Handling a Chef's Knife

I gotta tell you - it is very unnerving to watch a southpaw with a knife.

It's the same only we are smarter...ha ha!!!! :-)

Yeah, we're good with that left hand :)

I've been seeing Ceramic knives lately, and I got a cheap one just to see what it's like. It seems to slice very well, but it's a little disconcerting, since I think they're more fragile than steel knives. Any comments from the chefs?

One thing about ceramic knives is that you either love them or not. Some find them too light, too fragile. For cutting vegetables and fish, they're awesome, but for tougher work, they feel too fragile. Plus, the real good ones are very expensive. My hands are big and my grip firm, so I have not found them to be so comfortable, but have had students with small hands that swear by them.

Hope this helps.

I just received a beautiful 9" Wustof Cook's Knife for Christmas and now I'm looking into purchasing a sharpening steel to keep the blade in good shape. I checked out Wustof`s site and they show two types of steel: a regular sharpening steel and a diamond sharpener. Am I right in assuming that the diamond sharpener does not hone the blade and only sharpens it (I would love to put a question mark here but my keyboard seems to be failing me). Additionally what length of steel should I be investing in assuming I will be purchasing additional knifes as I continue my training and career (haha again question mark).

Diamond steels do actually sharpen some of the edge, and they do hone too, so they too have some advantages. But only if they're of very good quality. Wustof makes quality steels. As for length, the longer, thicker and heavier (really) the better. Hope this helps.

Thanks very much that does clarify things. I think I'll be getting a normal steel for now and maybe invest in those industrial diamonds down the road. Thanks!

particularly the step for Positioning Your Guide Hand. i damaged some nerves in my right hand years ago and have switched over to using my left hand for many different maneuvers, including transitioning knife chopping duties over to my left and using the right hand as the guide.

in the past, i could not figure out how to hold things down and feel that they were secure enough for me to chop away with confidence that i won't be bleeding into my pile of vegetables and what-not. but watching your video, i've adapted your backward crab crawl into a gripping style that seems to suit me. could probably take some adjusting as i go along and would greatly appreciate anyone else's input.

presently only using the middle and pointer finger as the guide. the thumb, pinky and ring finger now anchor. just so you know, the pinky and ring are the gimpy ones of the bunch. trying to bring ol' gimpy up into position with the middle and pointer is just very awkward, but allowing it to curl up next to the pinky seems to work for me so far and feels "natural".

if this at all sounds like a script for disaster please advise on what i should be doing.

thank you

I would suggest doing 15 minutes exercises with the bench scraper for 4 or 5 sessions (or more if needed). It's great for confidence building.

As for your hand position, you seem to be on the right track. It is fine to adjust to another variation that is comfortable to you, just remember to find a position whereby if you were to slip, you simply cannot cut yourself. Safety first. It will become second nature in no time.

I found this particularly usefull as I quite often switch hands while cooking, being ambidextrous has it's advantages at times.. :-)

- paul

How worried should I be about honing my knife with a steel? I just received a nice set of chef's knives for Christmas and have never used a steel before. I'm worried about doing lasting damage by using an improper angle. Are mistakes easily undone or should a novice really be careful before attempting to hone a knife?

Honing can not do any damage to your knives... In fact, unless you are using a diamond steel, a steel doesn't sharpen an edge. You need to do this with a stone. So don't worry. Follow the honing video on Rouxbe and hone every once and while to maintain your edge. A slight variation in angles will not do anything. Nice to see you're lovin' your knives though :-) a good sign.

Thanks Joe. You really put my mind at ease and I can now enjoy my new knives without worry.

I'm a little unclear about the distinction between honing and sharpening, though, as it seems to be purely semantic.

Also, the advice in the video is for the home chef to hone once a day. That seems excessive and contrary to what you suggest ("every once and a while"). I guess what I need to know is how long is too long to go without honing.

Measuring in days does not make much sense unless the knife naturally loses its edge (doubtful) as some of us will not use a knife every day. Perhaps measuring on a per-use basis makes more sense.

Any advice?

Honing - maintains the edge.

Sharpening creates an edge once it's lost from use. And every knife will begin to lose it's edge with use over time.

If you use your knife a lot every day, then honing everyday is the absolute best thing you can do. I have to admit, that I don't even do this out of laziness (lack of time, etc). However, I happen to lose my edge often so I have to use a stone. The next time you go to a butcher shop, listen for the butchers honing in the back. Many hone their knives before each use - why - because it keeps their knives sharper, longer. And you don't have to see it, you'll hear it.

A stone has a very course surface area and it actually grinds the steel down. Think of sanding down the edge of a piece of wood with sand paper. Same thing. We'll be covering this in a few weeks so stick with us and we'll walk you through this too.

Hope this helps.

...because I am actually afraid of knives. For the past 18 years I have cut EVERYTHING with meat scissors or forced my husband to do it. He's even agreed to buy me a good chef's knife after I prove I am going to try to use it instead of wimping out and going back to my old habits.

(However, he is sharpening my current one for me in the mean time.)

I have been practicing with a bench scraper for about 10 minutes a day for the past few days. I am comfortable with that - any thoughts on transitioning for someone with a phobia?

So glad to hear that you are practicing with the bench scraper...this is what will give you the feeling without the fear that you have for the knife blade.

The only advice I would give you for transitioning is to keep practicing with the bench scraper until you feel really comfortable. You don't want to be afraid when it comes to cutting with a knife. Once you are ready to move to the knife, take it slow (learning is not about speed) and remember what you practiced. As long as you keep your fingers tucked under and you go slowly, you will be fine.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Hi, I was just wondering if its essential that I get a bench scraper to get comfortable and build a feel for the cutting motions. I don't possess one of them and was just wondering if I can just start with my chefs knife.

If you feel totally comfortable with your chef's knife then you can certainly just practice with that. If not...a bench scraper is about $3 dollars and they are available in any kitchen store. Cheers!

very helpful going to save me some fingers

Joe,

I use a steel on my knives every time I cut with them precisely BECAUSE of laziness. I'd rather steel them for a few seconds each time than have to spend the time with them on a stone. Of course steeling them doesn't stop me from having to do so, but it stops me having to do so very often. :)

I was just wondering if yall, (yes I am from the south, lol) are going to explore more knife cuts.

Is there some knife cut in particular that you wanted to learn? Perhaps down the road we will do a more advanced knife cut lesson, but the basics are well covered in the current knife cut lesson. Hope this helps!

If in Australia, check out www.everten.com.au. This is an online store for kitchen gear.

I am getting my knives professionally sharpened tomorrow. I do not have a steel to keep the knife sharpened. Is this something that I absolutely need to run out and get immediately? Are they expensive? Also, if I do use a steel on my knives regularly, how often do I need to have them professionally sharpened? This guy that is going to do my knives does all the commercial hotels and restaurants around town and says that once I see what he can do with my knives that I won't want to use a steel, I'll just pay the $3 that he charges to get them resharpened. Advice appreciated!

What I do have is a knife sharpener (it's the size that fits in your pocket) is this even worth doing?

We absolutely recommend honing your knives regularly. This is the only way to maintain its sharp edge. A quality steel for chef's knives will not be that expensive. It is also a good investment that will last a long time in the kitchen.

When to sharpen your knife will depend on how often you use it; basically, it should be sharpened when it starts to get dull. We also encourage you to sharpen your own knives - watch the lesson on Sharpening with a Whetstone. After a bit of practice, you will see it is not that hard and actually quite rewarding.

Not sure if this was already covered in one of the videos but how many strokes do you recommend for honing a knife.

Honing is just done to align the edge of an already sharp blade, so 10 to 20 strokes should do. You may even want to do it periodically throughout the cooking process.

When you start to hone regularly you will begin to develop a good habit that you won't even have to think about. Cheers!

Could you please advise me what to look for in a steel. I recently bought a Wusthof Classic 8" Chefs knife and noticed the steels vary quite a bit in size, shape, and price. Thank You

Here are a few other links that ask and discuss this same question.

http://rouxbe.com/community/forums/11/topics/852?page=1#4656
http://rouxbe.com/community/forums/7/topics/352?page=1#2379
http://rouxbe.com/community/forums/6/topics/300?page=2#2152

Good luck!

As noted in the discussion, the demonstrator in the rolling technique uses their left hand to hold the knife. Is this because they are left handed? Or are you supposed to hold the knife in your left hand as a right handed person? Thanks! Annette

In this particular video, the demonstrator is left handed. When handling a knife, use your dominant hand. If you are right handed, hold the knife in your right hand, which will be most comfortable and most natural.

Just fyi, for filming purposes and the best camera angles, both left and right hands are sometimes used in a video. Cheers!

Thanks for your response, Kimberly. I was having a hard enough time attempting the rolling technique with my right hand. If I had to switch to my non-dominant, left hand, I was going to be in big trouble! Ha! : )

This tells you all the details! Thank goodness!

I dont have near all the stuff I need! Time to go shopping!

In the past, i could not figure out how to hold things down and feel that they were secure enough for me to chop away with confidence that i won't be bleeding into my pile of vegetables and what-not. but watching your video, i've adapted your backward crab crawl into a gripping style that seems to suit me. could probably take some adjusting as i go along and would greatly appreciate anyone else's input.

Ultimately, everyone will end up with their own unique gripping style. The more you practice chopping the more confident you will become and the more you will solidify your gripping style.

I remember when I first learned to use a knife and how awkward I felt chopping. I just kept practicing and then one day I remember chopping something and in the middle of chopping I said to myself "ah that's it...that's the sweet spot".

Slow and steady wins the race. Keep cutting, chopping and practicing and you will be surprised how much better you become. Cheers!

I currently own a 8-inch chef's knife, that is a part of the J.A. Henckels Everedge 13 Piece Set, but it has a serrated edge (here is a close-up of this knife from Amazon http://www.zappos.com/images/760/7604001/10101-1054751-5.jpg. Henckels describes this set as having "a micro-serrated edge that never needs sharpening." Would you recommend I acquire a chef's knife with a plain edge or does it matter either way?

Also, I own two Henckels Santoku Hollow Edge knives (a 7" and 5") and even though neither has the same shape as a Chef's knife, is a Santoku the Japanese version of a Chef's knife? If not, for what types of tasks should a Santoku be used for over a Chef's knife?

I have never used this particular serrated knife so I can't really comment. I do find it hard to believe that the knife never needs sharpened but again this could be a miracle knife I suppose. I guess if it is super sharp and does all of the jobs that you need it to (with ease) then perhaps you don't need another knife. But it really comes down to what you think you need and how your knife performs for you.

As far as the Santoku knife there are many chefs who own and use these knives. Again it comes down to personal preference and style. I personally love my "classic" chefs knife as it seems the most versatile etc but that is me. Cheers!

My little finger on my guide hand can't seem to find a comfortable resting position. After 15 minutes...it's in pain. What am I doing wrong?

Everyone will have their own unique style for how they hold their hands/fingers. In fact, mine sometimes sticks straight out.

Once you practice enough you will become so comfortable with cutting that you likely won't even give it a second thought. Best of luck - cheers!

In this video, you demonstrate cutting celery by having the knife in contact with the knuckle, and in fact call attention to doing this. But in the next set of videos "How to Cut Using a Chefs Knife" the knife seems to be in contact with the knuckle only when slicing tall ingredients; if the ingredient is low, the video says the knife is stable as long as it is in contact with the board. See, for example, the video "slicing long, flat ingredients".

Is holding the knife against the knuckle when slicing short ingredients like celery just a matter of preference, or is there times when you'd want to do it and times when you don't? I want to learn the right techniques for cooking so that I can become a more proficient cook, and figure I'm missing something here.

Almost always, the knuckle will be the guide for the knife. Review the video on Positioning Your Guide Hand and also the video on Slicing Large-Shaped Ingredients. In either case, whether the ingredient is small or large, the knuckle is still used to guide the knife and protect your fingers. Let us know if you have any more questions. Cheers!

I had this same problem as well. My hand starts to cramp after just a few minutes when I grip with my pinky and thumb. Like Dawn says in the video, everyone is going to have thier own style and it's important to practice until you find what works for you and you get comfortable with it.

My guide hand ignores the pinky completely and I grip using my thumb and ring finger. Much more comfortable for me and I find that my first and middle fingers are more than enough for having against the knife.

Most steels that I have seen have grooves running the full length of the steel. Presumably, this provides the edges that reshape the edge of your blade as it slides across them. I have a steel where these grooves are no longer prominent. The steel itself is relatively smooth. It my steel worn out?

I believe you have asked this question twice. The answer was posted in the other forum thread. Cheers!

Have to say it beats going out in the cold when you can take class right in your own kitchen.

The funny thing about this knife skills class was that I was just telling one of my friends that I was going to look for a class on proper use of a knife and how to properly cut vegetables, fruits, etc. And then I see this!

I always wondered how to use knifes like you showed in the lesson. THANKS

I must state first that when I thought I knew how to cut vegetables, I was sadly mistaken. I gained a lot of knowledge of how to properly cut effectively and efficiently.

I was always afraid of chef knives because they are so big and ackward-looking. Once I learned the proper way to use them, "what a breeze".

The lesson was very informative. I do not have a sharp knife in my house. I don't even have a "good" knife in my house with the exception of the one I received from the Cooking Club of America (it is a paring knife). I plan on purchasing a good knife soon and practice. In the meantime I will be practicing with the bench scrapper. The hardest thing for me will be placing my fingers properly holding the food and sliding them back. I will REALLY have to practice that and I know I have to!! Any suggestions as to a good brand of knife to purchase. I am ignorant when it comes to good knives.

It's hard to say what knife is right for you. There have been many discussions on this in our forum that you can read and hear about other people prefer. It comes down to what feels right in your own hands. Go to a reputable knife store and get a feeling for each type of knife - you're bound to find one that fits your hands and your budget. Cheers!

Thank you for responding so quickly. The only place near me to find a quality knife would be Williams & Sonoma. It is right outside of Cleveland in front of the Beechwood Mall, about an hours drive. The next clear weather day I will take a drive up there.
Thank you again so much.

I have used good knife skills, or so I thought. In viewing the lesson I did learn something new. The backward crab, I used a similar technique but this is more efficent. Great video.

The tip of using a bench scraper when learning knife technique is great. I have cooked for 50+ years and didn't know the proper knife use. Great lesson.

I have a set of Hinkle knives and love them but they came with a sharpener. I have 2 steeles. and I havent been able to use them properly till now. now the problem is As I live in SC I have to ship them to Virginia if I want them Professional sharpened. I dont want to let them go that long I use them every day. any suggestions?

I would suggest that you watch the lesson on Knife Sharpening with a Whetstone and then practice and learn to sharpen your knives yourself - that way you will never have to be without your knives. Cheers!

Hi everyone! I have a set of Chicago knives. I bought Chicago because my mom has had her set since I was a kid and they were always easy to maintain a good sharp blade. But mine seem to have been dull from day one. I was so disappointed. I hate my knives and want to buy a new set. My question is this: What do you recommend for someone on a low income budget? I WISH I could get the Wischoft knives...yes I know I spelled it wrong sorry... but I'm on SS disability. Sooo, what set would you recommend under $200? God I wish I could afford a better set! Thank you so much for the videos, they are so well done and extremely informative!

It is hard to say which knives are best for you as this is a very personal. What knives I like you may not.

I would highly recommend that you watch all of the knife lessons on Rouxbe as there is some great information on there about buying and using knives. In particular I would encourage you to watch the lesson called "Buying a Kitchen Knife Set" - even ready through the discussions. You may also want to search "knives" or "knife" (the search bar is at the top right of each page) as there are many discussions already started on this subject. Hope this helps. Cheers!

I found this very interesting.

Excellent video on how to use a knife. Learned about the rolling technique. It was good to see in slow motion just how the action works.

Good video,,,good instruction... and it does beat going out in the cold or driving miles to get to a school. Learning at home is more comfortable.

I am having a very hard time to understand on knife sharping and how to dell with a chef knife and I am really do not have enough on experence on knifes... So someone can teach me or give me some edivce.. Also i have a quick question How long this cooking course last in order to get a cerficate or dipmola or do you still have to go to a school to get a dipmola in culinary arts??

Learning how to properly handle a chef's knife means that you may need to review all of the lessons in this section, even a few times. Practice using a bench scraper as shown in this lesson until you are comfortable enough to move onto handling a knife. Same goes for learning how to sharpen a knife. With a little bit of practice you will be surprised how good you get.

In regards to a certificate or diploma, please refer to this forum thread. Cheers!

I loved this lesson,Once again I learnt something and I love doing that. Now which brand do You all like? I got to tell my hubby valentines day is coming up. we both cook so we both need some good knifes... We already had the sharpener .Mike use to work at a slatter house. Have a great day or night which ever it might be there.

Well he thinks he's the chief... my poor daughter micky said she made chili one day and her boys said "i want papaws" WRONG THING TO SAY

Glad that you liked the lesson Maggie. As for which chef knives we like, while this is a very good question, it is hard to recommend our favorite as it really comes down to personal preference. If you search "knives" or "knife" on Rouxbe (the search field is at the top right of each page) you will find many forum thread on this same subject, as it seems to be a popular question. Here is one thread in particular that you might find helpful. Cheers!

My son always sharpens my knives for me and I like to watch him do it. I am so thankful that my son will do it for me. But I am glad to learn how to do it myself, since he is becoming of the age to leave home. Then I will have to do it. I thought that honing sharpens the knife I learned something new. It doesn't it keeps the edge shape. Thanks so much for this lesson.

I'm a newbie to the club. What grest advice on these discussion boards. My question is do you think electric knife sharpeners are any good?

Well it does depends which one, I have a $250.00 one with 3 slots with different circulating stones, With the electric ones usually you cannot change the angle, also it can 'eat up" your knife quickly if you are not careful and pull the knife evenly.
Basically it is like making bread with a bread machine, good, practical yet not the best results.
If the choice is not to sharpen your knives on a wet stone because you don't have the time or patience, then go for the electric sharpener.
Goal is to work with a sharp knife period, we recommend the wet stone method, yet the electric sharpener will also work .
Hope it helps

Thank you Chrisopher. I appreciate your advice. I'll stic to the wet stone method. :-)

This is the first Rouxbe video I've watched. The quality is excellent and having taken the test I feel I learned all the high points. Really well presented so that what is being lectured about can be seen easily. Thank you. Now to practice . . .

I never hone a knife before, and just practiced honing my chef knife today. I like the "standing" method better because the steel is steady. My question is that can I hone every knife I have, such as granton knife, paring knife, and boning knife? How about serrated knife such as bread knife and steak knife? Or is honing mainly for chef's knife only?

Honing is not possible with serrated or steak knives. Any steel knives with a smooth edge can be honed. Cheers!

I'd watched the lesson and make an effort to use the correct grip, but it was a bit uncomfortable for me to keep my thumb tucked away. A friend who is a more experienced cook pointed out something that I was doing wrong, and once I changed the problem went away on its own.

With the food placed on the cutting board parallel to the edge and the knife facing directly away from me, I had been reaching for the food with my guide hand, the arm of my guide hand being at perhaps a 45 degree angle to the food. When I bent my fingers in the claw grip, my thumb (if extended) was sticking out in front of my knuckles which is dangerous. So I had to constantly remind myself to keep it tucked away, but that felt a bit uncomfortable (old finger joints and all).

What my friend suggested was holding the arm of my guide hand parallel to the front of the cutting board, which meant the food (for example a stick of celery) sat directly under the arm. Its not the most natural position to reach for something, but once I did this my thumb was behind my knuckles even if extended! And sure enough when I went back and watched the video again ("Positioning your Guide Hand") I could see at time 1:43 having the food underneath the guide arm is exactly what is shown in the video.

So I thought I'd point this out since it's something I apparently missed watching the video, in case the tip helps someone else.

Is it ok to hone a santuku knife that has bevels cut out of the sides? Won't you eventually wear away the blade till it reaches the bevels?

i recently got a set of 3 santoku knives from cooking club of america.
i had already watched your videos on the knives so i was pretty sure
i had it figured out. lol what i figured out was that they didnt need to get
sharper just yet...ouch. i came back and looked at the video again and
i cant quite understand how you can move across the cutting board
using the rolling move without the knife coming out of contact with the
board. thanks for your help and the lesson. you guys are great.

Santoku knives should be honed and sharpened just like any other chef's knife. It will take a very long time to reach the bevels of the blade. In the kitchen, a sharp knife is the safest knife, so make sure to keep it in tip-top shape. Cheers!

It is really good to practice the rolling technique using a bench scraper until you get the hang of the motion. It just takes practice and finding that rhythm of syncing up both hands. It just comes down to the amount of time spent and being patient with yourself. Study the videos again and again and use the flour on the cutting board as a guide. This will build your confidence up for when you go to use the knife. Don't give up! You can do it. Cheers!

I found this lesson very useful, but I agree with another comment that was made: it's unnerving to watch a south paw using a knife!! Definitely nothing against left handed people, but since the majority of people are right handed, I think it would have made more sense to have someone do the demonstrations who is right handed. Everything seemed backwards to me and it made it a little harder to focus on the lesson, because I kept shifting things around in my head for how cuts would be done as a right handed person...

Thanks for your feedback. We used a left-handed chef for this video for a variety of important production reasons. We felt that it would not comprise the learning. The skills and techniques demonstrated here are exactly the same for right-handed cutters, except you will use a different hand of course.

I didn't even notice the left-handedness of the chef in the video and I needed to watch again after seeing this forum thread. My sympathies for the unnerved righties here. I must say though, that upon second viewing, there seemed to be something very natural about the flow. Too bad I hadn't seen this lefty chef in action years ago.
Former awkward chopper,

Has anyone had a problem with shun knives chipping along the edge. I hand wash my knives and take extremely good care of them. These chips are almost invisible unless you hold the knife up to a light, I only noticed them because the knives started to feel much duller. I use a magnetic strip to hold my knives and this is the only thing I can think might be causing the problem (I hope not though because I love storing them this way).

I have sharpened the chef and paring knife to rid them of the chips, however I think I'll need to send in the bread and tomato knife, because they are serrated.

Be careful pulling your knife off of the strip. If you pull it by the handle, the cutting edge is the last part that comes off the strip, and if you do this too quickly you can nick the edge. Instead, grab the handle and twist the knife so that the spine is the last part that is connected to the strip, and you don't run the risk of nicking the edge. We have a magnetic strip and our knives are perfect.

Same thing when putting the knives back. Put the spine on there first, and then carefully let it go.

I gotta say that I love my Cutco knives, but they are pretty spendy. The whole set makes my kitchen complete.

I tried that and it makes sense, there is still a little too much slap when I put the knife back even with carefully letting go, however I think this is much better then the way I was putting them on before which was parallel.

Thanks again for your help : ).

This was great because I can watch the video a few time and then practice without being in a group of people and getting scared.

I have always wondered how that do that. Now with some practice I will be able to do that too.
Thank You.

I was just wonder what profession chefs thought of the Cutco brand of knives. I sold them when I was in college years ago and made enough to buy my own set. I've used them ever since and love them.

I don't believe there is anyone here that has used them personally so we couldn't really comment. The main thing is that you like them. Perhaps someone else out there might have an opinion on them. There are also many discussions on the subject of knives in the forum. Just type in the word knife or knives and you will see that there are quite a few threads. Cheers!

I got Cutco knives set as a wedding gift and I love it. I use Chef knife all the time and really like their steak knives.