Best electric carving knives

An electric carving knife should save you effort and time when slicing a sizeable joint of meat for a Sunday roast. But what if the power cable is too short, the handle awkward to hold – or if the teeth don't cut cleanly?

We've tested the most popular electric carving knives under £30 from Kenwood, Dunelm, Russell Hobbs, Judge and more to see how easily and evenly they slice and how simple and comfortable they are to use. 

We found one standout Best Buy that will make light work of your Sunday centrepiece. 

The best electric carving knives

Only logged-in Which? members can view the electric carving knives results below.  

Join Which? now to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

The electric carving knives we tested

All the electric carving knives we've tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best electric carving knives from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below. 

Cookworks 2 Blade Electric Knife

Only available at Argos: £20.50

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: Two

Weight: 628g

Cable length: 115cm

Blade length: 17cm

Cookworks Blade Electric Knife

Only available at Argos: £15.50

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: One

Weight: 635g

Cable length: 115cm

Blade length: 17cm

Dunelm Electric Knife

Only available at Dunelm: £14

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: One

Weight: 603g

Cable length: 111cm

Blade length: 17cm

James Martin by Wahl Electric Carving Knife

Cheapest price: £22.98 at Amazon, also available at Robert Dyas, Wahl

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: Two

Weight: 650g

Cable length: 142cm

Blade length: 16cm

See what we rate the best kitchen utility knives, bread knives and the best knife sets. 

Judge Electric Carving Knife

Only available at Amazon: £22.99

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: One

Weight: 716g

Cable length: 112cm

Blade length: 17cm

Kenwood Electric Knife KN650A

Cheapest price: £29 at Argos, also available at Kenwood

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: Two

Weight: 677g

Cable length: 127cm

Blade length: 17cm

Russell Hobbs Electric Carving Knife

Cheapest price: £16 available at Argos, also available at Amazon

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: Two

Weight: 683g

Cable length: 123cm

Blade length: 17cm

VonShef Electric Knife

Cheapest price: £27.99 available at Home Bargains, also available at Vonhaus (out of stock)

Pros: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in now or join Which? to instantly reveal

Number of blades: Two

Weight: 653g 

Cable length: 152cm

Blade length: 16cm

Find out how to perfectly cook a turkey crown, leg of lamb and roast beef and swot up on the best meat thermometers for restaurant-quality results. 

See what we rate the best kitchen utility knives, bread kniveselectric carving knives and the best knife sets.

How we tested electric carving knives

To find out which was the best electric carving knife, left and right-handers of different genders tested them all for: 

Evenness of slicing

• Each of the electric carving knives was used to slice up a joint of well-done beef. 
• These slices were compared to each other to see how even they were. 
• The best knives slid right through the beef without issue, while the worst juddered or slipped.

Comfort

We sliced through loaves of thick, stodgy rye bread, scoring each electric carving knife on how comfortable it was to use. 

The best knives had smooth slicing action. The worst ones, on the other hand, juddered, slipped and sent vibrations up our wrists and arms.

Cable length

We measured the cable length of each of the electric carving knives and found a 40cm difference between the longest and shortest.

Washing

The dirty blades of electric carving knife were soaked in gravy for 30 minutes to make sure they presented a challenging washing-up experience. Despite this, we found no difference in how easy any of the blades were to clean. 

Build quality

• We checked for flaws.
• And investigated how easy it was to safely attach and remove each set of blades.

The best had easy to press buttons, clearly labelled or identifiable parts and no sharp edges or gaps.

Durability

• To test the durability of each of the electric carving knives, they were each dropped five times from a kitchen counter (about 90cm off the ground) onto a linoleum floor.
• After they were dropped, they were examined for any damage and checked to make sure they still worked.

Tips for living well - get our free Food & Health newsletter: shop savvy, eat well, stay healthy

How to use an electric carving knife

• If your electric knife comes with more than one blade, make sure you select the blade you want first. 
• Once it's plugged in, you hold down the trigger or button to activate the blade. 
• Instead of pushing the button directly down with the flat of your thumb, use the side of your thumb to avoid fatigue.
• The motor inside the plastic handle will rapidly slide the pair of blades against one another to create the carving action. 
• To cut a slice of bread or meat, take the knife to the food like you normally would, but instead of doing the carving motion yourself, you just slice directly downwards.

Can an electric carving knife cut bread?

Yes. An electric carving knife makes quick work of slicing bread and keeping slices straight and even. Some even claim to slice frozen bread.