Best Butcher Knife Set: A Complete Buying Guide 2023

You’ll have to purchase a butcher knife whenever you need to size up the meats for cooking. It’s precisely what the name suggests – a large-sized knife with a slight curvature.

Chefs, butchers, hunters, and home kitchens use them to slice and dice the meats. But the process can turn into nightmares with blunt, rusted, and damaged knives.

Getting the best butcher knife set is no easy task with so many options. Continue with us here to know everything necessary to buy top butcher knives for the job.

Type

There are different types associated with butcher knives for commercial or residential uses. A traditional one features wide blades with curved tips for almost any cutting job. You can opt for a boning knife to make smooth meat cuts.

Steak knives cut meat and bones for home use. You’ll need a skinning knife with a straight blade tip for gutting and skinning animals. Meanwhile, the rounded and scallop-edged tip of the long carving knife can make even slices.

A chef’s knife with tapered triangular blades can handle heavier cutting tasks. Tall-bladed cimeters are good for making even cuts on thicker meats. And meat cleavers are the bulkiest, mainly used for less precise chopping.

Durability

Longevity is a significant concern when it comes to commercial uses. Cutting meats with damaged or blunt knives is frustrating. Therefore, you’ll have to invest in a good knife set to last the distance.

Blade material also plays a vital part in cutting raw meat. Don’t ever choose anything other than high-carbon stainless steel. Stainless steel makes all the difference – whether a long blade or a small knife.

Chromium is the element responsible for added durability in knives. It strengthens a blade’s resistance to corrosion from detergents. However, cleaning the utensils by hand can easily dismiss this issue.

Applications

Where do you want to use the knife – at home or restaurant? What are the tasks you want to handle with the knife? Answering these questions is essential to narrow down your preferable options.

You can skip commercial sets for homes and ornamental sets for businesses. Boning, chef’s, and breaker knives are widely used in restaurants. But traditional steak and carving knives often suit homes better than commercial uses.

Choosing a versatile knife set can give you the privilege of handling almost any task. Don’t miss the meat type to take into consideration. You’ll need a slightly more flexible or semi-stiff blade for fish.

Performance

You can use a butcher knife set for cutting vegetables and meat. However, you can’t size deer bones or beef using these utensils. Instead, they’re good at handling cartilage, sinew, small bones, tough skins, and others.

Always choose steel blades to avoid undesirable chips and cuts. Look into the edge retention to keep up with the blade’s razor-like sharpness. Check the blade’s thickness and effective cutting length for proper and even slices.

Handle

Most people looking for indoor kitchen applications forget about the handle. Blood and fats can make the surface quite messy and dangerously slippery. That’s why it highly concerns your safety, comfort, and accuracy.

A textured surface with an ergonomic design can provide comfortable non-slip grips. Try to consider a lightweight handle to work for a longer time. A knife with a pakka handle can further contain anti-bacterial properties.

Comfort

Seeing a knife and trying it on meats can give two different feelings. And you may not find the chosen one comfortable to continue. That’s where you should look into the material and its grips.

Sweaty and messy situations may not hold well for wooden handles. Instead, you can go for nylon polymer or black handles. Outlined wooden ones are more appealing and slightly ornamental.

Accreditation

Only a few smart individuals look into certified standards while buying knives. Buying an accredited knife set can address health concerns. Not many knives have certification from NSF (National Sanitation Foundation). Having NSF approval means you won’t have to deal with health problems.

Our Top Picks

Top 10 Butcher Knife Set Reviews

You can still find many knife sets using our buying guide mentioned above. Finding the right butcher knife will eventually cost you additional time and effort. Our experts enlisted the best butcher knife sets for the money you can buy. 

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1. Mercer Culinary M21820 Millennia Knife Set

Also, you can skip stones/sandpaper with the included honing steel. Its top-notch Japanese steel allows the rapid sharpening. And the razor-sharp edge enables easy maintenance for months of use. All these stainless steel blades feature an additional NSF approval.

Santoprene with polypropylene makes up the durable and ergonomic handle. It also facilitates textured points with a protective guard. You’ll enjoy a tight grip and optimum comfort while using the knives.

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2. TUO Fiery Phoenix Series Knife Set

And the 8″ honing steel can relieve you of stressful sharpening for cutting meat. Its high carbon stainless steel with HRC56±2 hardness ensures longevity with high corrosion resistance. The 18-degree razor-like edges will deliver precise slicing.

An included shear lets you handle chicken bones, fish bones, and sea shells. However, the colorfully outlined pakkawood handle is sure to catch your eye. Its fashionable tan-black combo on the ergonomic handle is the knife’s highlight.

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3. KIWI Knife Cook Utility Knives Cutlery Set

The high-carbon steel can maintain its superior sharpness for months. KIWI delivers a sharp blade like no other kitchen knife. You can comfortably cut around bones to separate meats and chop veggies. You can even order either piece based on your needs.

Its wooden handle enables soft yet non-slip grips. The steel runs into nearly half of the handle for added strength. Keeping up with the maintenance is simple due to its dishwasher safety.

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4. Victorinox Swiss Army Field Dressing Kit

Use the included 10″ honing steel to restore the sharpness by yourself. Special tampering allows the edges to undergo quick resharpening. And the blades of stainless steel can stand against outdoor rigors.

Hand-finishing by expert craftsmen adds aesthetics to the exterior. Its selection lets you use the extremely durable kitchen cutlery for any sized meat and fish. The simple handle won’t disappoint you with a loose grip or imbalance.

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5. XYJ Handmade Multi-Functional Butcher Knife

And their sharpness comes from natural grinders from Mount Emei. Manual sharpening in mechanical ways imparts extended lifespan. Using these forged steel blades, you can even chop soft vegetables on the cutting board.

Ergonomic design with full-tang spec makes the handle non-slippery. An additional sheath covers the boning knife for safety concerns. Beautiful outlines adorn the wooden handle for a perfect match.

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6. Victorinox Fibrox Pro Ultimate Competition BBQ Set

The carbon-rich steel blades can handle all meat types and sizes. The blade edges are razor-sharp and laser-tested for performance. Any blade from the good butcher knife set will give you the cleanest cuts possible.

Its ergonomic handle delivers a non-slip grip, perfectly weighed and precisely balanced. You can use the steel rod for resharpening the edges. Don’t forget the included knife roll to keep them stored safely.

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7. Weston Game Processing Knife Set

However, the adjustable butcher saw with two steel blades differs. It lets you handle tough and heavy bone-slicing work. Therefore, separating meat with its blade sharpness becomes a pleasant experience.

Also, there are game shears with a spring-based lock system to secure the operation. A plastic storage case enables convenient storage for all. And the included steel rod comes in handy during resharpening.

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8. FULLHI Forged Butcher Knife Set

A standard rounded tip can easily remove the meat from bones without shredding. These knives feature little flexibility for prepping fish. And the curved blade with excellent edge retention enables precise, even, and clean slicing.

Its reddish sandalwood handle combines ergonomics and strength. These knives are three-riveted with full-tang for secure grips. Additional tools are there with knives to let you enjoy a pleasant prepping.

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9. Utopia Kitchen Cleaver Chopper Butcher Knife

This one knife with a thick blade suits more commercial uses than homes. It easily cuts through any meat and bones for preps without requiring too many knife blades. A sturdy frame of steel and ABS lets it handle the tougher rigors.

The ABS 430 handle enables simple maneuverability, easy grip, and comfortable cutting. Its ultra-sharp edge retains the original sharpness for a long time. Cleaning is also easy with its dishwasher safety.

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10. Farberware Forged Kitchen Knife Block Set

Also, all the knives have separate protective sheaths. Manual sharpening by experts delivers somewhat extended life expectancy. Their forged steel blades are ready to handle all cutting tasks effectively.

Meanwhile, the handles feature textured and non-slip polymer exteriors. These three-riveted, full-tang knives ensure comforting grips. An included rod for sharpening and a bag for storage is also available.

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Sharpening stones are widely popular for good edge retention. Still, you’ll have to get the sharpening angle and grit size properly. An incorrect sharpening process can make the blade invalid and beyond repair.

You can choose whetstone or Waterstone for butcher knives. Sandpaper also works sufficiently well. But steel/honing rods are no good.

• Submerge stones in the water to release all the air bubbles. You can use oil for whetstone. But never apply water to an oiled stone for resharpening.
• Hold the knife firmly using your dominant hand with its blade facing down. Keep the blade flat-locked using your thumb.
• Place the knife at 45 degrees with the stone center to keep the blade tilted at a 15-degree angle. Apply pressure while moving the knife back and forth with the other hand.
• Burrs on the back resulting from the movement means you’re removing metal. You’ll have to continue till the entire back edge burrs.
• Turn the blade over to move the back from the tip to its heel for burrs’ removal. Keep looking into the surface to remove all burrs.
• Set the blade in previous angles at the finer stone side. Repeat the entire process for refining. It should make the butcher knife workable again with desired sharpness.

Understanding the setup may seem complex for anyone new to knife sharpening. Thankfully, there are video tutorials online available to demonstrate the process onscreen. You can google them yourself to resolve your confusion.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Verdict

Personalize the kitchen and your meat-prepping style with the top butcher knife set. Every knife may look the same, but they’ll feel different in hand. You can apply our guidelines to invest in the best knife set.

Mercer Culinary and TUO are the best butcher knives you should consider. Either one delivers excellent performance in everyday meat preparation. Both sets seem like a full package ready to aid your slicing business.