The Butchers Knife. What Are The Best Knives To Buy?.  

As a professional chef of 46 years, retired the last five, by still cook...you are precisely on target! Those two Victorinox knives plus the 8 inch chef's knife and a steel...all the knives you need for a lifetime!

i totally agree about victorinox. I got an 8" chef knife with a fibre handle 15 years ago and its still my favourite. i have a few globals and they're fine but no where near the value for money of the victorinox. i like my wustof santoku. I guess it depends on if you enjoy using them but I do think a lot of people get obsessed with fancy knifes and get a bit of a fetish about keeping them perfect when they're really there to be used and abused in a kitchen (or a butchers!)

After becoming one of your original subscribers in America, all I typically use are victorinox, and my older carbon steel knives like Dexter, and Old Hickory

I can attest to the Victorinox quality and durability. I got a second hand one in 1975 and it's still going; sharp as ever. Loved the tour of your HQ. Awesome old stuff there - brings back memories of the Butcher's Shop from when I was a kid and what a treasure some of those items are. I'm not a butcher by any stretch of the imagination but we did butcher our own venision at home and when I was older and married we butchered our own beef, pork and poultry - all at home. So any and all of those treasures you have were like gold to us back then.

Having worked in a cutlery shop for nearly 30 years, I will vouch for everything Mr. Rea says. For general purpose, an 8in. french is your best bet. Hoewver, if you are butchering game, the curved boning are excellent.

I bought the 6" boning knife several years ago, after I started watching the SRP, mostly for processing deer/ game. I liked it so much, I now carry one in my pack, in case I need to quarter/ bone out an animal to carry out of the woods :) Nice leather sheath available for it as well..

Thanks for the insight Scott, a little bit of nostalgia especially the bit about Dewhurst we had a store in Norwich where my late mother worked and she loved it. Really appreciate your videos. Take care. Andy.

I've gotta give Scott a huge thanks for these knives!! I've been using the Victorinox semi-flex boning knife since the 1st video I watched. It's my go to for everything in the kitchen or the butcher table. It's even good to skin deer with. Best $20 or so I've ever spent!! It gets a quick hone before and during use. I've only had to hit the stones once (the Mrs. thinks plates are cutting boards).

I bought some Victorinox steak knives on Amazon a couple of years ago and I'll never buy anything else. Unbelievably great price and still sharp today. I'll have to look into their butchery kit. Thanks for the vid. Frankie has a face like the moon. MOONKID

Thanks for the tour!

LOVED your old tools of the trade video too!

Great show thanks. I think you do deserve patrion appreciation. Man I was useless getting a sharpening steel to give me the edge I wanted. As a cnc machinist I tried one of the really sharp tungsten tool inserts and within a few strokes these give a seriously sharp edge. All my cheapo knives get the insert treatment. Full length blade on Sunday roast carves a treat. Still really interested in the flexi knife and at that price you can`t lose. Many thanks for the info. And hey we have tried a few things from your Merchant of Venison Book with great results. Cheers.

Bought an assortment of Victorinox knives 10 years ago and I am still impressed with the quality. Very easy to get a sharp edge on and they tend to hold that edge with minimal maintenance. A good sharpening steel, I purchased an F. Dick 12” and you have all you need. I have also had some Dexter Russell knives that have preformed very well.

Thanks for this video. I've got far too many knives that I'm not happy with. I'm definitely buying the two knives you mentioned.

Thanks so much this was a fantastic video! Love the detail you go into 🙏💖😊

My dad was a butcher. I have his victronox steak and boneing knife. Superb kit. Old wooden handles

Excellent video Scot would love to come and learn from you, look forward to future info on that 👍

I have a couple of Victorinox knives and love them to bits. They feel nice to use and are a pleasure to own. Good value too

An absolute art ! Well done you !

Great video & great advice Scott. Bought my Victorinox 10" chef's (you call steak) knife years ago and it still holds pride of place on my wall. I'm a big fan of America's Test Kitchen and their cooking episodes and they rate it the best knife year after year. Only addition I'd suggest would be a Rapala filleting knife for fish, sushi and sashimi. prep.

Love your content. Best source for butchery skills. Also very enternating

Great info Scott. Thanks.

Nice one Scott, hopefully your books are coming along well :). Need the wild boar one ASAP

I've had mine for about 20 years and love them I have tried many others over the years and still go back to the fibrox handled knifes. But I have found a new one that I'm liking for kitchen work made by rada cutlery.

Awesome set

Wonderful. Thank you. So much more to say but leaving it with Fabulous.

I’ve been using Forschner knives throughout my 30+ years of Cheffing, they are now made by Victorinox, GREAT knives I love them. Thanks Scott.

Thanks for everything!!

have a 12” scimetar, that is atleast 35 years old and it’s still sharp and always ready for those briskets. and that’s not a headquarter, that’s a badass man cave!

I Love very good Knives and love to own them really this video is very very useful thanks for sharing

Wish i would hve been there brother. Good times ....Great steel. Love the awards.

Cool tour, thanks

Well done old Chap, thanks for the tour..

Hi Scott love the setup and those bit tins of Colman's. Yes i remember from my childhood the only mustard we had was Coleman's mustard Powder in order to put on sausage and ham we take some out in a cup and add a little water and that was before the jars of made mustard came out and i have been a fan of it ever since i might be only 74 years young but would never miss your Videos scott use to work in a meet packing plant where we killed the animals there was a boning hall it would have been right up your street i worked in the killing floor and in the red offal it was good to get a job back then any job would have wheeled skitter up one side of a plank and down the other side if i got payed for it lol

I used Victorinox for years. Six inch boning, ten inch breaking but with F. Dick steel. Great knives and well worth the money

Never going back from my Victorinox knives and F.Dick steel. Excellent value for money!

Great. Now I know what this weird looking knife with an ugly and spotty looking blade is that I pulled from a trash heap some years ago. I had to have it even though it looked so old and ill treated. Still I felt like it would go through any food item like a dream. And it does. I learned that the blade is made from carbon steel and now I learned it's a butcher knife. That explains why I am able to cut very thin slices of ham and bacon by hand using this knife. The knife just knows what its made for and it really does a fine job even though I am not very skilled in using a knife. All it wants is to be treated well and wiped clean after use. Until I learned the proper name I used to call it my machete.

My "no name" knives don't see near as much use as yours do, but I still try to take good care of them. I learned to sharpen them by hand with water stones. They are pretty much razor sharp and do a wonderful job. Thanks for showing us around the "work shop", and when I come to the UK for a visit, I will look into one of your master classes ... :) ... Cheers!

That's beautiful😍😍

Hi Scott, Not a butcher, but keen amateur. For my wedding in 1987, I asked my dad to buy a butchers knife, chopper and steel. The 12" blade knife and steel are Victorinox and the chopper Richardsons. All are still in use today. Thanks.

I'm amazed you've made it this far with all your fingers intact. I was hoping you might look to pass your knowledge on in classes, Scott. You'll have people from all over Britain trying to attend. You could also write a book on your life in butchery.

Those knives are great. I have added a stainless Chinese clever and it is a great tool too.

Hi Scott, could you please post the model numbers for the two must have Fibrox knives?

Cracking video that Scott, I bought that semi flex Victorinox. Cracking knife

I just love your videos, I can't seem to find the knife case online at all. Any ideas on anything similar?

I agree with you about global, and I use veteranOx myself. On the other hand, I think if a global knife is only used for its purpose and not abused, it would easily last 30 years, just like the any other knife on the market

A few years ago, when you first began to talk about this, I began to buy Victorinox. They have worked very well but could use more advice on how to sharpen them. I use a 10 inch sodoku" for vegetable prep."

I love Victorinox knives, still have my grand nans boning knife from the 40's when she was a butcher. Still use it to this day to break down carcasses at home.

Excellent video as usual Scott; you've helped me loads. I struggle sharpening my 5 inch Victorinox lamb skinner, up near the end of the tip is my bogey. What's the best method to sharpen them...ATB

Thanks for that video mate, I’ve been looking at the Victorinox knives, I think I will get myself some now 👍 Also dewhursts are great butchers, I used to use the one on Tottenham high road for years! 👍

I have found it takes me about 35 years to wear out a carbon steel knife in my home kitchen, I mean you could still use it ,but it’s nothing like the length and shape it was ! Dewhursts was Vesty if I remember right, they had a lot of shops and no reputation for good quality meat( in my area anyway)

Hey Scott. Really great video and collection. I have a question. I recently purchased a 10" Victorinox breaking knife primarily for slicing rib eye steaks and similar. Would I notice much of a difference using a 10" Victorinox Cimeter instead? The price difference between the two is noticeable. The knives look really similar, though the weight is different.

I'm in on the classes when you get it up and running. USA Rhode island

I agree, I do all of my game processing with a 6” semi stiff boning knife, and an 8” breaking knife. All Victorinox.

Hey Scott, quick question about the HQ: How do you control the temperature while you're butchering? I work for a big chain retail "butcher" in the US and we have to keep our prep space and meats below 41 degrees (5 Celsius) to meet food safety standards. Obviously you're not going to be sweating on the block in the middle of summer, so I guess my real question is how cold do you keep the place while you're working?

After the last video when Scott showed us his knifes, I bought a set of Victorinox. It's been 3 years and I'm confident they will indeed last. Incredible value for the price.

Love my victorinox and dexter knives

love your videos!!

I do primarily rabbits and chickens but my mora and dexter russell boning at my 2 go to. The mora is only about 3" but I've used it in breaking down a pig along with a cheap breaking knife which I chiped using as a cleaver.

Scott, very curious as to why you prefer the 5 inch curved over a 6 inch curved boning knife and obviously not the one you showed as I know the difference. Wouldn't the 6 inch slowly become a 5 inch over time with proper knife maintenance?

i really enjoy their swibo range as i like how i can use my index finger on the front of the grip. but all in all completely agree with you. its also not that your gonna have a heartattack if someone decided to open a can with it or it was stolen

Gday from downunder mate I've been using Wenger Swibo knives for years. I started with vintage Alfred Zanger Icel hand me downs. Replaced the Wengers a few times, but the old Zangers are as new

You were right about the boning knife Scot, nice one mate.

what flexibility do you suggest for curved boning knife? I plan to pretty much skinning silver skin and portioning should I get stiff? semi flex? flexible?

I got mine from Butchers Eqipment Warehouse on the web, my chefs and boning knife were Victorinox but my steak knife is F Dick and that one seems good quality.

Marvellous educational video! Do you think that Sheffield had stopped making decent knives by the time you entered the trade or were they just priced out of the market? We retail a number of brands of Sheffield made knives for sporting or field use and quality can vary between makers and models but I've not looked at current production butchery types. Would be interested in your view, your older stuff will be mostly Sheffield made I should think. Do keep up the good work.

I find knives are like guitars - you never have enough. Started apprenticeship in NZ (1975) with domestic crud. Couple years in and 1st good set was FDick that I still have. Moved on to Gustav Emil Ern in Aust in the early 80's and still my favorite, especially the carbon ones. Still have some old Victronox and they're excellent, again especially the older stuff, sort of sleeker and more nimble than Dick and Gustav. I have some gems, old US Green River has to the prize, handles are dead dangerous though. I have a Tru Hone, used properly they are excellent, and the Green River is the only one to actually sparked. Bang for buck cannot go past US made Dexter Russell, high carbon, great edge and cheap. Never found a better boning knife for the money than the Dexter.

I use both Victorinox knives shown here. Total cost $110.00 These are the best knives in the trade

lol i love your "john wick" approach to your butchery tools

I love this video and I’ll be honest I love my 6in recurved boning knife with a rosewood handle and my 12in butcher knife I’ve truly been in love with them I just wish work would let me bring them in and let me use them instead of using the cheap crap they have us use, I feel it’s a shame that they don’t trust people with their own safe and higher end equipment “knives” at work. Great video and I truly am a fan!! I want to know what is your take on using a scabbard around your waist as a butcher? Is it a good investment or should I pass on it? If you think it’s a good/wise investment please let me know your recommendations!!!

Victorinox and Sabatier for me. Tried, tested, and true. Never needed anything else. Vix were workhorses for sure, but Sabatier were comfier around the house.

I was shopping for a set of butcher knives and I started with a Mercer slicing knife. I tend to stay in whatever name brand I first buy into, but I wish I had gotten into Victorinox. The Mercer knives I have work great, but if I ever have to replace them I’ll probably go with Victorinox.

I was thinking of getting one of those 10" curved cimeter type knives. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the cimeter style best for slicing steaks, hams and larger pieces of meat, vs chopping like a cleaver would?

The one you call a curved butchers knife, we called a Flare knife, used more to clean out the body cavity fat, some used it as a steak knife, but it was mainly used for the body fat

A great 👍 video SCOTT . It’s a Measure of the man when he shares his knowledge with those of us who are willing to learn , we will pass your legacy on . THANK YOU MATEY 😃

I cannot find a 5" semi flex boning knife on their website or any Google site. Is it maybe a 6" semi stiff boning knife? And is what you call a Steak knife called something else in America? I really need something to cut up chicken without (butchering) it into a mess. Also a good slicer for thin slices of flank steak, brisket, homemade bacon and ham. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

Thanks for this! Trying to scope out adding animals to the farm, and part of raising my own meat would of course be butchering. A great set of knives is hard to come by when you don't have any experience with what you need. Cheers!

6 inch semi stiff Victorianox boning knife with rosewood handle is my knife of choice.

The breaking knife he holds at 3:45, definitely get that one, it's Arabic type of design means you are always cutting with a small fraction of the blade this your pressure is not spread along the entire blade and you can also perform a side motion with it's half moon shape allows for the same apivation as described prior as the blade slides along the meat in a sweeping motion, its absolutely lethat the way it cuts, even bread, just press down and the half moon shape makes a nice clean cut like a blade, def get one, I highly recommend it as well

Excellent SR, the best knives are those made for trade 'no frills' style. VicNox brilliant and also folks check out online Victory brand knives made in New Zealand. Double damn solid utility knives for getting s*** done. Cheap as, have had mine breaking down carcases for a good few years.

I really like Dexter brand. I like your kit though 🤙🤙🤙

I'm a hunter in the US. Do you have any venison heart recipes? Other than pan fried I've only found one decent recipe online, a Venison Heart Escabeche. It's sort of like ceviche.

Hey Scott, what happened to the Breakfast Slice you were working on? Did you ever perfect it?

Greetings from malaysia..

HAAAAA! You did a 'double entendre' @ 2:01-2:02 LOL!!! RUN YOU THROUGH. WTG - bet you didn't even realize it, did-ja, huh? Did-ja. ✨🤗✨

. . . .could you pls. be so kind to explain the advantage of the steak knifes form factor, especially why it is increasing in blade width just befor the tip ? (I mean this is pretty distinguished/ different from a chefs knife as usual) - thank you . . .

How long does a steel last you??

The magic ain't in the bloomin' tools but in the butcher wieldin' them.

Quality knives.

Do you have a recommendation for filleting knives for using on fish? I got one last year that is absolute crap. I tried to do my research before hand, but it all came to nothing. I can't seem to find any actually good information on fish knives. The knife came to me unsharpened (which they said it was supposed to be pre sharpened) and I can't even get it sharp.

It's kind of surprising that Victorinox has never sent anything your way since you've been talking up there product pretty much since day one of your channel

My Swiss 🇨🇭 meat cutting/butcher Father used only JA Henckels. Has their quality turned poor?

Ok I am going to try and bless you I started in the meat trade in 85 and was managing my own Commercial store at 23 years old, I broke hanging beef Fir six years before we went boxed while I do agree that you only need two knives here's is where you miss out forschner carries Victrinox knives now with a granton edge, the granton edge creates a bubble as you draw it through the meat it lessons the friction as well as a cleaner return so a forschner knife without a grantin edge is like a dinosaur and you will surely notice after using both knives that the granton is far superior for cutting after processing 10 to 27 thousand dollars retail meat per day in my current store we get it ,the need for that granton edge ,and the larger forschner scimitar is actually for breaking hinds and fronts, they make a ten inch for simply cutting steaks,and the smaller 6 inch for boning is correct and also now has become available with a grantin edge its a beast, but here's why butchers in the U.S. don't use four inch ,five inch or 8 inch typically those knives are responsible for more injuries ,the take on that is the deoth perception but the eight inch which is a speedy little knife for jumping back and forth between boning and steaks cut more of us in retail than any other knife and when I talk experience I am not talking mom and pops I am talking retail meatcutting in markets that do 50 to 100 plus per week in sales of fresh meat and seafood. So in reflection you see things after 34 years much like do with only a couple key points I started with those two and used most all the others but in regards to what I use now in one of Arizonas busiest meat shops A six inch victronox boning knife w/granton edge,and a ten inch breaker with a granton edge and nothing else needed

Anyone know where to find a 5” semiflex? Seems they’ve gone into hiding or something! I’ve been using Victorinox knives for years and own what feels like every knife they make (except the 5” semi ;) ) many chefs I’ve worked with also use nothing else, there is just no point spending more on fancy steel other than it’s pretty

Good film I used to buy my knives in a trade shop in London always victorinox being a young rechtub I had my city and guilds before I left secondary school I am dyslexic witch no one new about then as I was a complete little bastard my schooling was butchery I was a flash bastard fast neat quality for extra monie I used to buy pigs head from swifts and sell the meat back good earner I soon realised that I would never make monie working for some one in shops despite running shops for duhurst so I changed my cleaver for an axe and became a carpenter but still have fond memories of being the flash gold on boy in reality I was a kcufing tnuc emit to ssip ffo still know my kcab gnals 😂

Scott you advised me on these knives a few years ago through social media messages, got Victorinox and amazing. #SRP

I'm a knifemaker so I make my own. Agree with you about Global knives, I don't like them at all. Wusthof are pretty decent though.

Хороший набор , мне бы такой !

You should also receive a few pallets of free mustard from Colman's, considering the free promotion you gave them...

Where do you buy them from?