What is a Breaking Knife (And Should You Get One)

Breaking knives are essential utensils in any butcher’s knife arsenal. They are strong, super sharp, and ideal for cutting the most challenging chunks of meat.

In this article, we will go through the features of a breaking knife as well as the most common uses for this knife.

All You Need To Know About Breaking Knives


If you work with beef and large sections of meat, you need a breaking knife.

They are specifically designed for cutting big pieces of beef or any other meat. They perform excellently on all kinds of thorough hard-to-cut meat sections like skin, bones, or frozen meat.

We will now go through the features of a breaking knife, starting with the blade.

Blade

The blade of a breaking knife is pretty long. The most common size is 8 inches, and the length goes all the way up to 10 inches.

The cutting edge starts straight and curves all the way to the tip of the blade. This provides excellent slicing performance. Another benefit of the curved edge is that it’s designed to do the most cutting.

When you use a rocking motion to cut the meat, you will use more of the blade towards the tip. When cutting with a rocking motion, you will utilize the curved blade on a breaking knife to its full potential. The curved part is so sharp that it can cut any type of meat smoothly like a tomato.

The spine follows the design of the edge. It starts straight and then curves toward the tip.

There is usually added weight to the blade so that it can slice through the meat easily.

The material most commonly used for the blade of breaking knives is stainless steel and carbon steel. Both are strong and durable.

Overall, the blade is designed to cut through any kind of meat, no matter how large and how many bones it has.

Handle

The handles of a breaking knife have to be sturdy. After all, this is supposed to be a knife for the most difficult sections of meat, requiring the most force.

They are most commonly made of plastic. Plastic works well since it doesn’t slip and is comfortable for extended periods of use.

The handle has to be full tang because of the pressure that will be applied to it. If it was partial or no tang, the knife could very well break in two, and that’s both dangerous and wasteful.

The handle must be robust and high-quality for a breaking knife to be safe and durable.


What is it Used For


meat

As we previously mentioned, it is used for butchering tasks that require a lot of power.

The breaking knife is supposed to be used for large cuts of meat. This knife will be able to go through skin and bones easily.

You can even cut frozen meat with it with no problem. Its sharpness and strength know no bounds.

The best models of breaking knives will go through beef like butter. They cut all the cartilage, skin, and stubborn parts with ease.


Do I Need A Breaking Knife?


It all depends on what kind of cutting you intend to do. If you don’t work with large sections of meat and don’t cut through bones and skin, then this knife might be overkill.

If you, however, cut a lot of large beef parts and frozen meat, this will be a perfect utensil to make the job easier.

If you can benefit from a breaking knife, it’s a must-have! It will make your life so much easier!


Recommended Model



If you want to try out a breaking knife, this Victorinox Pro Curved Breaking Knife would be a perfect choice!

Victorinox Cutlery 10-Inch Curved Breaking Knife, Black Fibrox Handle
  • PERFECT FOR BUTCHER WORK. An excellent choice for butcher work, this breaking knife was made to easily break down meat into smaller roasts and pieces. The added weight from the wider blade makes uniform slicing easier, while also preventing meat from falling apart or tearing.

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

It will make cutting beef and chicken effortless. Its incredibly sharp edge will cut bones, cartilage, skin, and frozen meat as easy as pie. It’s made from high-grade stainless that is corrosion resistant.

The handle is ergonomically designed to be comfortable for hours of work time. The grip is excellent, and no slippage occurs, even with wet and oily hands!

The knife comes in a 10 and 8-inch blade version, so you can choose the preferred length.

Overall, it’s a perfect, professional-grade breaking knife that will make you cut like a true chef.


Conclusion


We hope we answered the questions you had about breaking knives in this article.

They are really special kinds of knives, used for special kinds of tasks.

If you work with big parts of meat, this knife will be a perfect choice. It makes the whole butchering process much more enjoyable.