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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Introducing an Angle Adjustable Cutting Box for Analyzing Slice Shear Force in Meat
Published on: April 26, 2013
The effect of blade finish and blade edge angle on forces used in meat cutting operations
Raymond W McGorry1, Peter C Dowd, Patrick G Dempsey
1Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, 71 Frankland Road, Hopkinton, MA 01748, USA. raymond.mcgorry@liberymutual.com
Abstract:
Meat cutting causes a much greater incidence of upper extremity disorders than industry averages. Grip forces and cutting moments in meat cutting operations can be very high. Recently published studies indicate that the blade sharpness can significantly affect force exposure during meat cutting. Two attributes that have not been investigated with respect to force exposure during meat cutting are the effect of blade edge angle and blade finishing after sharpening (honing and polishing). This study investigated the effect of three blade edge angles and three post-sharpening finishing protocols on the grip forces and cutting moments exerted by professionals during two different meatpacking operations. A fine polish finishing protocol significantly reduced cutting time by 25.3%, mean grip force by 21.2%, and mean cutting moment by 28.4% over a coarser finishing protocol during one of the operations. No significant differences in the exposure variables were found between the blade edge angle conditions.
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