All About Knives

I’m not completely sure, but I personally think that the knife was the first cooking tool ever created by man. Several millennia ago, knives were used by man to gather and hunt for food, and when he learned how to make fire, the knife was a major tool in food preparation as well. Several centuries later, the knife is still one of the most common and most used tools everywhere you can find a kitchen. The ubiquitous knife is used everywhere, from homes to restaurants to cruise ships.

But although we can all agree about the importance of this versatile tool, it’s sad to see that a lot of people don’t know how to handle and take care of their knives properly. Perhaps it’s because knives don’t have instruction manuals.

One of the things that really annoy me is watching people handle knives wrongly. But then, no one showed us how to use knives properly whe we were little. All we knew at that time was that knives were dangerous and better kept away from us kids. Knives may not come with instruction manuals indeed, but that’s not a reason why people shouldn’t learn to use them properly.

First, learn how to hold the knife properly. There are three basic ways to hold a knife, but it depends on the kind of knife and what is it going to be used for. For cutting against a board, a knife should usually be held with the thumb and forefinger gripping the blade. Grip the handle with your other three fingers. When cutting hanging meat, for example, hold the knife in a dagger-like fashion for proper leverage. When using a small knife to turn or peel, one or two fingers should grip the blade, with the othersthe rest around the handle.

There are also several ways to properly care for your knives. Use a wooden board for chopping and cutting. Plastic boards require more cleaning, and they are not quite as gentle on the edge of a knife as wooden boards. Get a board with the end-grain as a cutting surface, rather than side grain. End-grain surfaces are the smoothest, least abrasive surface to cut against, so your knife’s edge will last a longer time.

When storing knives after use, it’s better to use paperboards or plastic sleeves. Clean the knife first after use, then dry before storing it away. Never wash knives in a dishwasher, or just throw it in the wash basin. Always protect the knife’s edge against other hard objects. To properly sharpen a knife, the best way is to use a knife sharpener with an abrasive, diamond surface. Of course, you can always use a whetstone, but it takes a lot of experience to be able to sharpen a knife to razor-like sharpness with it.

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Azlan Irda is the co-founder of AfterKnife.com, which provides high-quality knives and supplies. Visit our website to get all the knives and supplies you need.

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