The Importance of A Sharp Knife

-A Quality Knife-

When it comes to cooking, the first item that every single person needs in their kitchen is a good knife. The definition of a good knife is different to every single person, but there is one quality that will ensure safety while using these tools. A sharp knife is a good knife. I have a kitchen essentials blog post that has a couple different options that range from affordable, such as the Victorinox option, or a more expensive Wusthof branded knife that will last as long as it’s taken care of.

What makes a good knife? Well there are a few different things to consider when purchasing or looking into a good knife. There are kitchen supply stores that you can pick up and handle these knives, and get a proper understanding of what you want. In order to know what you want personally, I believe it is ideal to be able to handle a new tool before purchasing it. These qualities you want to look for in a knife are style, size, balance, and sharpness.

Let’s start with the style and size, all together. Knives come in different styles, as to lend their shape and style to different cuts and uses. There are 2 different styles of knife that every person should have in their arsenal of kitchen tools. The first style of knife that you should have is a chef’s knife, which is a knife that can be purchased in multiple sizes from 6 inches long, all the way to 10 inches or more. These knives have little to no curve in the spine of the blade, and a good curve from the tip to the heel of the blade. For anyone thinking of purchasing a chef’s knife, I would generally reach for one that is about 8 inches long. A popular alternative to the traditional chef’s knife is a santoku knife, which also ranges in multiple sizes, but has a wider body to the blade. The curve of the blade from tip to heel is also generally less than a traditional chef’s knife, contributing to a slightly different cutting technique. The third style that should be considered adding to your collection after a chef’s knife or a santoku knife is definitely a pairing knife. Pairing knives are generally around 4 inches long and used for delicate work, or in a situation where you need higher precision in cutting, such as cutting the stem out of strawberries or small pieces of food like grapes.

The Ideal perfect knife for your home kitchen and any professional kitchen is also a well balanced knife. A balanced knife will feel comfortable in the hand, having a center of balance between the handle and the blade of the knife. if the balance is set too far forward into the blade, the force used on the knife will be affected and will cut, but sacrifices control over your cut, while a center of balance too far into the handle will give you more control but less cutting ability which could lend to using too much force and cutting yourself. It is important to use a knife that has a center of balance close to the bolster of the knife(where the handle meets the blade). This will help keep cut foods and limit strain on the wrist and arm while using your knife.

The most important quality of a good knife for any kitchen is sharpness. A sharper knife is always better than a knife that isn’t as sharp for a few reasons. The main reason to use a sharp knife is the fact that you are less likely to cut yourself with a sharp knife. This may sound counterintuitive, but sharper knives require less force to actually cut, and when it comes to harder food products, such as potatoes, carrots, and root vegetables in general, you are less likely to “slip” and accidentally cut yourself. A dull knife will require more force to cut, and as you are cutting, it will want to twist in your hand due to the extra force. Aside from being safer, a sharp knife can be the difference between being able to prepare your food in 3 minutes as opposed to 10 minutes with a less sharp knife.

There are a couple of other things that you can look at when it comes to knives in general. You may want to explore knives where the metal from the blade follows through the entire handle, called Full Tang. There are some differences in style as well, between western style knives, which the blade is beveled on both sides of the blade and is typically made from a stain resistant steel, as well as Japanese style knives that are only beveled on one side of the blade and are usually made of a carbon steel that is extremely hard, which gives you an extremely sharp blade at the risk of chipping because of the hardness. The carbon steel blades also rust if they aren’t taken care of properly, and will age to a beautiful patina over time if used regularly. Either way you look at, each type of metal and style works beautifully, and you should choose whichever knife best suits you.

-Knowing Your Tool-

Now that we know what to look for in a knife, let’s explore the different parts of your typical chef’s knife. I will upload a picture to help identify the different parts in the near future, but for now, I am going to explain it the best I can.

The Handle- The handle of a knife is the back part of the knife, where your fingers wrap around. The handles of most knives are made out of wood, or plastic.

The Blade- This is self explanatory, and is the sharp part of the knife.

The Body- This is the entire metal section of the blade that is in front of the handle.

The Bolster- The bolster of your knife is where the body of the blade meets the handle.

The Spine- This is the back side of the blade, which does not cut, and runs from handle to tip. It lends strength to the knife

The Belly- The belly of the knife is the part of the blade that is curved. Some knives do not have a pronounced belly, and some French style knives have a large curved belly. This will affect the way that each knife cuts.

The Tip- The tip of the knife is the point where the spine and the blade meet at the front of the blade. This should be very sharp

The Tang- The tang of the knife is the part of the knife that is located inside the handle. Full tang knives have a tang that reaches the back of the handle, while knives that have partial tangs do not reach the backside of the handle.

The Heel- The heel of the knife if the backside of the blade, and has a few different uses, especially with smaller knives that are more agile.

-Using Your Knife-

In order to be safe in the kitchen, you need to pair your sharp knife with proper handling. For this we will focus on the proper way to handle your knife while cutting foods. technique does change for different styles of knives, but knowing the basics is ideal in the kitchen.

The first step to properly knowing how to use your knife, we are going to focus on the hand that holds the food. For the beginner, we are going to start by bringing our thumb and pinky finger together at the tips behind your other fingers, because this will prevent you from getting those two fingers in the way of the blade. You then make a little claw with your three remaining fingers, letting your middle finger be slightly more pronounced than the other two. you want your wrist above the work surface in an ergonomic position, as to not put too much strain on your wrist. Your three fingers are going to hold your food with these three fingers in that position, and use them in unison to move the food, keeping your thumb and pinky touching.

Now for the knife hand. We are going to pinch the knife blade as close to the bolster as possible between your thumb and index finger. This should be a firm grip, but not using all of your strength. Let your other three fingers wrap around the handle naturally, and get used to holding the knife like this. It will lend to having an immense amount of control over the knife.

Now that we know how to hold each hand, let’s use them both together. place your non cutting claw hand on the food, and place the belly of the knife against the flat part of your middle finger on your claw hand. This will allow you to use your finger as a guide for the knife while cutting. It is important when first handling your knife that you learn slowly, because speed comes with time and experience. Don’t rush perfection. You want to cut using a forward sliding and rocking motion. As you move forward through what you are cutting, you rock the knife forward. Knives with larger bellies will be easier to rock, while knives with little to no belly just require a diagonal slicing motion.

Hopefully you have a better understanding of the basics behind looking for the perfect knife that suits you, the different parts of the knife, and how to properly use your knife. There are plenty of different ways to use a knife, but knowing the basics should have you on your way to slicing, dicing, mincing, juliennes, chiffonade, and many different shapes and sizes of cuts. As always, Stay Happy. Stay Healthy. Stay Cooking.

Thank you all for the continued support,

Christopher S Nobrega