Mako 7.5" Hand Forged Boning Knife, High Carbon Steel Trailing Point Blade, Black Rosewood Handle, Brisket Trimming

The Mako is a 7.5" hand forged boning knife with a trailing point blade, and it is the knife we reach for first on cook day. It gets under the fat cap on a brisket, slips along the ribs and pulls silver skin off a tenderloin in long, controlled strips. If you want a boning knife for trimming brisket that also handles poultry and game, this is it.

On the Trimming Board

The Mako does its best work before anything hits the smoker. Trim the fat cap, square up the flat, clean the point, strip the membrane off ribs. It rides the bone on chicken thighs and pork shoulder, and it handles skinning and light filleting when a fish or deer is on the table. It is not a slicer for cooked meat and it will not go through bone. For serving slices after the cook, pick up the Mamba 11" brisket slicing knife. You can browse the Mako with the rest of the family in our boning and fillet knives and in our BBQ knives collection.

A Gift That Gets Used

This is a gift for the backyard pitmaster who trims his own briskets and the hunter who processes his own deer. Pair it with the Mamba and you have covered cook day from raw to sliced. It fits Father's Day, a birthday or Christmas, and it earns its keep the first time a packer brisket comes out of the fridge. Want a name on the blade? See our custom knife page.

Every Xcutlery blade is high carbon steel, hand forged one at a time in the Serbian style: thick stock, a lot of hammer work, and the forge finish left on the flats.

The Mako is forged by hand in the Serbian style from high carbon steel. The spine keeps a dark, raw forge finish straight from the hammer, and the edge below it is polished clean. That contrast is not decoration. It is simply what is left when a blade is hammered to shape rather than cut from a sheet. The trailing point sweeps up toward the tip, which gives you a long curved cutting line for sweeping trim work. A full tang with steel pins anchors the black rosewood handle.

Why high carbon steel

It takes a very fine edge and comes back quickly on a whetstone. The price of that edge is a little care. This steel is not a rust resistant alloy, so water left on the blade will mark it. Wash it, dry it, wipe on a light coat of oil, and it will be cutting long after the cutting board has given up.

Patina

With use the steel darkens to a grey or blue patina. That is normal for high carbon steel and it helps protect the blade. Red rust is a different thing, and it comes from a knife left wet.

• 7.5" hand forged trailing point blade
• High carbon steel
• Raw forge spine with a polished edge
• Full tang with steel pins
• Black rosewood handle
• Built for boning, trimming, filleting and skinning

Specifications

• Blade: 7.5" hand forged, trailing point
• Steel: High carbon steel
• Finish: Raw forge spine with a polished edge
• Handle: Black rosewood
• Construction: Full tang with steel pins
• Best for: Boning, trimming, filleting and skinning

• Mako 7.5" hand forged boning knife
• Lifetime warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship

Each blade is forged by hand, so the forge texture, hammer marks and wood grain on yours will be its own.

Hand wash it after trimming raw meat and dry it immediately. Rub a light coat of food safe oil on the blade before storing. No dishwasher and no soaking.

Every time you use it

• Hand wash it right after use and dry it straight away
• Wipe on a light coat of food safe oil before it goes away
• Cut on wood or plastic boards
• Touch up the edge on a whetstone when it starts to drag

Keep it away from

• The dishwasher, and a sink full of water overnight
• Glass, stone or metal cutting surfaces
• Prying, twisting or throwing

The full routine is in our high carbon steel knife care guide, and the edge work is in how to sharpen a meat cleaver.

Every Xcutlery knife is covered for life against defects in materials and craftsmanship. If a handle works loose from the tang, a pin comes free, or there is a flaw in the steel or the build that came from us, we repair or replace it free of charge.

It does not cover normal wear such as a dull edge, damage from misuse, or rust from the dishwasher or soaking. Slight differences in forge texture, hammer marks and wood grain are part of a handmade knife, not defects.

To make a claim, email sales@xcutlery.com (Australia: sales@xcutlery.com.au) with your order number and photos. Separately, you have 30 days from delivery to return an unused knife. Engraved and custom knives cannot be returned for a change of mind. Full terms are on the warranty page.

Is this a good boning knife for trimming brisket?
Yes. The trailing point and 7.5" length are made for fat cap and silver skin work.

Can it cut through bone?
No. It works along the bone, not through it. Use a cleaver for that.

Does it work for fish too?
It handles filleting and skinning. If fish is your main job, the Barracuda fillet knives are built for it.

Fat caps, silver skin and chicken thighs are the Mako's work before anything hits the smoker. If you are unsure whether you need this or a fillet knife, how a boning knife differs from a fillet knife sorts it out.