Boning knives are one of the most essential tools in the arsenal of any professional chef, butcher, or food industry professional, and with good reason. Although it’s primarily used to remove the bones from meat, poultry and fish, it’s famed for its versatility, and a well-chosen boning knife can make short work of a variety of food preparation tasks.

Now, the thing with the name ‘boning knife’ is that it’s actually a fairly broad-ranging term, used to refer to a wide range of blades with different lengths, weights, and characteristics. That understandably gives rise to a lot of common questions - and thankfully we’re in the perfect position to answer them here at Cutting Edge Services. With more than 30 years of experience behind us, we’ve got a wealth of experience encompassing everything from butchery knives to meat cleavers (we even offer our own knife sharpening service!).

We’ve narrowed it down to the essentials - here’s what you need to know.

What is a boning knife?

A boning knife is a narrow blade with a razor sharp edge and a pointed tip. As we touched upon above, it’s mainly used to remove the bones from cuts of meat, poultry, and fish. The stainless steel blade typically curves slightly towards the tip and depending on the manufacturer, it can measure anywhere between 5 to 9 ½ inches.

The average boning knife can have a stiff or flexible blade, depending on the intended application - stiff blades are better at removing bones from larger cuts of meat, whereas more flexible blades are better for smaller and more delicate cuts like fish and poultry.

Some boning knife handles have a finger guard for extra safety, but it’s not a universal feature.

How to choose a boning knife

Choosing the best boning knife for your specific application can be a surprisingly tricky process, as there are lots of different factors you’ll need to consider. For example, you’ll need to think about whether you’d need a stiff blade, or a flexible blade. It’s also worth weighing up what size of knife you’d need to get, and what material you’d like the handle to be made from.

Those are just a couple of the decisions you’ll need to make - we could write a whole separate post about the whole list. (In fact, we have! Here’s everything you need to consider when you’re wondering how to choose the best boning knife for you.)

What’s the difference between a boning knife and a fillet knife?

This is a question we get asked a lot here at Cutting Edge Services, as there’s obviously a lot of overlap between the two. (Part of the reason it can be confusing is that technically, a filleting knife is a type of boning knife.)

The very short version is that fillet knives are typically thinner and more flexible than most other boning knives, and are specifically intended for use on fish. Boning knives in general, on the other hand, can often be thicker and sturdier than fillet knives, as they’re used for more heavy-duty tasks like removing bones from larger cuts of meat.

Now, some other types of boning knife blades can be thin and flexible, but not universally, whereas fillet knives are thin and flexible by definition. Fillet knife blades also sometimes curve upward, while the blades of other boning knives are normally straight.

A good way of thinking of it is that boning knives in general are best for the job of removing bones from meat, whereas fillet knives are designed for more delicate work with smaller pieces like poultry, fowl or fish.

Should a boning knife be flexible?

The short answer is: it depends on what you need it for!

Boning knives can have either stiff or flexible blades. If the job involves removing the bones from a larger cut of meat such as beef or pork, then you’ll probably want a boning knife with a stiff blade. If you’re looking at a smaller cut of meat though, or you’re doing more delicate work such as making clean cuts around bone, muscle and connective tissue, then a boning knife with a flexible blade is almost always better.

If you’re working with meat in any professional capacity (such as butchery) you’ll probably find that most jobs tend to require a combination of both - which is why so many people like to have several different types of boning knife on hand!

Can you use a boning knife for filleting?

Sometimes. Really it depends on the size and flexibility of the boning knife in question.

Now, if you want to get really technical about it, the answer to this question is yes, since a filleting knife is actually a type of boning knife.

But without getting too bogged down in technicalities or conditional statements, the simple answer is that it’s best not to attempt any filleting task with a boning knife that hasn’t been specifically designed for it. In order to get the best results with lighter and more delicate tasks, you’ll need a boning knife with a thin, flexible blade and probably a slightly curved tip - such as a filleting knife, or a boning knife very much like it.

If you’re considering using a more heavy-duty boning knife though, with a larger and stiffer blade, you’re likely to find the job very difficult (if not outright dangerous). We’d steer clear of using these types of boning knives, and stick with the smaller and more precise ones instead.

How to clean a boning knife

In general, boning knives should be subject to the same cleaning schedule as any other butchery knife or kitchen knife. It’s best to carefully clean your knives by hand immediately after use in soapy water. And of course, make sure to dry them thoroughly! Leaving knives submerged in water can sometimes damage them, depending on the material they’re made from.

Stainless steel is pretty resistant to water damage (as the name suggests), but if you have any boning knives with wooden handles, water can start to seep into any gaps in the handles, which can cause them to swell and warp. The resultant gaps can end up being the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, affecting the hygiene of your kitchen equipment - quite apart from possibly making them more difficult to use!

Quick tips on using a boning knife

With more than two decades of experience behind us here at Cutting Edge Services, you can trust us to have picked up a few useful tips on using boning knives along the way! So, if you need a quick refresher, let’s walk you through the process.

How to hold your boning knife

Stability and control is absolutely integral to using a boning knife effectively - both in terms of your efficiency and productivity, and most importantly your safety. So, make sure you’ve got a good grip on it by holding the knife with your middle finger, ring finger and thumb around the handle. (If it’s got a finger guard, as some knives do, your middle finger should slot nicely inside it.) Put your index finger on top of the blade, to maintain that all-important stability and control.

Prepare to start cutting

The first thing to ensure is that you’ve got a cutting board that’s large enough to work on. Place the meat down carefully on your board, and locate the bone within the cut. This is sometimes a very easy job, but depending on the cut it can sometimes be a little trickier - you may need to remove some bits of fat to see it clearly. Once you’ve got it, use your non-dominant hand to hold the meat in place, away from the bone.

Make your cut

Use the tip of your boning knife to cut straight down, parallel to the bone. That will expose the bone from the rest of the meat. From there, use a sawing motion to make a cut along the length of the bone. If you’re finding it difficult, it’s worth sliding the blade underneath the bone at an angle, which can help to pull the meat away. Use your non-dominant hand to make sure that the meat stays stable, and scrape it away using the tip of your knife. Using these techniques, you should be able to easily remove the bone from the meat.

What are the best boning knife brands?

Now, this is where we should be clear that our answers to this question are technically subjective - but the weight of public opinion is with us! Here are three of our personal favourites.

Victorinox - founded in 1884, Victorinox is probably best known to the world at large as one of the biggest manufacturers of pocket knives on the planet. However, it’s a highly prestigious name in the food processing industry too, as its kitchen knives are replete with the same qualities of precision and innovation that can be found in its pocket knives. They’re defined by their craftsmanship and ergonomics, with remarkably sharp cutting edges.

Caribou - another highly respected name in the food processing industry, Caribou’s knives have come to rival those of Victorinox in terms of quality and craftsmanship. (And for a company that’s been established for a century less, that’s quite an achievement!) Caribou’s stainless steel blades remain the preferred choice for many of the UK’s largest food producers, including several of our customers here at Cutting Edge Services. In fact, it’s the chosen manufacture for our unique knife sharpening service.

F. Dick - Friedr Dick is a similarly historic and prestigious brand, having been first established in 1778 in Germany. Its focus on functionality, sustainable design and a quality finish are all clear to see in each one of its blades, all superbly balanced and super sharp. They’re known for their long cutting-edge life, which tends to require minimal maintenance.

All are designed with state-of-the-art production technology, and of course all available at the very best prices right here at Cutting Edge Services. You can explore our extensive range of boning knives and butchery knives right here on our site. Or, if you have any questions or need any advice, feel free to give our experts a call on 01772 956 270, and we’ll be happy to see how we can help.