Knife for slicing bacon

[Cheech]

I have an 8 inch knife that does most of the heavy work in my kitchen.  However, it is not great at slicing bacon...it's just too short.  I get by with it, making suitably even slices, but it's a lot of work.  There must be a better knife out there to help me make quick work of slicing bacon.  Any thoughts?

[Gafala]

I would say most of us use meat slicers for bacon and most other things much more control on size and speed.

[Cheech]

I have a meat slicer but it's nowhere near big enough for half a belly.  Maybe if I cut it in half and just made shorter pieces...I'll have to revisit that.

[Habanero Smoker]

If an electric slicer does not meet your needs, I have been using a 12" Victorinox Fibrox Slicing Knife. I believe you can also get them in 14". The 12" you can slice through bacon in one draw. It is also great for slicing lox, and bread. I find I use mine most often for slicing ribs.

[renoman]

My Henkles 10" carver is my go to knife for carving/slicing everything. I rarely use my slicer as it is a PITA to clean. Only for shaving roast beef. I prefer my bacon sliced thick anyway.

[meyer lemon]

A thin blade 8" to 10" slicing knife will do the trick.  It's great for turkeys, too.

[KyNola]

If an electric slicer does not meet your needs, I have been using a 12" Victorinox Fibrox Slicing Knife. I believe you can also get them in 14". The 12" you can slice through bacon in one draw. It is also great for slicing lox, and bread. I find I use mine most often for slicing ribs.

I have the 14" version of the knife Habs described.  A superb slicing knife, particularly for the money.  Victorinox makes great knives.

[tskeeter]

My thoughts on a knife for hand slicing bacon.

Long.  At least 10 inches, 12 would be even better.  Or even 14 inches.

Scallops on the blade.  These are referred to by a variety of names, but the purpose of the scallops ground into the surface of the blade is the reduce the sticktion between the blade and what you are cutting.  A good thing when you are cutting fatty foods, such as bacon.

Deep blade.  The blade on the 10 inch slicer I use is about 3/4 of an inch deep.  There are slicers that have blades that are closer to 1 1/4 inches deep.  The deeper blade means that the blade will not flex the way my slicer can.  I'd think that a knife blade with little flex would make it easier to make long, straight cuts.

Blade style.  I don't think that any one style is critical.  It kind of depends on what you've got, or what you think you'd use the most.  A ham slicer should work well, as should a pointed utility slicer, or a large butcher knife, or a scimitar style.  Of these blade styles, I think the shape of a scimitar might work best.  Unfortunately, I haven't seen a scimitar with scallops in the blade.

Brand.  Any good brand will do.  It kind of depends on what fits your hand well and what your individual preferences in a knife are (I prefer a knife with a forged bolster).  My personal preference is for Wusthof, because I like the shape of the blade on the chef's knife.  However, I also have a Victorinox scimitar that I use for cutting up pork shoulder, and the like.  Chicago Cutlery also makes some nice knives.  Then there was that old paring knife that was laying around in one of the restaurant kitchens I worked in as a kid.  It was the easiest knife I've seen to get absolutely razor sharp.  That paring knife was a carbon steel blade Old Hickory.

Making sure the bacon is really well chilled (to the point of being close to frozen) before slicing should make the slicing a less sticky process.

[Cheech]

Thanks to all...this is great info...exactly what I was looking for.

[Gafala]

Some times I use my Ginsu Hanaita Damascus 10-Inch Series 33 Layer. Sometimes meat slicers don't cut it.

[Cheech]

my 14 inch Victorinox with the fibrox handle arrived tonight.  I called the butcher today and they said they have 4 half bellies in stock.  With any luck the knife will get some use next weekend.   Thanks to all for the help.

[iceman]

Congrats Cheech.  :)
I use a 14" slicer also for the small jobs. These were made by Forschner.
They hold up well and keep a good edge.





You're going to enjoy the Victornox  :)

[Cheech]

Iceman...I am speechless.  That looks like a knife set from a Hollywood movie.  You definitely have a tool for every job! 

[Thumpinbass]

My parents got me the 8" chefs knife by victorinox for Christmas.   They said it was an expensive knife.   To me, it was just another knife til I did some research.   Little pricey for my tastes but seems to do a great job. 


Allen

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[Edward11]

Most of the time I place the bacon on the narrow edge and slice down with any knife


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