for thin, even cuts without tearing the meat.
Other manufacturers may introduce a hollow ground blade like the Rada Cutlery Stubby Butcher Knife, which provides very good edge retention.
Handle
Handles can be made out of wood, plastic, or stainless steel. While wood looks stylish, such as the Ontario Knife Old Hickory Butcher Knife which has a stunning hickory wood handle that feels solid in your hand, it is not as bacteria resistant as modern plastic handles.
Plastic handles, such as the Dexter-Russell Butcher Knife that has a Grip-Tex polypropylene handle, can be used indoors or outdoors and they are easier to maintain. The only real downside to plastic handles is that they can be prone to cracking when exposed to higher temperatures.
Stainless steel handles have that signature stainless steel mirror shine and they are easy to maintain but they can get slippery when wet.
The best types of handles are those that have an easy-gripping, slip-resistant surface or a textured dimpled surface, which also has a hollow handle that is filled with sand to achieve perfect balance and optimal control.
If you need to work with larger pieces of meat, the knife must have a good balance between the handle and the blade for effective cutting control.
7 Best Butcher Knives – Reviews
1. Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Butcher Knife
This exquisitely made Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Butcher Knife from Victorinox, the Swiss knife experts, is the king of kitchen knives and it can handle tough cutting tasks such as slicing full-sized roasts and cutting large pieces of meat.
The high carbon Granton-edge conical ground 10-inch blade has a good length and its very sharp stainless steel blade provides maximum sharpness and edge retention.
As the blade is stamped out of cold-rolled stainless steel, it has good resistance to rust but you will need to wash and dry the blade after each use to maintain its appearance and edge.
The knife is well-balanced and its ergonomic black textured handles are crafted out of non-slip patented Fibrox which is comfortable to hold.
The Victorinox butcher knife has to be hand washed and it is covered by a lifetime warranty.
Pros
- Exquisite Swiss design
- Excellent quality
- Ideal for cutting whole roasts and big cuts of meat
- Strong and durable high carbon stainless steel blade
- Ice tempered to sustain its sharpness longer
- Very sharp
- Non-slip shaped Fibrox handle
- Blade stamped from cold-rolled steel
- Conical ground through length and depth for a wider break point
- Bolsterless edge for extra strength and ease of sharpening
- Ergonomic black Fibrox handles are textured, slip resistant
- Limited lifetime warranty
Cons
- Expensive
- Stamped steel reduces durability
- Can be too heavy or long for smaller hands to control
- Must be hand washed
2. Dexter-Russell Butcher Knife
Dexter-Russell has been forging steel blades since the early 19th century and its butcher knives are used in commercial kitchens all over the world.
The stylish hand sharpened Sani-Safe knife has a straight-edge 8-inch heavy-duty DexSteel blade which is made out of a combination of high-carbon and high-alloy stainless steel, which is specially engineered for professional knives. This special blend of steel enhances the blade’s sharpness, edge holding capabilities, corrosion resistance, and ease of re-sharpening.
Its hand-honed blade has an extra sharp tip that can pierce and cut into thick pieces of meat and its shorter blade length means it is highly effective at cutting smaller pieces of meat into thin portions.
Although the Dexter-Russell knife is heavy at 4lbs, it is well balanced and its white textured, slip-resistant, easy-to-clean, Grip-Tex polypropylene handle can withstand high and low temperatures. Its specially molded design prevents any dirt or germs from lodging between the blade and the handle, which has earned it an NSF sanitary certification for safe cooking practices.
For extra protection throughout the cutting process, the knife has a protective finger guard on the handle and the knife is very easy to clean and resharpen with a whetstone.
The Dexter Russell butcher knife is covered by a limited lifetime warranty.
Pros
- Very good value for money
- Good price
- High quality
- Special DexSteel: combination of high-alloy stainless steel and high-carbon steel
- Well-balanced
- Shorter blade gives you good cutting and slicing control
- White handle works well with current kitchen decor
- Moderate price
- High carbon steel
- Earned NSF certification for its food safety friendly design
- Textured, slip-resistant Grip-Tex polypropylene handle withstands both high and low temperatures
- Easy to clean
- Limited lifetime warranty
Cons
- Shorter 8-inch blade
- Blade can get discolored
- Heavy
3. Ontario Knife Old Hickory Butcher Knife
Featuring high-quality materials and expert craftsmanship, the Ontario Knife Old Hickory Butcher Knife is designed for tough cutting tasks.
The plain edge 10-inch blade is made of extra strong and durable 1095 high carbon steel, which has been fully heat-treated and tempered and its razor-sharp cutting edge makes it an excellent choice for agricultural/industrial and home use for meat processing tasks.
Its beautiful hardwood handle, which is branded ‘Old Hickory’, is secured with brass compression rivets and it is well-balanced and gives you a good secure grip while you cut and slice up all types of meat.
The blade may be a little dull when you first take it out of the box but with just a few strikes on the whetstone, it will be razor-sharp and it maintains its edge very well.
Although the high carbon steel is rust-resistant, it can rust if not properly cared for, so clean and dry it after each use and keep it out of the dishwasher.
Pros
- High-quality design
- Very good price
- Great value for money
- Expert craftsmanship
- Made in the US
- Ideal for professional and home use
- Strong high carbon steel
- Heat treated and tempered
- Ideal for heavy-duty cutting tasks
- Razor-sharp cutting edge
- Maintains its edge over the long-term
- Well balanced
- Beautiful hardwood handle branded ‘Old Hickory’ is secured with brass compression rivets
Cons
- Can be prone to stains and rust if not maintained properly
- Not dishwasher safe
- May need to be resharpened when you first receive it
- Thin blade
4. Global Model X Chef’s Knife
Sleek and superbly crafted, the Global Model X Chef’s Knife is just right for chopping up meat, which has made it a favorite with chefs and butchers, and it is an excellent choice for home cooks.
Forged in Japan from the finest Cromova 18 stainless steel, the 8-inch blade has been tempered and hardened to Rockwell 56-58°, which gives the blade perfect edge retention over the long term and good stain resistance.
The 2-inch wide blade has a tapered fine edge point that has been sharpened and ground on both sides so you can expect an unsurpassed cutting and slicing performance.
Its sturdy design means it can cut through thick meat like roasts and chicken and the thick 4mm spine makes chopping and dicing food even easier. You can also use the Model X to slice cleanly through vegetables, while also preserving the integrity of the ingredients and maximizing flavor.
Besides its unique blade design, the hollow handle is filled with sand to achieve perfect balance and ensure optimal cutting and slicing control.
Working with this knife is effortless as its ergonomic, stainless steel contoured handle has Global’s special signature dimple pattern, which offers a comfortable and slip-resistant grip, and its seamless construction eliminates any bacteria. Global also offers a hollow edge knife with scalloped edges on the blade.
Pros
- Superb quality
- Extremely sharp
- Made from the finest Cromova 18 stainless steel
- Forged in Japan
- Wide 2-inch blade has a tapered fine edge point
- Ice tempered and hardened
- Thick 4mm spine makes chopping and dicing food even easier
- Long-term sharpness and good stain-resistance
- Ergonomic, slip-resistant stainless steel handle with signature dimple pattern
- Seamless design
- Special hollow handle is filled with sand to achieve perfect balance and optimal control
- Comfortable to hold and use
Cons
- Expensive
5. UltraSource Butcher Knife
Whether you are a professional cook or a home chef, the straight-edged UltraSource Butcher Knife has just the right shape, size, and flexibility for cutting all types of meat.
The superior quality industrial-grade butcher knife is popular with butchers, meat processors, professional chefs, home cooks, and BBQ enthusiasts due to its forged cryogenically-treated blade that improves strength, lifespan, and edge retention.
You can cut effortlessly through meat such as steaks, brisket, and leg ham as the knife has a long, curved, and incredibly sharp 10-inch cimeter style blade, but it also offers a lot of versatility for slicing through game meat, fish, and poultry.
The ergonomic slip-resistant textured bright orange handle is well balanced and there is protective finger bolsters located at both ends of the handle to stop any slippage and minimize hand fatigue. The knife has a seamless blade design so it will not harbor any bacteria and it is very easy to clean.
You can choose from a cimeter blade or a straight blade and to keep your knife clean and super sharp, it needs to be hand cleaned and it can be sharped with a whetstone.
Pros
- High quality
- Very good price
- Excellent value for money
- Industrial strength blade
- Professional style butcher knife
- High-quality Molybdenum steel
- 10-inch cimeter blade is ideal breaking down entire roasts, game meat, fish and poultry into smaller pieces
- Cryogenic treatment enhances performance and retains edge longer
- Textured bright orange handle is antibacterially infused and liquid welded for easy cleaning
- Blade and handle are well balanced
- Front and rear safety bolsters to minimize hand slippage and fatigue and provides a confident grip
- Antibacterial textured handles are NSF certified
Cons
- Not dishwasher safe
- Can get dull fast with heavy-duty use
6. Update International Forged Butcher Knife
The heavy-duty 11-inch Update International Forged Butcher Knife is proudly manufactured in the US and it is a great choice for restaurants and home cooks who need to cut or chop up large portions of meat.
The hand-honed straight-edge forged blade is made from a combination of thick forged high-carbon stainless steel and high carbon molybdenum vanadium steel and it has a strong pointed blade tip, which means it will have no problem with cutting rib-eye steaks, slicing up large roasts, and chopping thick pieces of meat.
To help you wield better control over the knife, the strong and durable bacteria-resistant ergonomic handle is made from slip-resistant polyoxymethylene (POM) black plastic and the contoured shape fits comfortably in your hand and it is bacteria resistant.
The Update International butcher-knife has met the standards that are set by the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) food safety regulations, and the knife is covered by a 5-year limited warranty.
Pros
- Excellent quality
- Great value for money
- Good price
- Made in the US
- UL-listed
- Hand-honed knife has pointed sharp blade tip with a strong straight edge
- Sturdy construction
- Easy to use
- Sleek design
- Heavy duty and designed for commercial use
- Made of a combination of forged high-carbon stainless steel with molybdenum vanadium steel
- Durable, ergonomic slip-resistant polyoxymethylene plastic handle has a contoured shape
- Bacteria resistant handle
- Five-year limited warranty
Cons
- Thin blade is susceptible to chipping
- Not very well balanced
7. Rada Cutlery Stubby Butcher Knife
A highly versatile butcher knife, the Rada Cutlery Stubby Butcher Knife is the perfect size for just about any type of food preparation task. It is large enough for cutting meat but small enough to allow for precision when slicing vegetables, a pineapple, and cutting a cake.
Just like the old-fashioned butcher used to use in the traditional butcher shop, this sturdy 9⅞-inch US-made butcher knife has the power to efficiently segment and cut large pieces of meat.
The Rada Cutlery butcher knife features a surgical-quality, heavy-duty T420 high carbon stainless steel cutting edge which is hand-sharpened to make it razor sharp.
Its 5-3/8-inch hollow blade has very good edge retention and the dual serrated plain edge makes a clean, straight cut through meat or tomatoes, and the extra sharp tip is just right for meat skinning tasks.
A joy to work with, this stylish knife has a well-balanced design and the easy-gripping molded resin black handle feels comfortable in your hand while you cut, slice, and dice your favorite meat.
The butcher knife is dishwasher safe but to maintain the knife’s overall quality, it is best to hand wash it in warm, soapy water.
Rada Cutlery offers a hassle-free lifetime guarantee on the Stubby Butcher Knife.
Pros
- Excellent quality
- Great price
- US made
- Stylish design
- Ideal for cutting, chopping, and dicing large cuts of meat
- Highly versatile, can be used for vegetables, fruit, and cutting a cake
- Sturdy construction
- Heavy-duty T420 high carbon surgical grade stainless steel blade
- Hand sharpened
- Razor-sharp edge
- Dual serrated plain edge makes a clean, straight cut through meat and tomatoes
- Hollow ground blade provides very good edge retention
- Extra sharp tip is just right for meat skinning tasks
- Comfortable easy-gripping molded resin black handle
- Well-balanced
- Dishwasher safe
- Lifetime guarantee
Cons
- Blade is bit thin
- Gets dull quickly
- Handle can degrade in quality if put in the dishwasher
Our Top Pick for the Best Butcher Knife
Our top pick for the best butcher knife is the Dexter-Russell Butcher Knife.
A hot favorite with professional chefs all around the world, the Dexter-Russell 8-inch butcher knife is the perfect cutting tool for the home chef. Designed for effortless cutting and slicing of meat, with a solid construction, a nice edge, and excellent balance, the Dexter-Russell is the knife you need for carving up a Sunday roast or cutting up steak for a barbecue.
Check the price on Amazon
