Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I memorised two traits from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Allah, the Lord of Might, has prescribed excellence (ihsan) in everything. When you kill or slaughter, do it in the best manner, and sharpen your knife, so that the animal being slaughtered may be given ease."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19137
Sayyiduna Shaddad bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Allah, the Lord of Might, is excellent in doing good; He has prescribed excellence (ihsan) in everything. When you kill, kill in a good manner, and when you slaughter an animal, sharpen the knife so that the animal may be given ease."
(b) Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when a ram was brought to be sacrificed, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aishah! Bring the knife and sharpen it on a stone."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19138
Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the blade of the knife be sharpened and that it be hidden from the animals, then he said: "When one of you slaughters, let him be quick about it."
Ibn Lahi'ah narrated it thus, with a good connected chain.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19139
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the knife be sharpened and hidden from the animals: "When you slaughter, be quick about it."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19140
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a man who had placed his foot on the neck of a goat and was sharpening his knife in front of it, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Why did you not do this before? Do you want to kill it before slaughtering it?"
(b) Hammad bin Zayd narrates from Asim that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Will you kill it twice?"
Ma'mar narrated it from Asim as mursal, without mentioning Ibn Abbas in it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19141
Asim bin Ubaydullah bin Asim bin Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a man took hold of a goat to slaughter it and at the same time began sharpening the knife, so Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him with the whip and said: "Do you torment the soul? Why did you not do this before taking hold of it?"
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19142
Muhammad bin Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw a man dragging a goat to slaughter it, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him with the whip and said: "Lead it to its death in the best manner."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الضحايا / 19143