An electric knife having a housing, a motor fixed in the housing having a drive shaft disposed for rotation about a drive axis, a spur gear fixed to the end of the drive shaft, a flange fixed to the motor including an integrally formed, axially-projecting output shaft coaxial to an output axis and parallel to the drive axis, an output gear in meshing engagement with and driven by the spur gear disposed on the output shaft for rotation about the output axis, a tubular element coaxially engaging the output gear for rotation therewith about the output axis, the tubular element including a cylindrical cam in the outside surface thereof, and a pair of blade holders disposed in the housing in adjacent, opposed relation for independent, linear reciprocation parallel to and on opposite sides of the output axis. Each blade holder has a first end for releasably engaging a blade and a second end including a cam follower engaging the cam, the cam followers engaging the cam at positions 180 degrees apart such that rotation of the output gear generates independent, opposite linear reciprocation of the blade holders.