Swapped my hand-saw for a bandsaw on rib prep last spring

I used to cut all my beef ribs by hand with a 12-inch straight saw. Took about 20 minutes per rack and my wrist was killing me. After I bought a used Hobart bandsaw off a retiring butcher in Portland, I cut the same rack in 3 minutes flat. Anyone else switch from hand to machine for certain cuts?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_evan24d ago

@zaram97 totally gets it. That whole "slow way makes it stick" thing applies here too. With my handsaw I'd feel exactly where each rib joint was, the little pop when I hit the sweet spot between bones. The bandsaw just chews through everything the same regardless of what's happening in the meat. So yeah, you trade muscle memory and that intimate feel for speed and less physical pain. But I'll still break down a small primal by hand once in a while just to stay sharp and remind myself what I'm actually cutting. ben_nguyen's point about the extra time being worth it holds up for smaller jobs or when I'm testing a new supplier's beef.

ben_nguyen24d ago

The muscle memory and feel from hand cutting is worth the extra time.

zaram9724d ago

Yeah the whole "feel and muscle memory" thing is how I feel about handwriting notes even though typing is faster. There's just something about doing things the slow way that makes them stick better in your head, you know?