For Butches, Meat Cutters, or Fish Mongers

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I worked 2 years as a Butcher and a Fish Monger in a natural foods co-op, then a year as a Meat Cutter in a large chain supermarket. Those years had a real impact on me, mostly not for the better, but some of the positives that came out of that experience include an deeper appreciation for knives. BTW, I have (I believe) overcome the negatives and expanded on the positives from those years.

For those of you who with butchering, meat cutting, or fish mongering experience, how has that shaped you appreciation of knives?

Chris
 
To change the subject a little, how did it shape your appreciation of knives? What qualities in a knife did you find suited this type of daily hard use?
 
Dad was a butcher, so I've used knives as long as I can remember (guns too, but that's another story). He taught me sharp ones are safer than dull ones. I learned how to sharpen on a stone, use a steel (real deal, not a consumer grade one). He gave me the opportunity to use knives and gain skill. Just so much I don't know how to write it. From that I gained a love of knives and using them with skill. I don't have safe queens, my blades all work for a living and that's where the joy comes from. A knife that just seems to come alive in your hand is such a joy to use.
Bob
 
My family is in the food business and when you have a lot of cutting to do you really start to appreciate a sharp blade
 
As a kid I learned to cook and it became obvious that if I used the knife properly and got it VERY sharp the job was much better and easier. At the same time I became involved with wood carving and furniture making ,and it was the same thing -use it properly and get it very sharp! A bit latter I became a metallurgist then it became interesting to compare different steels, that's the third variable. By the way, In the early part of the 20 th century butchers knives were very soft , easy to steel but it had to be done very often.
 
My family owned a small scale custom meat cutting establishment. At a very young age, I learned to process domestic meat and game for the freezer. Dad and Grandpa taught me knife skills including sharpening and cleaning. I understand what "rdg" meant when he talked about "real steels", not the kitchen variety. Our steels were polished chrome steel with no teeth, and you used it about every ten strokes with the knife. We didn't use a stone more than once a week -- and then just a touch up.

That experience led me to a Master's Degree in Food Science with an emphasis in meat microbiology, a commission in the US Army (Quartermaster Corps -- Food Management), and currently a job as a manager of R&D for a major food company (you've eaten our products!).

...but I still have my favorite boning knife and I feel as at home skinning my deer with a Victorinox Lamb Skinner as with my custom knife.

Bruce
 
bladefoolish said:
To change the subject a little, how did it shape your appreciation of knives? What qualities in a knife did you find suited this type of daily hard use?
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For me, the biggest think I came to appreciate is a knife as an extension of the hand or sometimes an extension of just the index finger. A comfortable grip and intuitive grip is easily recognizable and brings an immediate smile to my face. The benefits of good geometry can usually be understood from looking, but never fully appreciated until using for a long time. A good smooth steel makes life better, and it is important to sharpen as little and as evenly as possible.

The knives I found most useful for beef pork and lamb were the Victorinox Fibrox handled boning knife and large slicing knife, and of course a band saw. For chicken it was a fully serrated Victorinox but in my kitchen now I definitely prefer my Messermeister Merridian Elite 10" chef's knife. For fish, it was a combination of the serrated for cutting bone-in steaks, large slicing knife for boneless steaks, and a nicely flexible fillet knife. The fillet knife I like the best is a relatively inexpensive Western but it has a superb handle shape and just the right amount of flex in the blade.

Chris
 
knifenerd said:
Did you really mean "Butches"??? :D :confused: :D
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Yeah, I meant to type Butchers, but if there are any Butches that have interesting insight into knives please also respond. ;)

Chris
 
The things I learned to appreciate the most from those years was how nice it is to not spend six days a week in a cold room with one hand wet, holding onto something cold and wet, while trying to work as fast as possible without cutting myself or loosing valuable product. Oh yeah, and it is also very nice for holidays to come around and be able to take a vacation rather than work extra hours being yelled at by the occasional rude customer.

Chris

[Edited to add: Sorry, bad flashback, all better now...]
 
Glad to see you out of the stinken grocery business. I'm not a meatcutter, but I work as a nite time grocery clerk ( sorry to say it's my real job) for the last 27 years, boy it sucks. Any way, this kind of goes off the subject but what brand of knives did you use? Most of the cutters I know now purchase their own, mostly Forschner. When I started, the company provided Dexter Russel, good quality flat grind meat cutting knives. Now they have these orange handled USA cutlery knives that don't hold an edge worth a crap. I guess part of corporate cost cutting.
 
Razorback - Knives said:
Glad to see you out of the stinken grocery business. I'm not a meatcutter, but I work as a nite time grocery clerk ( sorry to say it's my real job) for the last 27 years, boy it sucks. Any way, this kind of goes off the subject but what brand of knives did you use? Most of the cutters I know now purchase their own, mostly Forschner. When I started, the company provided Dexter Russel, good quality flat grind meat cutting knives. Now they have these orange handled USA cutlery knives that don't hold an edge worth a crap. I guess part of corporate cost cutting.
Click to expand...

Yes, the grocery business will take it's toll. Bills have to be paid, though. As far as the knives I used, they were all provided and other than the fillet knives were Forschner with the Fibrox handles. Interestingly, each person had their own boning and slicing knifes that nobody else used, but serrated and fillet knives were shared.

Forschners are very good knives for the money, hold an edge reasonably well and have good ergonomics. I have a boning knife exactly like the one I used. After spending so much time with that knife, you use it far more than the others, it became amazingly intuitive to use.

Chris
 
You're right bills have to be paid. I guess I shouldn't complain to much. I've raised a family bought a house and working third shift I'm able to hunt more then my friends who work days. Anyway I feel the Forchner knives are excellent knives for the money. The fibrox handles are required because of bacteria. They touch up on a sharpening steel really well.
 
didn't do too much time "in the shop"....but got enough to never look at beef the same!
 
pendentive said:
didn't do too much time "in the shop"....but got enough to never look at beef the same!
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It changed how I look at beef, and other meat, but not the way most people would think.

There is real beauty in a well cut and trimmed steak or roast, and fresh fish fillets and steaks can look like jewels when displayed well.

Don't go turning vegan or anything...

Chris
 
don't get the wrong idea....I'm with you on this one...

just changed me...can't explain how....maybe how making knives has changed how I look at them too...
 
I've used Forschner knives for 18 yrs processing meat in a high volume grocery store. I also use them for fishing and hunting purposes. The best knives that hold an edge if you take care of them. I even have a old discarded 12 inch steak knife that I use for wacking palm prawns off around the house. The knife hasn't been put on a stone for 6 yrs. Just a steel.
The Dexter Russel I used for a short time while we were a pilot store for my company. I wasn't happy with it at all. The tip of the Dexter broke off while I was taking the hip bone out of a fresh ham. It hit me just under the eye like a bullet. It was a brand new knife.
That was around
 
I used to work produce a lot and used and carried knives every day for a lot of years. I learned what you could do with a small (paring sized) knife and what needed a larger knife (ever try to trim corn with a 3" blade?). It took me a while to learn that the right tool made the job a lot easier. It also exposed me to a wide range of attitudes while I carried a sheath knife (Gerber Pixie) in an urban environment. Interesting time of my life.
 
I grew to appreciate a sharp knife when I was working on a charter boat. Whether it was used for cutting bait or filleting fish, a sharp knife just made the job a helluva lot easier and safer.
 
The things I learned to appreciate the most from those years was how nice it is to not spend six days a week in a cold room with one hand wet, holding onto something cold and wet, while trying to work as fast as possible without cutting myself or loosing valuable product. Oh yeah, and it is also very nice for holidays to come around and be able to take a vacation rather than work extra hours being yelled at by the occasional rude customer.
Click to expand...
...Amen brother......I remember the "cold and wet" part when I "humped" produce in a grocery chain for a spell way back when. I found those inexpensive Vic. Fibrox pairing knives indispensable for trimming and cutting "tasters"...they are still "mainstays" in my kitchen at home. I still appreciate a "softer" carbon blade in the kitchen...but recently have come to admire the thinner, harder Japanese blades now readily available in the US market place.

-regards
 
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