Whether it’s a beautiful turkey you have prepared for your Thanksgiving feast, a ham you have cooked to perfection for Christmas dinner, or a roast you have made for just an average week night’s dinner, any old knife isn’t going to do when it comes to slicing it. You are going to need a sharp, powerful carving knife to cut through the meat.
When it comes to a large piece of meat, any old knife isn’t going to do. While yes, any knife may be able to cut through the meat, chances are that it is going to ripped, shredded and torn; serving a shredded up pile of meat is certainly not how you want to serve your main dish. A carving knife not only offers the power and stability that you need to cut through a large roast, whole chicken or whole turkey, but it also offers comfort and is far easier to use, making the job of slicing through your meat a whole lot more enjoyable. Not to mention the fact that using a carving knife will allow you to make clean, smooth cuts through the meat, and cut it to the thickness (or thinness) that you prefer.
Yes, a carving knife is certainly a tool that you are going to want to have in your arsenal of kitchen cutlery; however, buying a carving knife may be a bit more challenging than you might imagine. Why? – Because there are so many different options to choose from, and so many different manufacturers produce them. While having a lot of options can be a good thing, it can make it hard to determine which option will best suit your specific needs.
So, how do you determine which carving knife will best meet your carving needs? – By reading this buyer’s guide, of course! In this guide, we have highlighted everything you need to know about carving knives. We have highlighted the elements that separate the highest quality carving knives from the not-so high quality carving knives. We have also shared some important information that will help to make shopping for the best carving knife easier and more successful, and we have even shared our top five picks for the best carving knives that are currently on the market.
If a high quality carving knife that you can depend on is that you are looking for, you have come to the right place! After reading through this buyer’s guide, you will have all of the information that you need to find the best option for your specific needs, and to make carving an easier, more enjoyable task.
What You Need to Know About Carving Knife
As soon as you start shopping for a carving knife, you are going to quickly learn that there are a lot of options to choose from. In order to choose the best option, the first thing you need to do is understand how to separate the high quality carving knives from those that are poorer quality.
In this section of our buyer’s guide, we highlight the things that make for a high quality carving knife, as well as a those things that indicate a carving knife isn’t exactly the highest quality. With this information, you will be well prepared to find an option that will make carving your meats a whole lot easier, and a lot more enjoyable.
THE GOOD
There are definite elements that indicate a carving knife is high quality and will allow you to successfully carve your meat with the greatest of ease. Here, we list some of the most important attributes that a good quality carving knife will offer.
A Sharp, Thin Blade
The primary goal of a carving knife is to make slicing through a piece of meat as effortless as possible. In order to do that, a high quality carving knife will have a sharp, thin blade. The sharper and thinner the blade is, the easier it will be to slice through your meat with fewer strokes. The less strokes you have to make, the neater, the thinner and the more precise your slices of meat will be.
Some Give
A high quality carving knife will also have some give to it. In other words, it will offer you the flexibility that is needed to slice along the contour of the meat. For example, if you are carving a turkey, you are going to want a little give in your knife to ensure that it can conform to the shape of the carcass, as this will allow for a smoother cut with less of a hassle.
Maximum Comfort
The best quality carving knives also offer you the utmost comfort while you are carving through your meat. You want to make sure that the knife has a handle that is comfortable to hold, and even conforms to the shape of your hand. Since you are going to be using this knife for a prolonged period of time, and because you are going to be applying force to it, you want to make sure that it is as comfortable as possible. A carving knife that has a comfortable handle is a must.
A Long Blade
The best carving knives are going to have a long blade. A minimum of eight inches is recommended, though this can be too shore for some of the bigger carving jobs. For a carving knife to provide you with the best benefits, you are going to want it to be between nine and 10 inches.
Full Tang
The best quality carving knives have a full tang blade. In other words, the end of the blade that meets the handle extends all the way through the handle, right to the end. It will also be fastened with a minimum of two fasteners. This will ensure that the blade will be able to withstand the strain and pressure that you place on it while you are slicing through your meat.
THE BAD
Just like there are qualities that make a carving knife high quality, there are also qualities that make a carving knife poor quality. When you are shopping for a carving knife, make sure that you stay away from any option that has – or that lacks – any of the following elements….
Not Full Tang
As mentioned above, a high quality carving knife will have a full tang blade. This design will ensure that the blade can withstand the pressure that you are placing on it while you are slicing your meat. If a blade isn’t full tang, there is an increased chance that it will bend, break or otherwise pull away from the handle while you are slicing your meat, which you definitely don’t want to happen.
A Thick Blade
The thicker the blade, the less flexible it is going to be. You want your carving knife to be able to conform to the shape of the meat, which may mean having to move around any bones that are inside the meat.
Not Sharp
You want your carving knife to glide through your meat and make smooth, effortless slices. If the blade isn’t sharp, you aren’t going to be able to pass it through the meat as seamlessly as you will need to in order to make those precision slices. The sharper the blade, the better it is going to slice through the meat.
An Uncomfortable Handle
You also want to make sure that the handle is as comfortable as possible. You are going to be holding the carving knife for a prolonged period of time, and you are also going to be applying a lot of pressure to it. This means that you want to make sure that you have a comfortable grip. The more comfortable the grip, the longer you are going to be able to use your carving knife without putting strain on your hand.
Best Carving Knives in 2023
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The goal of this buyer’s guide is to help you find the best carving knife to suit your needs. We want to make sure that you find a tool that will allow you to effortlessly slice through various types of meat with the greatest of ease. We also want to make sure that you choose a knife that will allow you to make the cleanest and smoothest slices at your preferred thickness.
With that said, we have taken a tremendous amount of time to research carving knives. We have checked out the different brands on the market, including the attributes that they offer, and we have also read through the customer reviews. Additionally, we have tested various carving knives from several different manufacturers.
After conducting a thorough investigation, we have determined that the following brands of carving knives are the best of the best.
The Victorinox Swiss Army 12 Inch Fibrox Pro Slicing Knife with Granton Blade
When it comes to accuracy and precision for carving, look no further than the Victorinox Swiss Army 12 Inch Fibrox Pro Slicing Knife with Granton Blade. This knife is outfitted with a blade that has a long and narrow shape that has a razor sharp edge; it is designed to offer the absolute best cutting performance.
Not only can it easily handle cutting through various types of meats, but it can also cut through more delicate items, such as sandwiches, breads and cakes.
The unique design of the Granton blade makes pockets of air between the blade and the item you are cutting. This prevents food from sticking to the blade, and it also creates less friction between the blade and the meat, allowing for a more effortless movement and greater efficiency.
Victorinox knives have been handcrafted in Switzerland since 1884 and are committed to creating the highest quality knives possible. This knife is a true testament to their commitment to quality.
The Mercer Culinary Millennia 14 Inch Granton Edge Slicer Knife
One of the first things that we were impressed about by the Mercer Culinary Millennia 14 Inch Granton Edge Slicer Knife is how comfortable the handle is. That’s because it is ergonomically and made out of a combination of Santoprene and polypropylene, which makes it extremely comfortable and durable.
It also has textured finger points, which help to improve grip and prevent slippage. The handle also has a protective finger guard, which maximizes the safety of this carving knife.
The blade is made from extremely high quality Japanese steel, which allows it to maintain its sharp edge for longer periods of time. When the blade does need to be sharpened, it sharpens with the greatest of ease, and quickly, which always ensures that you will have a razor sharp edge to slice with.
The Mercer Culinary Millennia 14 Inch Granton Edge Slicer Knife is NSF certified and is backed by a limited lifetime warranty, so you can ensure that you will be making a sound investment in this knife.
The Full Aero Clamshell Aero Knife
The Aero Knife is designed to stay razor sharp for its full lifetime. That is thanks to its aerodynamic design, which creates less friction between the blade and whatever item you are slicing – whether it’s meat or bread. This means that food won’t stick to the blade, making for clean, easy cuts every time you pass the blade through any food item.
The Aero Knife is truly one of the most versatile knives you will have in your cutlery drawer or knife block. It carves, slices, filets, chops, dices – and so much more – with the greatest of ease. Thanks to the construction and the design of the handle, you will also enjoy maximum comfort while you are slicing, allowing you to use it for prolonged periods of time without having to worry about pinching or discomfort in your hand.
The Update International KGE – 07 12 Inch Forged Granton Edge Carving Knife
The Update International KGE – 07 12 Inch Forged Granton Edge Carving Knife is bound to be an excellent addition to your cutlery collection. It has a full tang, forged granton edge blade. The blade will create pockets of air between itself and whatever item you are slicing through.
This means prevents meat, bread, fruits or anything else that you are slicing through from sticking to the surface of the blade, which makes for smoother and cleaner slices – and also makes it a lot easier to use the knife in general.
The handle of this Update International KGE – 07 Granton Carving Knife is constructed of POM, which is extremely durable and slip resistant. It offers a contoured shape that fits naturally in your hand and makes handling the knife a lot easier and much more comfortable.
The ZYLISS Carving Knife With Sheath Cover
The high carbon stainless steel blade of the ZYLISS Carving Knife has an extremely sharp cutting edge, and it retains its sharpness for longer periods of time than other carving knives. This means that you can enjoy slicing your meats for a long time without having to worry about sharpening the blade.
With an ergonomically designed handle, this carving knife is ideal for slicing through even the most course cuts of meat, including whole turkeys, chickens and hams, as well as roasts; yet it is also delicate enough to handle cutting through finer meats, including fish fillets, smoothly and effortlessly. Additionally, the ergonomic handle is covered with a soft tough rubber grip, which ensure you will have the best possible grip, and reduces hand fatigue, allowing for improved control and greater precision.
You will have extreme confidence when you purchase the Zyliss Carving Knife. That’s because it comes backed by a five year warranty and it undergoes a stringent inspection process before it is allowed to be sold. It also comes with a sheath cover, which protects the blade, allowing it to avoid being damaged by interaction with other materials. The cover also ensures that you will be protected from the sharpness of the blade.
Our Consumer Guide to Carving Knife
Our goal in providing you with this buyer’s guide is to help you find the best carving knife for your specific needs. Though we have conducted extensive research and we are confident in the choices that we have made for the carving knives that we have named for the best carving knives, we are aware that the knives that we have included in this list may not best suit your needs. If that’s the case, you may be looking for a carving knife outside of the five options that we have offered in this buyer’s guide.
Since we want to ensure that you make the best possible choice, we have included this consumer guide section of our buyer’s guide. In this part of our guide, you will find everything that you need to know in order to make the best possible choice. Here, you will find even more information that you need to find the best carving knife for your needs….
What is a Carving Knife?
The term ‘carving knife’ may be confusing to the novice chef, and it may even cause a bit of confusion for the more experienced chef. That’s because there are a lot of knives on the market that are advertised as carving knives, but not all of them actually ‘carving knives.’
So, what exactly is a carving knife? It is a knife that has a blade that is 8 to 15 inches in length. It has either a round or a pointed tip, and the edge of the blade is either smooth or beveled. The blade of a carving knife is large enough to slice across a cut of meat, poultry or fish with a single swipe; in fact, that is the determining factor that sets a carving knife apart from all other types of knives; it can cut through a piece of meat with one single sweep.
Things to Consider When Purchasing a Carving Knife
There are several things that you are going to want to keep in mind when you are shopping for a carving knife. Some of the most important things to keep in mind include the sharpness and the strength of the blade, the comfort of the handle, and the length of the blade, among other things. By taking these factors into consideration, you will be able to choose the best carving knife for your specific needs.
To learn more about the factors that we think are the most important when you are shopping for a carving knife, please keep on reading.
The Sharpness of the Blade
One of the most important factors that you are going to want to take into consideration when you are shopping for a carving knife is the sharpness of the blade. The sharper the blade, the easier it will slice through whatever it is you are trying to cut through. Additionally, the sharper the blade, the less passes you will have to make through the item you are slicing; fewer passes will mean smoother cuts through the item that you are cutting.
The Sharpness of the Blade
You are also going to want to keep in mind the sharpness of the blade. The sharper the blade, the more precise the cuts will be. The more precise the cuts are, the less you will have to remove the knife from the item you are slicing, and the smoother the slices will be.
The Strength of the Blade
You are also going to want to choose a carving knife that has a strong blade. It goes without saying that the stronger the blade is, the more durable it will be, and the loner it will last you. The highest quality carving knife blades are constructed of high quality carbon stainless steel.
The Comfort of the Handle
So many people only consider the construction of the blade when they are shopping for a carving knife; however, the handle is also extremely important. You want the handle to be extremely as comfortable as possible. It should conform to the shape of your hand, and allow you to have a firm grip. The firmer your grip, the better control you will have, and the better control, the easier it will be to operate your carving knife, and the better the slices you will be able to make through your meats, poultry, fish, or any other item.
The Cost of the Carving Knife
You are also going to want to take the cost of the carving knife into consideration when you are shopping. These knives do vary in price, and you want to make sure that you purchase an option that is within your price range. The more durable the carving knife is and the more features it offers, the more expensive it is going to be.
Features Carving Knives Can Offer
Believe it or not, there are some features that carving knives can offer. The goal of these features is to make the knife easier to use, and increase its versatility and its life expectancy. As we mentioned above, the more features a carving knife offers, the more expensive it is going to be. When you are shopping, you do want to make sure that you understand the purpose of these features, and whether or not they are something that you want or need, so that you can determine if the added expense will be worth your while.
Here is a look at some of the top features that carving knives can offer.
Full Tang Blade
Not all carving knives offer this feature, but it is one that is certainly well worth your while. A full tang blade means that the end of the blade that connects to the handle passes all the way through the handle, right to the end. A full tang blade ensures a solid connection with the handle, and ensures that the blade will not bend, break or separate from the handle. It also improves the life expectancy of the carving knife.
A Protective Shield
Some carving knives come complete with a protective shield. This shield will cover the blade, preventing it from being exposed to abrasion and damage that can occur if it makes contact with other materials. This will ensure that it stays sharper for a longer period of time. Likewise, a protective cover will prevent you from being injured by the sharp blade, improving the safety of the knife.
A Warranty
Some carving knives even come backed by a warranty. If you want to protect your investment, this may be a feature that is worth your while. Should anything happen to the knife during the span of the warranty, you could have it replaced or repaired by the manufacturer, or you could have your money replaced (do make sure you read the fine print of your warranty to ensure that you fully understand what it covers.)
