Best Knife For Slicing Brisket — Nice Slice, no Hacking, no Tearing!

For some people, there is no substitute for having confidence in a company. That’s why they buy name brand products instead of private label alternatives. While some may think that’s a waste of money, there’s something to be said for the security of familiarity. Besides, more often than not, you get what you pay for.

Even if you know next to nothing about knives, you’ve undoubtedly at least heard of Swiss Army knives. You may also have owned one. (I got one for my 21^st birthday — 25 years later, I still have it.)

Victorinox is the name behind the iconic knives, and they’ve been making all kinds of high-quality knives since 1884.

This 12-inch slicing knife is ideal for your best brisket — and for impressing friends with your choice of blade.

The Granton blade is perfect for cutting through meat and other food with ease, and won’t tear or shred the fibers.

The blade is high-carbon stainless steel, and you can keep it sharp with a good honing steel.

The Fibrox Pro handle is designed to fit comfortably in your hand and is slip-resistant. Overall, the knife is relatively light, and it’s well-balanced for ease of use.

Most of the owner complaints I’ve seen about this knife focus on the length; it’s just too long for some people.

My question is: it says it’s a 12-inch blade, so what were you expecting? This is an excellent knife that is a perfect size for slicing a big ol’ brisket.

Let me say right off the bat that I had some concerns about recommending a knife called, “Dexter.” (have you seen the show with the serial killer?) Mind you, with a name like that; it should be more than up to the task of slicing a brisket.

Aaron Franklin recommends this knife in his book, “Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto.” Definitely a trustworthy source, so we decided to look closely at this fine looking implement.

You start with a 12-inch, high-carbon steel blade. Add on the polypropylene handle, and you’ve got a nearly 19-inch miniature sword.

We’re glad to see that the handle is meant to withstand both high and low temperatures, meaning you winter grillers in the north can take this one right outside with you.

Among the selling points of this knife are its sanitary features. The handle is easy to clean, and the handle-to-blade seal is meant to be impervious to intrusion, meaning no harmful bacteria or other crud will collect in small gaps between the plastic and the metal.

Nice to know you won’t be passing nastiness along from slice to slice.

The scalloped blade provides superior cutting performance vs. straight or serrated edges and should glide through the brisket with ease.

Interestingly, the handle is white rather than the usual black or wood-grain. I guess this adds to the “sanitary” look and feel? Oh, and it’s made in the U.S.A. If that sort of thing matters to you.

Overall, we think this is an excellent knife and represents superior value for the money. If you can get your hands on one, we highly recommend it.

If you want a knife that can slice through brisket and ribs like butter for many years to come, you should check out the Smoke Kitchen Brisket Slicing Knife.

Unlike many slicing knives on the market, this knife has been designed explicitly for barbecue by the pitmasters over at Smoked BBQ Source.

The knife has a premium, understated look. You don’t get any of the gaudy designs you see from some of the high-end knife makers.

The first thing you notice when you hold this knife in your hand is the weight behind it. This is due to the VG10 Japanese steel and full tang construction, which means the blade extends through the handle.

Having some weight behind you is helpful when slicing larger cuts of meat like brisket.

The knife never feels heavy, though, thanks to the ergonomic handle, which provides a secure grip even during long slicing sessions.

It’s important to note that the knife is not dishwasher safe, and it should be cleaned by hand with warm soapy water and dried thoroughly before storing it in the included box.

While this knife is more expensive than a Victorinox, you get a superior blade with full tang construction. My opinion is this knife is on par with many slicers costing 10s of dollars more.

Overall, the Smoke Kitchen Slicing Knife offers fantastic value for money and is an excellent addition to any BBQ enthusiast’s toolkit.

For some people, it’s all about the specs and the details. They want to know everything about what they’re buying: how else do you know if you’re getting quality goods or not?

No detail is too small, from the product to the packaging. If you’re one of those people, have we got the best brisket knife for you!

The Dalstrong VG10 is, to be blunt, a badass knife. If a samurai were shopping for a brisket knife, he’d pick this one, hands down. It really is a beautiful knife to look at, from the etched blade to the engraved butt of the handle. But can it cut?

The manufacturer describes it as “ruthlessly sharp.” I don’t entirely understand that, but it sounds cool.

The blade is hand-finished, and cut from Japanese high-carbon stainless steel. It’s got some flex, but it’s a very hard material. With its double-beveled edge and an 8-12° angle (whaaat??) it should cut like a scalpel.

The handle is heat, cold, and impact resistant; that bodes well for a long life. The handle is triple-riveted to the blade, so it ain’t going anywhere, and the stainless steel end cap helps balance the knife for ease of use.

I do confess to finding great aesthetic appeal in this knife, even though I know they’re trying to cash in on the mystique of genuine Japanese knives.

Well, Star Wars was a rip-off of a Japanese movie and everyone loves it anyway.

Quality will out! It looks great, the company seems poised to become a major player in the biz, and all indications are that it cuts very well. If you want some flash by the grill, you’ll get it with this one.

In fact, if not for the relatively higher price compared to some others on this list, we were going to place this knife as our number one recommended choice, and is actually the one the owner of this site, Mark, owns and uses (it’s his blade in the main pic, top of page!)

Many carving knives are huge. For some folks, they can be unwieldy and difficult to use. Still, you need a long blade to slice a brisket easily. Surely there’s a smaller knife that’s still up to the job?

Wusthof is a name you’ll see come up in every category of knives and accessories. They are a highly reputable German company with an outstanding line-up of products.

At 10 inches in length, this particular knife (with the fun-to-say moniker, “Super Slicer”) is just the thing for carving a big brisket, but without making you feel like you’re armed for a jungle trek.

You give up about 2” of blade versus most of the knives we’ve looked at, and the overall length including handle is just 15.6”. That’s much more manageable for smaller hands.

You don’t give up anything regarding quality, however.

The blade is cut from a single piece of high-carbon steel, and three rivets keep it firmly anchored in the ergonomic handle. A gently scalloped edge will slice your brisket without tearing, giving you the cleanest slices possible with minimal effort.

If a short sword or machete is not your idea of a kitchen knife, this slightly smaller option might be right for you. All the cutting power with less blade — if you don’t mind the money, this is an excellent knife to choose.

Bigger is better is the mantra of many people, especially big people. There are times when the job and/or the worker do merit larger-than-usual tools to get the work done.

If you’re a big dude or dudette, or you plan on carving massive briskets, you may wish to have a knife that gives just a little more.

Let’s just say right up front that this is a crazy-long knife. In total from point to butt, the Mercer Culinary Millennia is 22.2” in length. Nearly two feet long. Damn, that’s a big knife!

It’s made of a single piece of high-carbon, stain-free Japanese steel, and comes with a lifetime warranty. The straight edge can easily be sharpened and honed, but the Granton bevels allow for smooth slicing through just about any food.

Turning to the handle, it’s a mix of Santoprene (in a nutshell, a plastic/rubber hybrid) and polypropylene. It’s easy to clean, fits in the hand, and has a comfortable grip.

Up near the finger guard you’ll find small raised points meant to reduce slippage. That’s good, because you don’t want to have your hand slip when you’re wielding this monster.

Mercer purports to be a major supplier to the culinary industry, and I have no reason to doubt them. This seems to be a decent quality knife for a very reasonable price.

If you really must have the largest knife on the block, try this one and see what you think.