Pro tip: I switched from a standard boning knife to a curved one for breaking down hogs and it's a game changer.

For years I used a straight 6-inch boning knife for everything, including whole hogs. Last month, I finally bought a 7-inch curved blade, the Dexter Russell Sani-Safe, after a guy at the Portland meat exchange swore by it. The curve lets you follow the contours of the shoulder and hip joints so much easier, with less wrist strain. I used to have to make three or four awkward cuts to pop the ball joint, now it's one smooth motion. The difference in clean yield and speed is real, especially after doing three hogs in a row. Has anyone else made a specific tool switch that saved you a ton of time on a particular animal?

3 comments

3 Comments

faith_perez3mo ago

Honestly, have you tried a curved blade for cleaning up the tougher bits like the jowls?

spencer_wood7d ago

Man, that crime scene comment hit close to home. My first deer was a mule deer back in 2018 and I used this old hunting knife my grandpa gave me that was dull as a butter knife. I spent three hours trying to separate the shoulder from the carcass and ended up with meat that looked like I ran it through a wood chipper. Silver skin everywhere, I swear I was pulling it off for the next two days. A curved blade sounds like a lifesaver for those jowls, I always end up mangling them and losing like half a pound of good meat.

noah_palmer423mo ago

Yeah, the right tool makes all the difference. I learned that the hard way trying to break down my first deer with a cheap filet knife. Let's just say it looked less like butchering and more like a crime scene by the end. I was picking bits of silver off the meat for a week. That curved blade sounds perfect for getting into those tight spots without fighting it. What kind of steel is on that Dexter?