The GE Electric Knife was one of those small appliances that I thought I didn't need and one I wouldn't exactly buy myself. I had watched as my mother effortlessly carved hams and turkeys for holiday meals using her electric knife. But when my sister-in-law sliced through french bread with the use of her electric knife and without any trouble I knew this kitchen gadget was a must.

My mother actually ended up giving me the GE Electric Knife as a Christmas gift since she thought I would never break down to buy one for myself. Thanks Ma, you've made my life easier!!

About the GE Electric Knife
On the GE website there are 3 different models but from what I understand they basically operate the same way. Also on the GE website www.gehousewares.com pull down menu food prep click on electric knives, you'll find the knife I'm reviewing which happens to be the one that looks just like the one here on Epinions. An interesting point and one I actually didn't realize until I started writing this review and really examining my knife is that these are exclusive to Wal-Mart. However, as I was searching for the model number on my own knife, I flipped it over and found Wal-Mart imprinted on the underside of the knife in the boxed area where the model number is. Just thought that might be of use for anyone who is in the market for one of these particular GE models.

The knife/electric motor part is fairly heavy weighing over a pound. My electric knife has a white plastic body with a gray rubber coating over the part that you actually hold. I like this rubber feature which gives you a good grip on the knife housing thus keeping it from slipping while you are cutting meat or bread. Over all it has a good ergonomic design and feels comfortable in my hand especially when I'm carving something large like a turkey or ham.

The main body of the knife has an oval shaped EJECT button right on top which depresses easily to release the knife blades. On the bottom/belly of the motor is the On/Off button. This button is a trigger style button and must be held or depressed to operate the knife. Once you let go of the On/Off button the knife automatically stops. Over all the button is easy to operate and seems quite sensitive on my electric knife. In other words, it doesn't require a great deal of finger strength to operate this button.

The GE Electric Knife comes with 2 stainless steel blades which are marked Bread and Meat. The blades are about 11 inches long from end to end and about 1/2 inches wide at the tip graduating to 1 3/4 inches wide at the handle end. The website states the blades are 7 inches although this I assume is the cutting/sharp portion of the blade whereas I measured the entire metal knife tip to end. Both blades are serrated although the bread blade has finer/smaller edges. Each blade has two parts or rather two blades (I'll explain how to assemble and use below) which connect and lock together.

The plug on the GE Electric Knife is a polarized plug. One blade is wider than the other. The plug will fit into an outlet only one way. The cord of this appliance is nice and long which is a feature I love! I measured it to be approximately 65 inches (over 5 feet)from the base of the motor housing to the plug.

Assembly, Use, and Care
One thing to always make sure of is that the cord is NOT connected to an electric outlet when inserting or removing the blades. Personally I think GE should add a safety feature to appliances such as these so the blades can not be removed until the unit is unplugged.

To assemble the knives/blades is quite easy. First, if the blades are separated (as I mentioned earlier), pick them up by the plastic guards on the sides of the knives. You will find a rivet on one blade toward the tip end, slide it into the keyhold slot in the other blade until they are locked together.

Next, hold the blades together with the cutting edge down, slide them into the motor until both blades click into place. As a note, the blades will only go in one way so there is no concern for inserting upside down.

Also, as I mentioned the knives do have plastic guards on them and these guards are color coded. You want to make sure the knives match - the meat blade guard is white and the bread blade guard is gray.

I explained above how to operate the On/Off button so I won't go into that again.

As for disassembly - it's as easy as pressing the eject button, removing the knife blades from the motor housing using the plastic guards, sliding the blades apart and popping them in the top rack of your dishwasher. Please note that I did say top rack as the blades are dishwasher safe on the top rack only. Or they can be washed in hot soapy water.

After the blades have been washed and dried, place them into the included clear plastic protective sleeve for storage.

To clean the motor housing and cord, just wipe it with a damp cloth and dry thoroughly.

As for care of the motor, it does not require any kind of maintenance such as oil or lubrication.

Once you are finished with your knife you can store everything - the blades, the motor housing, and the meat fork in the handy plastic storage case.

The case itself is about 13 in. long x 6 1/2 in. wide x 2 in. deep and holds everything nicely. There's no struggle to get each part back into the case. There's nothing fancy about the case either, it's just a white plastic case with gray lettering on top - GE Carving Set. To open it you have to press in on the front of the lid with both thumbs while also lifting up. As I said, there's nothing fancy at all about the case.

As for the meat fork, I've never even used it. The handle on mine is black and feels like plastic. The enclosed instruction booklet didn't even give directions for cleaning the meat fork.

Extras
Here are some hints as recommended per the manufacturer for best results.
1. Move the knife through the food rather than using a back and forth sawing motion.
2. Let meats stand for 15 minutes after cooking and prior to slicing. Slice down to and around bone. Do not attempt to slice through the bone. Do not cut through frozen food.
3. Do not attempt to sharpen serrated blades.
4. Always clean blades between cuttings of different food items to avoid cross contamination of foods.


Customer Service
As I said above, there were no directions on how to care for the meat fork and I wanted to find out if additional blades could be ordered so I decided to call GE Customer Service at 1-877-207-0923. Don't expect to get any help between the hours of 11:30am - 12:30pm central time because their office closes for lunch. Their actual hours are from 8am - 8pm EST M-F, that's according to the website, but when I called back a 2nd time I got a recording that the office was closed. The hours stated on the recording are from 8am - 6pm EST M-F although I called at 5:30pm EST. Honestly after the 2nd call I decided I'd give up. If I ever use my meat fork I'll just hand wash it in hot soapy water, or follow the directions for washing the blades.

Personal Experience
I've owned my GE Electric Knife for close to 2 years and I simply love it. It's not one of those gadgets I use on a daily basis but it certainly has come in handy and I do use it a lot more than what I thought I would.

I am the "master carver" at my in-laws house. Why, I'm not certain, but this task was bestowed upon me years ago. If my mother-in-law has a ham, turkey, roast...it's there waiting for me to carve it. Last Thanksgiving I walked in with my GE Electric Knife under my arm and a big grin on my face. I was ready!!

This electric knife does make carving/slicing meat much faster and easier. I did have a hard time getting the hang of allowing the knife to glide through the meat as I wanted to saw at it. But once I had the hang of it, slicing meat became a breeze!! I use the meat blade to slice cooked meat such as hams and roasts, whole chicken and turkey. I've also used the meat blade to slice raw meat for stir-fry, fajitas, etc. It has made a world of difference both in ease of slicing and saving me time!!

As for bread, this knife works wonders!! My husband grew up with bread on the table at every meal!! He loves french bread especially. Before my electric knife days, slicing french bread was a nightmare. But with this knife in hand, it looks as though the bread was sliced at a bakery. The knife cuts right through the bread without tearing or ripping the bread and a whole loaf of french bread can be cut in half the time using an electric knife vs a standard bread knife.

As I said, this isn't a gadget I use daily and I've owned it for almost 2 years (as of the date of this review) and the blades are still as sharp as the day I received it.

Finally
So, I'll finally find a stopping point. When I review a product I love I could go on and on as there is so much I want to say besides I love it & you've got to have one too!!!

So if you are in the market for an electric knife, I highly recommend the GE Electric Knife. It will save you time and effort in the kitchen!!

Thanks for reading =)









Recommended: Yes