need a bone saw
Equipment
Looking for a well built bone saw for butchering at home, who makes the best?
I do not know who makes the best but I can tell you what I use. Back in the 60s my Dad made fine cabinets and he had a fine tooth hand saw. The kind that has a ~30" long, flat blade that is about 5" tall by the handle and tapers to about 3" at the tip. That is what I use and it works great and has been used for cutting deer for 40+ years. Still works great and cuts fast because it has a long stroke.
I use a battery operated (DeWalt) sawzall,cuts thru bone with no effort,otherwise a plain old meat saw works fine.
Why use a bone saw for butchering? Just curious what the benefit is.
"Why use a bone saw for butchering? Just curious what the benefit is."
I use mine for cutting through bone. The bone makes the meat seem more tinder.
We process 150 Deer or more every year and never use a saw on any of it.
Old butcher told me many years back, that sawing smears any bone marrow through the meat and any strong smell/taste gets transfered into the meat.
Plus nothing goes in the freezer that can't be eaten.
I think I process about 300-400 deer and elk every year without using a bone saw except when someone wants the ribs cut bone in. when they want this I either use a saws all or my band saw. I won't cut a wild game animal bone in like a beef unless a customer really, really wants it done this way. It's just a mess and looks ugly.
To answer your question: get a handsaw that is around 19" long. Make sure it has fine teeth on the blade. You can get them at most sporting good stores. I buy mine from Bunzl/Koch which is a huge supplier of meat processing equipment. For my personal wild game animals I do saw up the neck bones leaving a fair amount of meat on them. scrape off the bone marrow and then pressure cook the bones and meat. Meat falls right off and it makes fantastic bbq, tamales or whatever else you might like. Remember to use a pressure cooker, not a crock pot.
