Norse blades and a quarter of a cow

[The Ice Bear]

mmmm meat, nothing like a good steak during the summer, or anytime really.

 

[barrabas74]

Great Pics! My fam owns beef cattle, every year we take a cow or so for the whole family. Great pics of the butchering the seax definatley looks like a nice worker but so do the rest of them.

 

[bkduckworth]

Awsome pic's. We've been talking about splitting a steer with my family this fall. I think you just pushed me over the edge! Speaking of getting pushed, you two seriously have me thinking about picking up a Crosman 1377.

Later,

Brandon

 

[Maqua]

Cool post! :thumbup:

 

[pitdog]

Great pics buddy, I was only saying to my wife last night that I might have to get a kitchen knife from one of the custom makers soon.....you have now just gone to the top of the list !!!!

 

[chickenplucker]

Seeing that Round being processed brought back memories of an earlier career. Great variety of knives there as well. I still have some of my old workhorses.

 

[koyote]

Oh hey, yah- that reminds me! I didn't get photos of it, but we did a fair amount of work using a KR Johnson superquenched steel french tomahawk. I want to give a plug because the hawk did a stand up job on the jointing and splitting off sections for dog bone.

 

[MattM_Gilbert]

Last week we got a half side into the house.

This thread is incredible; thank you for posting this.

Koyote thanks for the heads up, im go see if i can find anything close to me.. Just the thought of a lamb stuffed with herbs and cooked over coals.......... Brings some good memorys.

Sasha, you are a culinary genius.

The frozen New Zealand lamb at Trader Joe's can satisfy this craving for one. The stuffed lamb leg does make for one amazing dinner party

 

[Apikoros]

A W ! Here's my Favorite Butcher Knive's Christof, Old School got the two on the Bottom from my Grandma, there all 1/16" Thick Blade's, Top one Is a Utica Forge middle one Is a Case XX 431-8 and on the Bottom Is a Early Hammersmith Hand Ground, Butcher Knive's are the Best at Butchering, I think that's how they got there name !

Hi! It's me, Blanche. Pleasure to meet you all.

Those look like great knives. Butcher knives are fantastic for what they do - the curve near the tip is good for even starts of a cut for steaks, or for a push-cut - when peeling back membrane, or fat caps, or just separating muscle groups. I love meat-cutting so much it's not just a job, it's a home craft.

Further down the thread I'll post my own feedback on how the knives felt.

 

[Apikoros]

OK, here's my real Hello.

I'm Blanche, second oldest person in the household, sometimes I help with the knife stuff. Matter of fact, in one earliest on-line exchange, this faceless IRC dude who called himself "koyote" gave me tempering advice - I was trying to make little hat-band pokey-stabbies but only had my gas stove to work with. Almost 10 years later, we all live in wonderful chaos under the same roof.

Now, regarding the Dear De-parted RDB6982. He's provided us with a bounty of steaks, roasts, grind and chili and still going strong. At the co-op, I deal with primal cuts, vac-packed in heavy plastic. Most are boned or cleaned up to some extent, this means as I worked I had to dig through thick layers of fat to find recognizeable groupings. Once the primals were ready to prep, the chef knife and smaller EDC with the jade-colored scales did a fine job. That gorgeous london broil I'm holding up was cut very nicely with the chef knife - but in real life, a thin-bladed butcher knife would work best. The curve or belly (?) near the top means you can start the cut smoothly, without the visible tearing the tip of a pointed blade would leave. Nice clean display cut that way, and much easier on the wrists.

On the whole, despite what I just typed above, if I had to have only one knife to do it all - even the slaughtering and skinning (I know a little from working with poultry on this) - I'd want to go with the Seax. At first it felt odd, but the straight edge was perfect for sneaking around bones and tendons, and when removing fat or other bits of yuck, even cutting out glands. I still remember the feel of the blade's point as I worked through the meat, it felt like nothing less than a big cat's claw slicing cleanly through. I would love to have a blade like that as part of my work knife set, and when we do this again I will probably do 75% of the primal cutting with that - if it's still around.

And... man. I cut nine 1" thick t-bones with a freaking wood saw. If it hadn't been that late, I might have done the whole short loin that way. But hey, long day at work, then come home to CUT MORE MEAT. Professional hint - if you're ever stuck with having to cut rib chops of any kind by hand, mark the whole loin with shallow cuts, then cut through to the bone, THEN saw the bone. Clean, and after you scrape the bone dust it looks like you knew what you were doing.

Thank you all for the kind words. Christof's knives are fun and fantastic, and I feel like I'm living in my perfect Barbie Dream Home.

 

[bmilla35]

Wow....pretty cool. I never saw a piece of meat so huge

I guess I know who to come to when I need advice on which steak to get :thumbup:

 

[kidwholaughs]

OK, here's my real Hello.

I'm Blanche, second oldest person in the household, sometimes I help with the knife stuff. Matter of fact, in one earliest on-line exchange, this faceless IRC dude who called himself "koyote" gave me tempering advice - I was trying to make little hat-band pokey-stabbies but only had my gas stove to work with. Almost 10 years later, we all live in wonderful chaos under the same roof.
.....

On the whole, despite what I just typed above, if I had to have only one knife to do it all - even the slaughtering and skinning (I know a little from working with poultry on this) - I'd want to go with the Seax. At first it felt odd, but the straight edge was perfect for sneaking around bones and tendons, and when removing fat or other bits of yuck, even cutting out glands. I still remember the feel of the blade's point as I worked through the meat, it felt like nothing less than a big cat's claw slicing cleanly through. I would love to have a blade like that as part of my work knife set, and when we do this again I will probably do 75% of the primal cutting with that - if it's still around.
....
Thank you all for the kind words. Christof's knives are fun and fantastic, and I feel like I'm living in my perfect Barbie Dream Home.

Blanche,
Let me be the first to welcome you to the Bladeforums. We are really blessed you have you share your experience with us. Someone once said "If you want to know if a knife is sharp, sink it in to 6 inches of cold beef. Most of us are not professional meat cutters, therefore we benefit greatly from your insight about how a knife performs. I wonder what kind of knives the pros use. Russell, Forschner, Swibo?

I am surprised that the Seax performed the way it did. However, That blade shape does give the best tip control. Btw, what did you guys use the tomahawk for aside from splitting the joints?


God Bless

 

[kgd]

Thank you for your post Blanche and insights into meat cutting.

 

[koyote]

Hawk was for splitting joints and hacking some of the bones into more meal-sized bits for our dog- who eats a 'paleo raw' diet.

I was surprised about the seax at first, but thinking about what I've used wharncliffe and downward curving paring knives for, I shouldn't have been.

 

[Apikoros]

Blanche,
Let me be the first to welcome you to the Bladeforums. We are really blessed you have you share your experience with us. Someone once said "If you want to know if a knife is sharp, sink it in to 6 inches of cold beef. Most of us are not professional meat cutters, therefore we benefit greatly from your insight about how a knife performs. I wonder what kind of knives the pros use. Russell, Forschner, Swibo?

I am surprised that the Seax performed the way it did. However, That blade shape does give the best tip control. Btw, what did you guys use the tomahawk for aside from splitting the joints?


God Bless

Thank you!

The "cold beef" test would vary depending on quality and... well, quality. Fat cuts differently from muscle, grain-finished different from 100% grass fed, calm from frightened at the kill...

I'm not in a high speed processing supermarket, I'm in a neighborhood food co-op. We go through maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of what the big supers do - but we do Full Service. You're not limited to the styrofoam trays, you point to the bit behind the glass and say "I want THAT."

Far as what we use - Jim (who I passed this thread link to, Hi Jim, anything to add?) uses a pretty high quality set - I forget the name, and will try to remember to ask. John, the head butcher, he uses whatever basic set he bought 15 years ago, and just sharpens as he needs. The scales are really torn up, but he can't part with 'em long enough for repairs.

I use a Dick fillet knife, it was a gift from a friend up in the Yukon who's now vegetarian. The butcher knife, and a smaller "sheep knife" (uh huh, I use it for the lamb mostly) are Russells; they're ok. The nylon cutting boards chew up the edges, wish we could use wood. I bought the blanks from a catalog, can't remember whose, along with the dimondwood scales - C did the rough grind for the handles and some of the finish, and I just finished 'em enough to use. I'm also using one of his early trout knives for trout of course, and also cleaning sardines. (We also have a nice little fresh fish case.) The basic chef knife (for cutting chicken breasts into stir-fry) is from my wedding set, Gerber something-something, bought it in 1988. I've got a Solingen salmon knife, that thing is WEIRD. But it works pretty well for the 20+ lb Canadian kings we get in season.

As C stated, the hawk was for hacking. The knives (or my arm strength) couldn't get through the heavy joint tendons, and by then everything was so slippery from the fat I was afraid to get clever.

Don Lee, the butcher with the most yesrs of experience, laughed when I told him about the T-bones. "Ain't you got a Sawzall? That's what I use at home."

Duh. Sawzall. Sometimes the most obvious solutions...

 

[Snake Dr.]

Oh hey, yah- that reminds me! I didn't get photos of it, but we did a fair amount of work using a KR Johnson superquenched steel french tomahawk. I want to give a plug because the hawk did a stand up job on the jointing and splitting off sections for dog bone.

The French Style Hawk's that Keith make's are Great Chopper's, Perfect balance and take on a Nice Cutting Edge perfect for Cutting Meat and severing Bone's at the joint, I got two of his Large French Hawk's and one Large American and a Custom Camp Hawk/Axe I really like my Great River Forge Hawk's,

Hi! It's me, Blanche. Pleasure to meet you all.

Those look like great knives. Butcher knives are fantastic for what they do - the curve near the tip is good for even starts of a cut for steaks, or for a push-cut - when peeling back membrane, or fat caps, or just separating muscle groups. I love meat-cutting so much it's not just a job, it's a home craft.

Further down the thread I'll post my own feedback on how the knives felt.

Them Old Style Butcher Knive's are my Favorite's for Cutting even Chopping up all kind's of Critter's for Thin Bladed Knive's they can really Cut & Chop, And Welcome to BladeForum's Blanche !

 

[baldtaco-II]

This thread is a lovely read. Thanks.

 

[Rockywolf]

Welcome Blanche! Hope you hang around and spend some time with us here...lots of good folks...

 

[Big Mike]

Great photos Christof and very interesting topic. :thumbup: :thumbup:



Here’s one of my kitchen cutters.



An old Butcher knife that has been sharpened down to the shape of a boner.

With its new handle and convex edge, this old workhorse is still a meat slicing machine.




Big Mike

”Scaring the tree huggers.”

Forest & Stream