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Hand Meat Saws......

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The Appalachian

Feral American
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Decided to go even further off grid with the grocery shopping and will be going back to raising a hog and a calf to kill each year.

Instead of sinking even more money into processing like in the past, my adult kids and I will do all the processing as we do with the whitetails we kill each year.

We usually bone out the deer but will definitely want to keep bone in on some cuts with the pork and beef, especially the pork. Nothing better than a bone in pork chop, nothing worse than a boneless one, in my opinion.

For a year old hog, a two year old steer, and half a dozen or eight deer that we bone out anyway each year I can't justify a meat band saw, and my cutting room doesn't have spare space for one anyway. So, it's a hand butcher saw. Probably can do fine with a 16 inch.

I've hacked critters apart before with a hacksaw, a carpenters saw, and a Sawzall, but this time I want a legit stainless steel butcher's saw.

Can get one from a dozen different sources, and pay a dozen different prices. Any first hand recommendations here before I take a stab in the dark with it?
 
I had these two for years just hanging on the wall. Neither is marked, but I’m pretty sure they’re USA made. Only the smaller one has ever been used. I take the easy way out and use my cordless Sawzall.
 

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Japanese Silky Saws which fold up are the most popular hunters saws here in New Zealand , I assume you get them in the USA . They are folding pull saws usually used for pruning . They are very sharp and very expensive but are a worthwhile investment .and great for making chops in the field .
Click here Silky Saws. The World's Finest Saws | SilkySaws.com
 
I grew up on a ranch and in the meat business and worked odd jobs butchering and at a slaughter house so have done just a little meat cutting. I ditched the hand saw years ago and went with a sawzall with a metal cutting blade. I have a friend who is a butcher for albertsons and he uses at home...you guessed it..a sawzall.

At the packing house we used "chain" electric saws hanging by tether for splitting.

Traditional gear is fun, but sometimes a throwback to old times isn't as much fun as you think it might be.....just go out and wipe your butt with a corn cob a couple of times. You will understand immediately.
 
We just use sawzall as well. We bought some stainless butcher blades for it.
 
Decided to go even further off grid with the grocery shopping and will be going back to raising a hog and a calf to kill each year.

Instead of sinking even more money into processing like in the past, my adult kids and I will do all the processing as we do with the whitetails we kill each year.

We usually bone out the deer but will definitely want to keep bone in on some cuts with the pork and beef, especially the pork. Nothing better than a bone in pork chop, nothing worse than a boneless one, in my opinion.

For a year old hog, a two year old steer, and half a dozen or eight deer that we bone out anyway each year I can't justify a meat band saw, and my cutting room doesn't have spare space for one anyway. So, it's a hand butcher saw. Probably can do fine with a 16 inch.

I've hacked critters apart before with a hacksaw, a carpenters saw, and a Sawzall, but this time I want a legit stainless steel butcher's saw.

Can get one from a dozen different sources, and pay a dozen different prices. Any first hand recommendations here before I take a stab in the dark with it?
Buy the best quality you can afford. And one for which replacement blades are easy to come by.
 
I bought this year back when I started raising pigs and have used it on deer and wild hogs every year since, and bear this year :). I used a band saw once, but didn’t care for the mess and the cleaning of the saw before and after use. Not sure how much I paid but thinking around $75. Great Neck is the brand.
 

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I bought this year back when I started raising pigs and have used it on deer and wild hogs every year since, and bear this year :). I used a band saw once, but didn’t care for the mess and the cleaning of the saw before and after use. Not sure how much I paid but thinking around $75. Great Neck is the brand.
Thank you for answering my post as requested.

And yes, the mess and cleaning of a bandsaw is part of the reason I can't justify one for the small amount of meat we'll be butchering.
 
Decided to go even further off grid with the grocery shopping and will be going back to raising a hog and a calf to kill each year.

For a year old hog, a two year old steer, and half a dozen or eight deer that we bone out anyway each year I can't justify a meat band saw, and my cutting room doesn't have spare space for one anyway. So, it's a hand butcher saw. Probably can do fine with a 16 inch.

I've hacked critters apart before with a hacksaw, a carpenters saw, and a Sawzall, but this time I want a legit stainless steel butcher's saw.
I currently live off grid and have for most of my life. I can see the draw to wanting to do your butchering with a hand saw. With the amount of critters your cutting up you will see that you will continue to use a sawzall once you cut up enough with a hand saw. I have a hand saw just in case I don’t have power to plug the sawzall in.
 
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I currently live off grid and have for most of my life. I can see the draw to wanting to do your butchering with a hand saw. With the amount of critters your cutting up you will see that you will continue to use a sawzall once you cut up enough with a hand saw. I have a hand saw just in case I don’t have power to plug the sawzall in.
I have one Sawzall. It's been drug through everything construction wise you can imagine, including septic work. It's old, it's grungy, and nothing I want anywhere near meat that I plan on consuming.
We just used it yesterday to cut the head off a boned out buck carcass so my son can boil the skull. I'm not going to try cleaning that one up to cut meat, nor am I buying another one just to cut meat.
I have half a football team worth of young adult kids and their significant others who will show up on butchering day grinning ear to ear ready to rock and roll. They'll be more than happy to run a handsaw or two for their share of the prize.

A Sawzall is not in the equation........
 
I have used a Sawzall for splitting down the backbone on deer its ok, but more than not find myself going to the hand meat saw. I find the hand meat saw is much easier to keep clean from bits of bone and meat when using it. Been a few years since Butchering a hog but even then, every cut was done with a hand meat saw, not so many years back around about this time I would help a great friend cut beef and those cuts were also done by hand. (He has since gone on to the great divide) and it greatly missed, as to regular cuts on a deer such as steaks and such I bone everything prior to cutting them, no need to freeze bone.
 
Decided to go even further off grid with the grocery shopping and will be going back to raising a hog and a calf to kill each year.

Instead of sinking even more money into processing like in the past, my adult kids and I will do all the processing as we do with the whitetails we kill each year.

We usually bone out the deer but will definitely want to keep bone in on some cuts with the pork and beef, especially the pork. Nothing better than a bone in pork chop, nothing worse than a boneless one, in my opinion.

For a year old hog, a two year old steer, and half a dozen or eight deer that we bone out anyway each year I can't justify a meat band saw, and my cutting room doesn't have spare space for one anyway. So, it's a hand butcher saw. Probably can do fine with a 16 inch.

I've hacked critters apart before with a hacksaw, a carpenters saw, and a Sawzall, but this time I want a legit stainless steel butcher's saw.

Can get one from a dozen different sources, and pay a dozen different prices. Any first hand recommendations here before I take a stab in the dark with it?
I was walking thru a flea market and saw a wooden handle butchers saw with riveted blade in really great shape. Working as a teen in a small town grocery store with butcher the rivets mean the blade was never replaced, and seldom used.

i asked about price. They said 10, I said 5, they said no. I turned to walk away, they said we will take 5. Best 5 bucks ever spent.
Shop around, if you don't need one now, take your time. It'll show up.
 
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