Rating the 2022 Best Butcher Knives

Not all knives are created equal, and you can notice the difference when you use a high-quality butcher knife.

A butcher knife is so named because these knives are good for cutting meat; however, it does not imply they are solely used for chopping meat. They may be used to chop almost any sort of food, including fruits and vegetables, blocks of cheese, herbs, and nuts.

We’ve included a shopping guide with the finest butcher knives on this list to help you determine which is the best butcher knife for you.

Best Overall Butcher Knife

1. Victorinox Swiss Army Butcher Knife

The top-rated butcher knife on our list is the Victorinox Swiss Army.

It has a conical ground design and is manufactured of high carbon stainless steel. This makes cutting easier and less difficult. The blade is additionally cold hardened for further strength and longevity.

A Granton Edge is a hollowed-out groove on the blade’s edge. Its design prevents the meat from sticking and reduces friction when the blade slices through it.

The knife’s handle is made of Fibrox Professional, which is ergonomic, pleasant, and long-lasting. The knife features a flat spine and an enclosed barb fit tang. This is why the Fibrox Professional handle design is so popular.

The blade is food-safe and dishwasher-safe, however it is advised that you wash and dry it by hand to avoid the knife from degrading rapidly.

The knife is 17 inches long overall, with a 10-inch blade and a 7-inch grip.

Best Premium Butcher Knife

2. Dalstrong Gladiator Series Butcher Knife

 

Dalstrong’s 10-inch bullnose butcher knife is the greatest premium butcher knife.

It is composed of high grade German steel and features a full tang. The blade has razor-sharp edges on both sides that are 14 to 16 degrees, making it exceptionally sharp and simple to cut through any material.

The knife has an award-winning design, with a comfortable grip and lightweight mobility. The grip is triple-riveted and exceptionally pleasant to handle. The handle is constructed of Spanish Pakkawood, which is quite strong. The handle is additionally laminated, which prevents germs from infiltrating the knife’s handle.

The knife’s blade has a Rockwell hardness of 56+. The Rockwell Scale is used to determine the hardness of a substance. The tougher the substance, the higher the number. The blade is highly durable and steady, with a Rockwell hardness of more than 56, making it ideal for cutting through various sorts of meat, cartilage, and tendons.

The tip of the knife is additionally honed and pointed, making it very simple to puncture the flesh before making your cut. The blade boasts an 8-inch edge retention and a two-inch sharp tip, making it powerful and resistant to breaking.

A leather sheath is available to quickly and properly store the knife when not in use to keep it safe.

Best Budget Butcher Knife

3. UltraSource 10” Butcher Knife

 

This 10-inch butcher knife from the UltraSource shop is the greatest affordable butcher knife at roughly $20.

The blade is 10 inches long and measures 16 inches from butt to tip. The knife is cimeter, making it simple to chop chunks of meat, particularly steaks, into smaller pieces.

The handle is textured, and the blade and handle are liquid welded together. It is coated and laminated with an antibacterial coating and sealer to protect germs from entering the knife and making it food safe. Both the front and rear of the knife handle include finger protections to safeguard your fingers. This prevents your hand from slipping down onto the knife’s blade or causing you to drop the knife while using it.

The blade is manufactured of high grade German steel, which makes it a powerful and long-lasting blade for cutting through thick chunks of meat.

Since it is a smaller knife, it is also lighter, making it simple to handle and use while cutting. This UltraSource butcher knife is the greatest budget butcher knife you can get for the money.

4. Aroma House Butcher Knife

 

The Aroma House butcher knife and meat cleaver is both inexpensive and high-quality.

It sports a huge 7-inch high carbon stainless steel blade. It has a Rockwell hardness value of 58 to 60, making it an extremely strong and long-lasting knife for chopping meat. The blade is incredibly sharp, with a 17-degree angle on either side to generate a cutting edge on the German stainless steel. The blade is also rust-resistant, which prevents rust from accumulating on it when wet.

The butcher knife’s handle is ergonomic with a non-slip grip and a complete tang that assures the handle and blade’s toughness. The knife is exceptionally light, weighing just around one pound in total.

You may use this cleaver to chop garlic, onions, tomatoes, and other stuff that needs to be chopped or finely diced in addition to chopping meat.

5. Dexter Russel 8” Butcher Knife

 

The Dexter Russel 8 butcher knife is razor sharp, multifunctional, and ergonomic. It is stain-free, so no worries about meat staining the blade or the knife handle.

High carbon steel is used to make the blade. This ensures a long-lasting and precise cut every time. It is also rust-resistant, making it dishwasher safe if you like. Handwash the knife and dry it promptly for the greatest results in preventing deterioration.

The grip on the handle is slip-resistant and textured, so you won’t have to worry about the knife sliding out of your hand while you cut. It is ergonomically designed with specific finger positioning to maintain the knife securely in your hand while you hold it. It is one of the lightest butcher knives on our list, weighing less than 4 ounces.

The knife is 14.75 inches overall and has an 8 stainless steel blade.

6. Titan Forge 10” Butcher Knife

 

Titan Forge’s 10 butcher knife boasts an ultra-sharp high carbon stainless steel blade with a sharp point for easily piercing and slicing through all kinds and thicknesses of meat. The stainless steel blade is built with ultra-sharp 7cr17mov chromium steel. Chromium is exceptionally resistant to rust and corrosion, giving it an incredibly long-lasting and high-quality knife blade.

The blade of the knife includes hollowed-out grooves to minimize friction as it slices through the meat. A Granton Edge is the name given to these hollowed-out grooves. The knife blade has a Rockwell hardness rating of 57 to 59 on the Rockwell scale. The sharp edge has a severe 17-degree angle. This is what gives the knife blade its razor-sharp edge.

The butcher knife’s handle is made of a polymer combination that is resistant to heat, cold, and moisture, making it practically difficult for the knife to slide from your grip while you use it. The handle is also properly shaped and sealed to prevent food particles and germs from entering. This keeps the handle clean and clear of microorganisms that may otherwise enter and cause disease.

7. Dexter Russel 3-Piece Butcher Knife Set

 

When you’re not sure what size butcher knife you’ll need, Dexter Russel’s 3-piece set has you covered.

This set comes with three butcher knives: a 6-inch curved boning knife, a 6-inch broad trimming knife, and a 10-inch steak knife. Since the blade grind is hollow, each knife has an exceedingly sharp edge. To prevent pathogens from infiltrating the knife handle, it is textured and covered with a sanitation coating.

Each knife is exceptionally light, making it simple to cut through varied thicknesses of meat. Since the blades are constructed of carbon steel, they are incredibly robust, durable, and tough. Since carbon steel is rust and corrosion resistant, each butcher knife must be hand cleaned and dried promptly.

After washing the knives with mild dish detergent, rinse and dry them promptly to prevent rust from developing.

8. Full Tang Butcher Knife with Leather Sheath

 

This AIFUN full tang handle butcher knife is the last on our list.

To begin with, it is not too hefty, so it fits easily in the hand and does not induce tiredness. Large butcher knives or meat cleavers might be heavy and difficult to use, however that is not the case with this butcher knife.

The butcher knife features a complete tang, which adds stability, longevity, and quality to the blade. There’s no need to be concerned about the blade deteriorating or detaching from the handle.

The knife has a razor-sharp edge and is constructed of high carbon steel and high manganese steel, which are both tougher and stronger than standard stainless steel. This is another another bolstering feature of this butcher knife.

Most kitchen butcher knives are manufactured in a factory, but this butcher knife is not. It is hand-forged, quenched, and honed to ensure that you get the highest quality knife available.

The knife is 11.42 inches from butt to tip, and the blade measures 6.5 inches. It comes with a leather sheath for keeping the butcher knife safe while not in use.

What is a Butcher Knife?

 

A butcher knife is a kitchen knife with a long, sharp blade that is used to make various cuts on various sorts of meat.

A butcher knife may be used to remove fat, chop meat into smaller pieces, or cut through the tendons of attached joints. As a result, butcher knives must be sharp in order to cut through the meat’s many distinct fibers.

Butcher knives may be obtained in places other than butcher shops. These may be found at restaurants that provide freshly prepared, made-to-order foods like as ribs, wings, and chicken quarters. Since many of us prepare these meals at home, having a butcher knife on hand allows you to make any cut to any sort of meat at any time.

How Do Butcher Knives Differ from One Another?

Butcher knives are not all the same. A butcher knife may have many distinct characteristics and features, thus it is vital to understand the differences in these qualities so you can determine which is the finest butcher knife for you.

Knife Grind

The knife grind explains the shape that the blade assumes when the sharp edge of the blade is formed. Hollow, flat, chiseled, convex, complex, asymmetrical, or V-shaped knife grinds are all possible.

The greatest butcher knife has a grind to generate a sharp edge with a 15 to 20-degree angle on either side of the edge to make it incredibly sharp.

Knife Shape

The spine and edge of the butcher knife may be straight or curved. Both designs offer benefits that contribute to their success in various ways.

Because of the big blade and thin blade, a butcher knife with a straight edge, such as a meat cleaver butcher knife, is effective in chopping meat. Because of the size and strength of the cleavers blade, the blade does not need to be as sturdy as a curved butcher knife. You may also use a cleaver to finely chop or dice garlic, onions, and other items.

Because of its highly sharp blade, a curved butcher knife, such as a cimeter butcher knife, is great for reducing fat and chopping down huge meat pieces.

A cimeter butcher knife is the finest choice for trimming fat from meat or cutting big slices of meat into smaller parts, since it has an incredibly sharp blade that will readily remove fat away from the flesh while trimming it.

A cleaver is the perfect option if you will be making basic meat cuts and want a multipurpose knife that can also be used to cut fruit, garnishes, or other components.

Blade Edge

The edge of the blade might be smooth or have hollowed out grooves spaced precisely apart on the bottom of the blade. These hollowed-out grooves are known as Granton Edges, and they serve a function other than aesthetics.

The Granton Edge’s hollowed-out grooves minimize friction when the blade slices through the meat. As the blade slices into the flesh, the hollowed-out grooves generate air pockets. This allows the blade to cut through the flesh without slowing, halting, or becoming hung.

Another advantage of the Granton Edge is that it reduces the likelihood of food sticking to the blade during cutting. This includes not just meat, but also onions, garlic, tomatoes, and other moist or oil-based foods.

Knife Tang

The knife’s tang describes how much of the blade is attached or extended into the handle.

Whole, encapsulated, and partial knife tangs are the most frequent. These are the varieties of tangs that are usually seen on butcher knives.

Full Knife Tang

A full tang knife has a blade that runs the whole length of the handle. The obvious benefit of a full tang knife is its greater durability and stability. With a full tang knife, you seldom have to worry about the knife blade parting from the knife handle.

The disadvantage of a full tang knife is that it is heavier than a partial or encapsulated tang knife. This may only be an issue if you want to use your knife for extended periods of time, since gripping a large knife may get tiresome.

Partial Tang Knife

A partial tang knife covers just a portion of the blade’s handle and not the whole length of the blade. A partial tang knife is lighter than a full tang knife, making it more comfortable and easier to wield, particularly if you will be using it for extended periods of time or through repeated motions.

A partial tang knife is more likely to shatter since it does not span the complete length of the knife handle. The good news is that the knife will usually only break under extreme stress.

Encapsulated Tang

The handle of a knife with an encapsulated tang is molded around the tang of the knife. This is the strongest knife tang after a complete tang, which is why it is so successful and sought.

Since it is identical to a full tang, an encapsulated tang may be weighty, causing pain if worn for extended periods of time.

Knife Hardness

The knife hardness is another factor to consider while selecting the finest butcher knife.

The way a knife is measured on the Rockwell Scale determines its hardness.

The Rockwell Scale is a numerical scale that gauges the hardness of a blade. The weaker the blade, the lower the number. The greater the number, the more powerful the blade.

A butcher knife with a Rockwell value of at least 50 should be used. This ensures that the knife blade is powerful enough to cut through the fat, flesh, fibers, tendons, and cartilage of the animal being carved.

A butcher knife with a Rockwell rating of less than 50 or no Rockwell rating at all should be avoided. This knife would be better suited for softer materials.

Knife Blade Material

Most knife blades are constructed of steel, but not all steel is created equal. Steel is composed of many components that influence its strength, corrosion resistance, and sharpness.

Carbon steel and stainless steel are the two most popular steel blade materials.

Carbon steel is exceptionally strong, tough, long-lasting, and sharp. They are simple to sharpen and are great for cutting difficult materials such as bone, cartilage, and tendons.

Stainless steel is carbon steel that has been treated with chromium to make it resistant to corrosion and rust. Because of this trait, many butcher knives are stainless steel, but you should check before submerging the knife in water, since too much water might cause the butcher knife to rust, corrode, or weaken.

Carbon steel butcher knives with no chromium or rust-resistant components must be cleaned and dried rapidly. These are not meant to be washed in a dishwasher.

To clean a carbon steel butcher knife, thoroughly rinse it and wash it with a moderate dishwashing solution. Remove all of the soap from the butcher knife and dry it well with a towel, making sure that no water or soap remains on the knife.

While stainless steel butcher knives may be cleaned in a dishwasher, even the most corrosion-resistant stainless steel can degrade. This is why it is advisable to hand-wash any butcher knife with mild dishwashing detergent and thoroughly rinse it to prevent the formation of rust or corrosion.

Length

The length of the blade, as well as the overall length of the knife, is another factor to consider.

The length of the blade can assist decide how large an area you can cut while carving meat to reduce fat or create smaller pieces of meat. A longer blade can cut bigger animals or portions of meat, but a smaller blade cannot cover as much ground.