[Mantis]

Deer season is here and I hope to be able to fill the freezer again with some venison. I always do my own butchering, but struggle each year using knives during the process that are just "OK". Can anyone recommend a good set of knives that are not hugely expensive but work great and hold an edge?

[kanook]

I use a Buck knife to get it into the cooler. The wife and I then use a filet knife to finish it from there.

What we have found is to keep the knife sharp and to run it under very hot about every 5 min. or so to get the very thin oil build up off. We have 3 Rapala filet knives. 1 large blade and 2 short blade. when all 3 dull, we stop for the night. I sharpen themm the next day and back to it we go.

we average 5 to 7 deer a season .

[Myles]

Professionals usually use top of the line kitchen cutlery, generally from either Henkel, Global, or Wusthof. Very pricey, but to a chef, these are his working tools.

A well made kitchen knife should stay sharp for extended periods, and only need honing with a steel to return it's edge to true. Actual sharpening with a stone is only occasionally needed, even in a commercial kitchen. Usually, the actual sharpening is done by hand, by old school traveling knife sharpeners, that travel from restaurant to restaurant.

For a home cook, some good options are Forschner (made by Victorinox), Kershaw, Cold Steel, Calphalon, and other mid-ranged options. These won't hold up to the same abuse as the higher end blades, but you likely won't be using it 3-4 hours every day, 6-7 days a week.

Generally, you can get by with only a few good blades, the best you can afford. Chef's Knife, Filet Knife, Paring Knife, and a Z-Handled serrated knife can be very handy as well.

[SGR]

Alaskan Guide series of Buck knives in SV 30 steel. They have several versions in this steel, they are very sharp and stay sharp a long time. You won't be unhappy with any of these knives for skinning.

[jbkebert]

http://www.outdooredge.com/images/product/POPgameprocessor_prod.jpg

The butcher set from outdoor edge knives is really pretty good stuff. I butcher 6-7 deer a year and they work pretty good. Price is around $80 but you can catch them on sale for $65 or so. I bought a set of Wustoff knives while stationed in Germany. I paid dearly for them several hundred bucks. The do not hold a edge any better than these from outdoor edge.

[Sunray]

Been using Victorinox kitchen knives since 1973. Good knives aren't cheap, but they make the job a lot easier. Go to a restaurant supply shop.
"...for skinning..." Isn't butchering.

[bigfatdave]

Chicago Cutlery makes a good knife, and you can find them for sale alone, not just in sets.
Get the ones you need to be good from a good manufacturer, and go cheap on the utility knife/steak knife/bread knife category. Don't go cheap on; Chef's or Santoku (8"+), a really nice paring knife (3-4"), your butchering knife, good shears, maybe a carving knife. Quality knives will last forever and you'll find yourself fighting over them in the kitchen rather than cursing them and amassing a drawer full of junky knives.

[countertop]

I use my Buck 110 in the field to gut the deer, skin it, grab the loins and backstrap, and cut out the hams.

When I get home I use my Forschner boning knife (http://www.askthemeatman.com/cutlery.htm) (askthemeatman.com has a wealth of knowledge on butchering generally too). Its perfect for venison and hogs.

[atomchaser]

I like the Forschner knives. The are reasonably priced and good quality. I like the 5 inch curved boning knife for most of the work on a deer. A bigger butcher knife comes in handing when cutting steaks. The other key is to have a sharping steel available and use it frequently during the butchering process.

[Zeke/PA]

You can spend a fortune on "quality" cutlery which in my humble opinion is a waste of hard earned money.
Try to find some Old Hickory carbon steel knives in the patterns that would suit your purpose.
Chicago Cutlery has a good selection and the knives also do not have to be purchased in a set.
As for a "steel" I prefer a ceramic stick instead to reposition the wire edge that forms on a blade from use.

[countertop]

You can spend a fortune on "quality" cutlery which in my humble opinion is a waste of hard earned money.

My 5 inch Victornix Forschner boning knife only cost $25.

[Flyboy]

Dexter-Russell's knives are not as well known as Henckel's, etc., but in my opinion are every bit as good, and cost half to a third the price. They're not sold at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but if you go to a restaurant or bakery supply shop, you can probably find them.

Actually, I've found that to be good advice in general: go where the professionals shop to buy their tools of the trade, and you're likely to find a good deal. It may not be the cheapest deal, but it will usually be a good one.

[stevelyn]

Old Hickory.

[IllHunter]

when Gander Mountain closed their Wilmot retail store several years ago, I picked up a meat saw for next to nothing. It has enhanced my seasonal butchering by allowing me to cut more steaks and chops. I covet a band saw and a shed to keep it in and a nice piece of land to keep the shed.......I digress. My knives are a variety of Wustoff, Henckels and a Forschner boning knife. My honey gave me a Henckels filet knife and that comes in handy. I prefer the Schrade "Finger" in the field. This and a two blade Browning for the field work. The Browning has a gut hook to zip open and the "Finger" does the rest including most of the skinning.

[blackops]

mantis,

Cutco.

[Kingcreek]

I would put cutco at the bottom of my wish list or better yet leave it off. Dexter-russel or mundial are reasonably good knives at a bargain price. I use 2 or 3 filet knives in addition to some custom D2 knives for my butchering and a handforged cleaver. I bone out everything and the filet knives do a lot of the work and are easily kept very sharp.

[maynard93]

Forschner-Victorinox Boning Knife

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Can anyone recommend a good set of knives that are not hugely expensive but work great and hold an edge?

No unfortunately I cannot - not until you define EXACTLY what you mean by "not hugely expensive". How much is that? To some people, that phrase means "less than $50", to others it means "less than $150", and to still others it means "less than $500" - the amount you can pay for vastly varying qualities can run the gamut. There are myriads of choices in all prices ranges.

[Smokey Joe]

Mantis: Dr. Tad has a good point as usual (pun intended, since we're talking knives! :D ) What DO you consider cheap?

I've had good results butchering, with a couple of Chicago Cutlery knives, an antique knife with no markings, a Dexter, and, more up-to-date, knives from LEM, which is a supplier of professional-grade home butchering equipment. Website: www.lemproducts.com

BTW, this year, in a no-knife emergency, I field-dressed a deer with a folding box cutter--nice and sharp, did the dressing job admirably. Downside was that it was a flaming b***h to clean afterwards. NEVER leave the house w/o a cutting tool!

[wild willy]

5 inch boning knife forscher is good get the plastic handle should be able to find them for $20 or so If when your looking you find some white handled ones made in japan get them I can't read the name or remember what brand good knives hold an edge longer and sharpen easier

[Loyalist Dave]

Mora knives, Sweden. Carbon steel, very sharp and stay sharp. I use a small one to skin, and to remove large meat from the bone, and a larger one to make steaks, or shorten roasts.

LD