The day I stopped using a bandsaw for breaking down primals changed my workflow completely

So back in 2021 I was working at a shop in Portland and I kept fighting with my bandsaw blade wandering on these big beef rounds. One day the old timer who trained me 15 years ago came by and watched me fight with it for like 10 minutes. He just said "put the saw down and grab a scimitar" and I laughed at first. Then he showed me how he breaks down a whole forequarter with just a 10 inch knife and his technique was way faster and cleaner than my saw cuts. Now I only use the bandsaw for cutting through bone and I use a knife for everything else. It took me about 3 weeks to get comfortable with the knife work but now I can process a whole steer way faster than I ever could with the saw. Has anyone else made this switch or am I just behind the times?

2 comments

2 Comments

willowg8813h ago

... so on my first day trying the knife-only approach I literally sliced my own apron string in half and had to finish my shift holding my apron together with my belt. But seriously though, once you get that muscle memory down it's like night and day difference. I still keep my bandsaw tuned and ready for the heavy bone work, but I bet I reach for my knife at least 80% of the time now. The old timers really do know what they're talking about, don't they?

annajenkins8h ago

Oh man that apron string thing is hilarious and also EXACTLY the kind of thing that happens when you first try this. I remember my first week I cut myself three times on the same finger because I was gripping the knife way too tight out of nerves. What really clicked for me was watching some old youtube videos of butchers from the 60s and 70s where they break down whole carcasses with just a knife and a steel. It sounds dumb but I literally practiced the motions on air for like 20 minutes every night while watching tv. Just the arm movements and the pivots. That muscle memory stuff is REAL and once it kicks in you dont even think about it. Now I swear my knife feels more like an extension of my hand than the bandsaw ever did.

-1