# Would you ever buy an Electric knife?



## hannahbee (Sep 17, 2014)

Hi all, 

I'm doing a little study on electric knives for a design school project and am really interested in learning what the opinion is out there on them. Especially since reviews seem to be pretty divided on their usefullness.

 I thought I'd ask the experts, so here are my questions:

So, Do any of you own electric knives?

What do you use them for?

What about them do you like/ dislike?

I'd really appreciate any opinions at all: rants, interesting experiences,  simple dismissals. What do you think?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

hannahbee said:


> So, Do any of you own electric knives?


No. I understand the premise behind them, but not the logic.


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## robertoo (Mar 4, 2014)

I got one when I got married.Use it 2 times and put it away,too mutch work ;take it,put knife in,electricitie,use it ,clean it and put it away.

I even don't know where I store it.

A Good knife is more easy.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Don't own one. Never saw the point of it. Added hassle, storage, cords. A sharp knife has been more than sufficient.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

I have cooked on BBQ teams that use electric knives to slice brisket.  I think you can slice a little bit hotter meat without shredding.  The temp of what you serve the judges can be the difference between winning and losing.

In most cases I would rather rest the meat a little bit longer then slice using a normal slicing knife.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

MillionsKnives said:


> I have cooked on BBQ teams that use electric knives to slice brisket. I think you can slice a little bit hotter meat without shredding. The temp of what you serve the judges can be the difference between winning and losing.
> 
> In most cases I would rather rest the meat a little bit longer then slice using a normal slicing knife.


I'm not quite following you there, why would an electric knife shred less? I would think the opposite would be true.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Yes have 4 of them and use on the buffett


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Chef Ed,I am not really familiar with using electric knives, why do you choose them over a regular slicer for buffets?


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

@cheflayne I couldn't tell you why. Logic says that the sawing motion (even if small) would be bad. It's only anecdotal evidence. I'm curious where this thread goes too.

The options were a granton edge victorinox slicer or an electric knife and we had better slices with the electric. A perfect brisket slice when you stretch it has a little bit of pull, but it is still moist. If it stretches like a rubber band (undercooked), crumbles dry (cooked too hot), or breaks into a wet mess (over cooked), those are all getting marked down. I think this one was on the moister side and that is when electric gave better results.

This was before I got into j-knives. I'm going to try with a well maintained sujihiki next time I get a chance. With the amount of money put into competing, it's not bad to have a backup plan.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Maybe the bark on the meat or the finishing grit when sharpening the slicer are important factors?


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Something to consider:


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

As I said, I am unfamiliar with electric knives but I am still having trouble wrapping my head around it, just an old school dinosaur.

You have definitely got my curiosity aroused though and I would love to do a side by side comparison, as I have found this to be the best way for me to reach a conclusion for myself. Especially in case like this because I sharpen my knives to my specs (everyone has their own) and my knife techniques might be slightly different than someone else (because everyone has their own).

I don't want to buy an electric just for a test though. So I guess it is time to check with the relatives because somebody is bound to have one.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

In my searching, I guess people using slicers on meat with bark push straight down first to get past the bark, then do their pulling slicing motion.  Maybe my technique just needs refinement.

Electric knives don't really have much learning curve, so anybody on your team can use it with no training.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

MillionsKnives said:


> Electric knives don't really have much learning curve, so anybody on your team can use it with no training.


I figured that this would be one of the pluses to an electric, but wasn't sure. Great dialogue so far. I appreciate your insight as it helps me to learn. Thanks.


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## hannahbee (Sep 17, 2014)

From what I understand, sped and volume are some of the few places an electric knife might have the edge over traditional knives. They also do seem to make a very clean cut. Whould that be enough to justify owning one though? I guess that depends on your needs...


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

What are the design factors you would like to address.  So far all of the questions/answers are addressing preference... which is good discussion but mroe focused on a marketing study rather than a design study.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@MillionsKnives,I must agree on smoked meats. When I do butts I sometime want to serve chunks instead of pulling. I break large pieces off the bone and slice pieces. Works better then my slicing knives. I also have two battery knives on the boat for filleting fish, The Best!!!


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## hannahbee (Sep 17, 2014)

At the moment, it is just the market, or potential markets, that I'm looking into. The full blown design project will come much later.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@hannahbee,

Please don't overlook the sportsman market. The electric knife seems to glide along the bones and not cut through them for fish. I don't know of anyone down here in Tx who doesn't have them in their cleaning station.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

panini said:


> The electric knife seems to glide along the bones and not cut through them for fish.


Wow learning more new things! That's one of the reasons that I love this industry, the learning never stops as long as we are open to it. I definitely want to play around with an electric knife now to see what I have been missing.


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## dcarch (Jun 28, 2010)

I have one, but I don't use it for food.

An electric knife is what you need to cut foam rubber. 

dcarch


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

I've seen lots of videos on fish filleting and turkey carving with an EK, and yet can't see the point of it. Not to talk about that uncorfortable power cord, the cleaning, etc.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@ordo

the ones we have on the boat are battery driven. Yes, the handle is somewhat bulky but after a few it becomes easy, and it reduces the slimy handles on a regular fish knife.


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

hannahbee said:


> At the moment, it is just the market, or potential markets, that I'm looking into. The full blown design project will come much later.


Thanks... that clarification helps. Even though there are several models of electric knife currently available, some very affordable, and a strong endorsement by Alton Brown... I still don't have one and really don't think I'd seriously consider one. Even if one were given to me for free I might graciously decline. But maybe if you ask again after I fail to get really pretty turkey breast slices on Thanskgiving I'd reconsider. 

One of the features I've hated about electric knife (my parent's had one when I was a child) is the sound of them. They sound something like a hedge trimmer or hair clipper. Both evoke memories of negative experiences for me. That is no joke... really they do. If an electric knife would be quieter I might be tempted to reconsider. But the price would have to be right, meaning very inexpensive.

Now if that electric knife would do a bit more then slice skin and flesh I'd also be reconsidering. If it could slice bone also it would be a "multi-tasker" that would aid in butchering and breadkown of meat... well, brother, that would cause me to seriously consider my negativity toward electric knives. And if the design looked and felt like a Milwaukee Sawzall... that would push me right over the edge.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

I have used them and buy them (they are cheap, and break down fast)--but only for certain things.

Because two blades are moving in opposite directions, the knife does not "grab", and because of this, you can cut some really delicate things with it, likes cakes, St Honere cakes, napolean slices and even crumbly biscotti logs into slices.  I haven't tried hot brisket or meats with it, but I think it would slice pretty good--albeit you can never slice thin with the machine.

Here's a test you can try at home, and it won't cost you much:

Put a dollop of whipped cream on a slice of cake, pop a strawberry on the rosette.  With an electric knife, you can slice the strawberry in half and it will still be seated in the whipped cream.

That being said, the stuff that is available has been so reverse engineered, that the knives don't last long.

As Brian said, they are very loud.

They are also very bulky and heavy.

The blades could be thinner


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

dcarch said:


> I have one, but I don't use it for food.
> 
> An electric knife is what you need to cut foam rubber.
> 
> dcarch


I bought one for carving foam mattress material for my boat (boats have all sorts of unusual angles and shapes, where marine architects put berths). Works great for that.

Never used it for food.

GS


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## notsowooly (Oct 27, 2008)

here in the ozarks electric fillet knives are very popular with pan fish such as crappie. im talkin old school fisherman abandoning their fillet knives for electric models. I imagine speed has something to do with it but more likely is the lack of sharpening


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## cm-chef (Oct 21, 2014)

Ok if you own (or) run a small catering business or do a ton of banquetswhere, and you don't have much skill help other than yourself. I can see how one would be beneficial around the holiday season. 50+ turkeys haveing to be carved by one guy on a very tight time budget.
I had both the benefit (and misfortune ) many years back to work with a Michelin starred chef that pseudo retired and open his own catering business. Around the holidays he payed really good money for help but the work was only per diem. I was out of work at the time (hence the misfortunate part of my statement). Anyway I learned a lot working with him and the point here being he used an electric knife to get the holiday catering out.


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Both the product differences and a very extensive “how to choose” suggrstions are at that web site. What confuses you?

Choose based on 3 things: your intended usage, your budget, and your hand size.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm glad this post was resurrected as I missed it. I'm going to guess that millions reverted to his suji for competition slicing, that's where on a whim I would place my money anyways. I'd say a Japanes Deba would cut closer to the bone and faster than an electric. And now I know it was that old curmudgeon foodpump actually revealed the precarious-strawberry slicing benefit of the electric.

My father took out his GE built electric slicer exactly just once a year for Thanksgiving. Gave him great joy. Backup would have been a seven inch, generic carbon butcher knife, which he was perfectly capable of putting a razor-edge on if he cared to, but he didn't care to. He was a highly skilled craftsman and, inherently, an engineer also. I still have that electric, in it's attractive velor-lined wood case, in sparkly new and perfect working order, and I believe that vintage could have lasted these 55 (or so) years even in a professional environment. Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

@Ann_Mary , that "55 years professional use" is a pure speculation on how much use a "vintage" General Electric slicer might endure, mine probably has little more than an hour's usage on it. Today's electrics are all made cheaply in China.


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## Transglutaminase (Jan 9, 2019)

Have 2 old units.
Fine tooth old GE for the vertical rotisserie (donairs, al pastor)..can't cut fast /evenly enough with a regular knife while rotating. ..I would NOT want to use a razor sharp $$ knife whacking the collection pan & slicing next to the red hot elements.
Bread toothed old "something" for breads..esp. useful on those warm fresh breads with hard crusts & soft interiors.


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## harrisonh (Jan 20, 2013)

no one would use one seriously in a working kitchen for guests, but to carve turkey or ham on a holiday, OK

And the cord would get in the way or the batteries would weigh it down and it would fail or need a charge at the most inopportune time.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

harrisonh said:


> no one would use one seriously in a working kitchen for guests, but to carve turkey or ham on a holiday, OK
> 
> And the cord would get in the way or the batteries would weigh it down and it would fail or need a charge at the most inopportune time.


Would. Should. Could.

If you read my post, 'electric knives find their way into commercial kitchens for a variety of reasons, none of them for meat or vegetable items, but extensively for pastry. Matter of fact, electric bread slicers used by bakeries operate the same way and use similar blades to the humble 'lectric knife.

No, the cord doesn't get into the way. That I can tell you from experience.


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