Electric Carving, Bread, Fillet and Other Knives
How to Choose the Best From Cuisinart, Rapala, Oster etc
May 9, 2009
Electric knives are suitable for people who don't like to sharpen their knives. They can be used for years without sharpening. Popular brands include Cuisinart, Rapala, Oster, Hamilton Beach and Black & Decker.
Both corded and corded models are available.
How Electric Knives Work
An electric motor drives two serrated blades back and forth at high speed, acting like a mini chainsaw. As the blades always move in opposite directions, they balance each other and there is no forward or backwards force on the knife handle. This makes the knife easy to control.
The blades are loosely joined at the tip so that they stay together and don't split apart.
Limitations of Electric Knives
Electric knives do have limitations not found in conventional knives.
- The length of electric knives is limited. Most blades range from 6 to 9 inches. The specified length should be the length of the cutting edge only, but some manufacturers measure the entire blade.
- Some blades, especially the longer blades, can bend and flex, making it hard to control the knife when carving a roast. These are more suited to boning and filleting.
- Slivers of meat can squeeze between the two blades, creating untidy pieces of meat. This will be more of an issue for long blades.
- Cleaning is more difficult compared with a conventional knife. Cleaning doesn't have to be too difficult, especially if the blades can be easily removed. However food that gets into the knife body will be a problem.
- Like all motorized equipment, the motor or the gears can fail. For important occasions a sharp conventional knife should be available as a backup.
- Electric knives are noisy. This won't matter at a large and noisy party but can affect the mood at a more intimate dinner.
- Not suitable for cutting through bone. Like other knives, the blades of an electric knife will get blunt with use. The serrated blades are difficult for the average person to sharpen but as long as only soft food is cut (not bone or frozen food) the blades should last for years.
How to Choose an Electric Knife
Aside from the length of the blade, other features also need to be considered when choosing an electric knife.
- There should be a hand guard to stop the hand from slipping up on to the blades. This becomes more of a problem when cutting meat because the handle can get greasy and slippery.
- Because of the electric motor and gears, the handle of an electric knife is thick. Some can be too large for people with small hands to hold comfortably. Some knives are held by a thinner carrying handle, which does solve the problem.
- Though not strictly necessary, some electric knives come with two sets of blades: one for meat and one for bread.
- A clip-on plastic guide is useful to help cut slices of the same width. However many guides slide and loose their width setting easily, unless fixed with sticky tape.
- Motor power ranges from 100 to 150 watts.
- The "on" button on some electric knives need to pressed all the time for the knife to cut. This can be tiring if a lot of cutting needs to be done. Other knives have "always on" buttons that only need to be pressed once. This is more convenient but is less safe.
Electric Versus Conventional Knives
Electric knives are convenient but do have disadvantages. An electric knife is a power tool, with the reliability, safety and ease of cleaning issues of any powered kitchen appliance.
A well-sharpened knife is often a better solution.
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