Hand cutting vs bandsaw for breaking down a whole hog - hand won by a mile for me

Last month I did my first whole hog breakdown. Everyone online kept saying get a bandsaw, it's faster, cleaner cuts. So I borrowed my buddy's. Honestly? Hated it. Felt like I was fighting the meat the whole time, lost a lot of good scrap. Switched back to my old boning knife and a handsaw for the spine. Way more control, less waste, and honestly it wasn't that much slower. Has anyone else tried both and found hand tools just work better for certain cuts?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.emma1mo ago

Oh man, I read this super interesting breakdown from a butcher in Spain that totally backs you up. He said in his shop they only use hand tools for hogs because the bandsaw smears marrow and bone dust into the meat (gross, right?). And I definitely noticed that when I tried a bandsaw on ribs once, it left this weird gritty texture that hand cutting just doesn't have. Good on you for sticking with the knife and handsaw, sounds way more respectful to the animal honestly.

noah_barnes1mo ago

Totally bought into the bandsaw hype before, but you just sold me on going old-school.