Method of trimming portion of chicken paw metatarsal pad using power operated rotary knife

1. A method for trimming an undesirable portion of a metatarsal pad of a chicken paw using a power operated rotary knife, the steps of the method comprising:

a) providing a power operated rotary knife including an annular knife blade rotatable about a central axis and defining a central open area, a blade housing supporting the blade for rotation about the blade central axis, and a handle assembly extending from the blade housing including a drive member engaging and rotating the blade, the blade including an annular body with a blade section at a first axial end of the blade and gear teeth engaged by the blade housing drive member at a second axial end of the blade, the blade section including a lip extending below a lower surface of the blade housing and radially inwardly toward the blade central axis, the lip defining a radially inner surface having cutting edge at a distal end;

b) moving one of the rotary knife and the chicken paw with respect to the other to position the rotary knife with respect to a bottom of the chicken paw such that at least a part of the undesirable portion of the metatarsal pad is within the central open area of the blade and the cutting edge of the blade is proximate to a periphery of the undesirable portion; and

c) moving one of the rotary knife and the chicken paw with respect to the other such that the cutting edge of the blade slices a layer of the metatarsal pad thereby removing at least part of the undesirable portion.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of: d) inspecting the metatarsal pad to ascertain if the undesirable portion has been completely removed.

3. The method of claim 2 further including the step of: e) if the undesirable portion has not be completely removed, repeating the steps b and c of claim 1 above.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein in the steps b and c, the chicken paw is stationary and the rotary knife is moved with respect to the chicken paw.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein movement of the rotary knife is in a direction of movement that is substantially orthogonal to the central axis of the blade and substantially parallel to a plane defined by the bottom of the chicken paw.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein in the steps b and c, the rotary knife is stationary and the chicken paw is moved with respect to the rotary knife.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein movement of the chicken paw is in a direction of movement that is substantially orthogonal to the central axis of the blade and substantially parallel to a plane defined by the bottom of the chicken paw.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein in the steps b and c, both the rotary knife and the chicken paw are moved.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein movement of the rotary knife is in a direction of movement that is substantially orthogonal to the central axis of the blade and substantially parallel to a plane defined by the bottom of the chicken paw.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein a thickness of the layer of the metatarsal pad cut is approximately 0.025 to 0.3 inch.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a vertical cutting angle of the rotary knife blade being in a range of 20° to 40° when measured with respect to a central vertical axis of the blade.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a height of the blade when measured with respect to a central vertical axis of the blade being in a range of 0.5-1.0 inch.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a cutting opening defined by the cutting edge of the blade being in a range of 0.50-1.00 inch.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a ratio of a height of the blade to an outer diameter (OD) of the blade being in a range of 40-60%.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a ratio of a cutting opening of the cutting edge of the blade to an outer diameter (OD) of the blade being in a range of 50-70%.

16. A method of cutting away a damaged portion of a metatarsal pad of a chicken paw using a power operated rotary knife, the steps of the method comprising:

a) providing a power operated rotary knife including an annular knife blade rotatable about a central axis and defining a central open area, a blade housing supporting the blade for rotation about the blade central axis, and a handle assembly extending from the blade housing including a drive member engaging and rotating the blade, the blade including an annular body with a blade section at a first axial end of the blade and gear teeth engaged by the blade housing drive member at a second axial end of the blade, the blade section including a lip extending below a lower surface of the blade housing and radially inwardly toward the blade central axis, the lip defining a radially inner surface having cutting edge at a distal end;

b) moving one of the rotary knife and the chicken paw with respect to the other to position the rotary knife with respect to a bottom of the chicken paw such that at least a part the damaged portion of the metatarsal pad is within a cutting opening defined by the cutting edge of the blade and the cutting edge of the blade is proximate to a periphery of the damaged portion; and

c) moving one of the rotary knife and the chicken paw with respect to the other such that the cutting edge of the blade cuts the metatarsal pad thereby removing at least part of the damaged portion.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a vertical cutting angle of the rotary knife blade being in a range of 20° to 40° when measured with respect to a central vertical axis of the blade.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a height of the blade when measured with respect to a central vertical axis of the blade being in a range of 0.5-1.0 inch wt.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a cutting opening defined by the cutting edge of the blade being in a range of 0.50-1.00 inch.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a ratio of a height of the blade to an outer diameter (OD) of the blade being in a range of 40-60%.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the rotary knife blade is cone-shaped with a ratio of a cutting opening of the cutting edge of the blade to an outer diameter (OD) of the blade being in a range of 50-70%.