To the untrained eye it may appear that blades slice at a 90° angle to the axis of the meat log (i.e., in-plane with the cut meat surface). Except in gang-blade slicers, however, this is usually not the case; a slight tilt of the blade reduces adhesion and friction with the cut surface of the meat. Added to this, the shape of the blade bevel (straight or curved), as well as the sharpness of the blade, can both work to reduce friction between the blade and the meat product being sliced.
This means less deformation of the meat slice and thus less damage during slicing. Increasing the firmness of fat in the meat (mainly by decreasing meat temperature) will reduce fat smearing that causes buildup on the blade that would also increase friction. Any buildup (fouling) of the blade, by protein or fat residues, increases friction and thus can damage meat structure during slicing.
Absolute uniformity in slice thickness from one side of the slice to the other is most important in making jerky, since varying thickness would result in variable dehydration. More expensive high-speed single-blade slicers achieve this by proper tempering of meat prior to slicing, combined with precision indexing of meat relative to the speed of the rotating involute- or sickle-shaped knife. A gang-blade slicer can achieve slice uniformity without such reliance on meat tempering, but it is limited to slice thicknesses no thinner than about a quarter inch. Gang-blade slicers operate at much lower rotations per minute than do single-blade slicers, since the throughput of the former is not linked to the speed of the blade, and can be lower in cost and maintenance for a similar throughput.
Precision sharpening, which originally arose from needs in the medical field, is now being applied to meat slicing knives. The degree of sharpness attained is said to extend the usage of blades by double or more. The equipment required is expensive and thus requires blade servicing at a remote location. But once a blade manufacturer has covered the initial setup fee, per-blade costs of sharpening are no more than by conventional grinding.
