Hand-cut steaks vs. band saw steaks in my shop last Tuesday

I always thought my band saw did a fine job on steaks until a customer brought back a ribeye and asked why it looked 'chewed on'. I laughed at first, but then I looked close. The band saw was leaving this rough, torn edge and little bone fragments on the bone-in cuts. So last week I tried hand-cutting a whole strip loin with just my 10-inch breaking knife. Took me a solid 45 minutes longer, but the difference was night and day. Clean edges, no dust, and the marbling stayed put instead of smearing. The customer even tipped me $10 after his next order because the steaks cooked more evenly. Has anyone else noticed better results ditching the band saw for certain cuts, or is my machine just getting dull?

2 comments

2 Comments

baker.ben1mo ago

Your band saw is probably dull. But its a bigger problem too. I notice the same thing with my table saw at home. We rush to use power tools because we think theyre faster, but they wreck the finish. Hand tools force you to slow down and actually pay attention. The payoff is almost always cleaner results and less waste.

clark.iris1mo ago

Oh man, yes, absolutely! I went through this exact thing last year with my miter saw. I was getting all this tearout and rough edges on some oak trim and I was so frustrated. I kept thinking I needed a new blade or something. Then I finally just grabbed my old hand saw and a shooting plane for the end grain, and honestly, it was way cleaner. idk, it's just something about the blade speed spinning through wood that seems to rip fibers apart instead of cutting them clean. I've started doing that a lot more for small trim pieces or anything that's gonna be visible. It takes a little longer but it's way less stressful than fixing a messed up cut.