Who makes a quality butcher knife set? I'm tired of trying to keep my cheepies sharp.

Look at knife selection in the LEM catalog.

I think LEM sells Mundial, and victoronox, both good commercial brands, commercial knives ,like actual butchers use are easier to keep sharp with a steel and easier to resharpen.

You don't need a set, a 6"stiff boning knife will do most of the work, a 10" scimitar, or similar is better for slicing, you need a steel.. and for holding onto big, heavier primals get a meat hook.

Dexter is the way to go

the Mudail that LEM sells I don't get as long between sharpening/touching up as I do with the Dexter

for deer I like the S131-5 5 inch boning knife and the S125 4 1/2 inch sliming knife (this is technically a fish knife much like the beaver knives)

a S112-6 6 inch butcher would be nice also

the S193H meat hook is a huge hand saver

I have a bunch of the retired meat packing knives as well.
for new knives the numbers listed above are the ones I like.
5 inch on deer just feels good to me something about 6 just feels like I am working farther away than is comfortable

on beef 6 inch boning and even a 7 inch butcher feels totally natural

add a good diamond steel to that and am aluminum scabard and your are fairly well set

if you want a bone saw , shop replacement blades before you take a deal on a saw , you want to be able to get blades easy and at a good price.

Diamond Steel

Keep the cheepies, buy one of these and get to cutting. All the knife snobs will cry but you'll be money ahead. Only this brand not any other. Use as they show in the pictures with the tip of the knife off the edge of the counter. Knife Sharpener <-- click here

Cutco has a nice knife set. Not cheap but lifetime warranty

Been looking for a set myself. The ones we have are 40 plus year old 7 knife in a block of wood. I'm watching and will use the advise here. Thanks for the post.

Dexter-Russsel and F.Dick are easy to keep sharp with just a steel.

Cutco is good because of customer support

Free sharpening,,,,,, they send a guy to your home

Ever consider ceramic knives? Are more prone to chipping(not very often) and can cut a lot before ever seeming dull.

Cutco may have a lifetime warranty and free shipping , but 1300 dollars for set is crazy

their blade and handle geometry does nothing for me

for 1300 you could have the 3 knives you actually want hand made to fit you perfectly from some really good steel.

what good is free sharpening when you need it like 5 minutes ago and even if the guy drives to your house that day unless he helps you finish , it sounds like a lot of talk.

I may being harsh here but it is my opinion that Cutco is marketing to ignorance , taking advantage of people who don't know how to sharpen a knife or what blade profiles they like to work with.

get them to buy very expensive knives , telling them how great they are and warrantees and free sharpening

but if you are really cutting meat you are going to dull a boning knife depending on the knife about every 1/4 to every 1 1/2 deer
granted that is a diamond steel sharpening to bring you back , you would need that for any knife set but cutco doesn't come with one.

so 3 deer is going to need a sharpening in the middle really even 2 deer you will need a touch up in the middle.

learn to sharpen get a good sharpening system and every knife can work for you then it is just a what knife do you like the feel of and holds an edge well enough to keep you cutting more than sharpening.

you could get yourself a Worksharp Ken onion with blade grinder , two if the S131-5 , a S112-6 , a S125 , an S193H and a DDS-12 and have money left over to buy a LEM 3/4HP #12 big bite and get change on your 1300

Dexter are also and have since they started in 1818 been made in the USA

Problem I have with Cutco is their merchandising, they get young college age kids to hustle the knife sets to family members, that can't say no, for whatever the commission is, when they run out of family they're finished, cause no one else in their right mind would pay those prices.... The knives are ok, nothing special, but there's other good knives for a lot less....Nothing wrong with dexter/russell, for using knives, or reground commercial butcher knives, If they're kept sharp they cut....

yup , a friend called me Friday , he has a small set of cutco they were given as a wedding gift 25 years ago hasn't been all that impressed with them really had no idea what they cost till recently , well a friend of his wife has a kid that is a freshman in college and selling cutco , he did manage to say , let me think on it , I know how to get ahold of you.

Ever watch a butcher? They grab the steel pretty regular. They don’t buy junk knives either. Cheap knife sets usually have a useless steel. It’s worth it to buy a higher priced steel. Dont need a high priced knife just have a good set of kitchen knives and pay for the steel.

The resharpened butcher shop knives I buy for skinning are mostly Victoranox or Dexter Russell. Not very expensive knives and easily razor sharp with a couple passes of an Accu-Sharp sharpener.

Rada makes great kitchen knives that you can get a razor's edge on with just a couple passes of an Accu-Sharp sharpener too.

We got Cutco for our wedding and since I live in the same town essentially, sharpening is easy for me to get done. When I took them all in recently for sharpening, they noticed the handles were discolored so gave me a whole new set. Understand the price is high for most so I’m sure there are more cost effective sets out there. Was just a suggestion……

You need to explain in more detail what you are asking for. What is a butcher knife set you are referring to ?