Hot take: I was dead wrong about electric knives

Back in '08 at my shop in Portland, I swore a hand-powered breaking knife was the only way to go for breaking down beef quarters. A young guy brought in an electric model from a trade show and I laughed at it, but after watching him do 30 minutes of work in 15 with way less strain on his wrist, I had to eat my words. Anyone else had a tool they dismissed that turned out to be a game changer?

2 comments

2 Comments

wood.zara20d ago

Honestly, I had the same attitude about bench grinders for years. Thought they were just for guys who couldn't sharpen a knife right with a stone. Then I picked up a cheap one for a big batch of dull cleavers during a holiday rush and honestly, it turned a miserable two-hour job into like, thirty minutes. Now I use it just to set the initial edge and finish on a stone, saves so much time and elbow grease. Ngl, it's not a replacement for good hand sharpening, but it is a game changer for volume work.

reeselewis20d ago

Damn, that's a smart approach. Do you find the grinders leave a burr that messes with your final edge if you're not careful?