The main functional part of a knife is its blade. It is thanks to the blade, the knife performs a variety of work and it is on the blade is the main load. And its sharpness in turn is due to a number of factors, the most important of which:

• quality of steel
• quality of mechanical and heat treatment
• compliance with correct geometry
• quality of sharpening

So, let’s divide the blade in half and consider the possible shapes of its cross-section, the main ones include three:

• wedge-shaped
• curved lens
• convex lens

The other types are secondary and derived from the three cross-sectional types listed.

Cuneiform cross-section

A simple wedge is considered the classic form. Its peculiarity is that the planes of the blade converge and form a sharpened edge. At small angles of sharpening can achieve incredible sharpness of the blade, but if the quality of steel will be insufficient, such a blade will easily crumple or crumble when in contact with hard material.

1. Strict Wedge

2. A wedge with a lead

3.4. Flat-conical section

5. Double wedge

6. Wedge with a lead and wedge-shaped shank

7.8. Double-edged section

9. Double-edged cross-section with subsets

10. Combination of double-edged section with flat central part

11. Combination of conical section with truncated cone

12. и 13. Section in the form of a unilateral wedge – right-sided and left-sided, characteristic of the knives of the peoples of the North

Concave cross-section

The concave cross-section (lens) allows to achieve the finest sharpening. The value of the angle of the edge decreases as it gets closer to its tip, the thickness of the blade in this part also tends to zero. This is the main limitation in the use of the classic concave wedge, because such a blade can be stained even when cutting soft wood.

1. Razor section (dangerous razors)

2. 3. Widespread form of cross-section of modern hunting knives

4. Cross-section of the Russian saber

5. Characteristic form of section of medieval swords (combination of wedge-shaped blades with a wide concave chisel)
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6. 7. Section of rapiers, bayonets, stilettos, conchars – stabbing weapons

Convex cross-section.

The convex lens (convex) is best suited for hard materials: chopping bones, branches and trees, burnt and horny limbs, etc. This cross-section is found in axes for chopping wood, combat swords and daggers, cleavers. The knife should be sharpened at a certain angle, which depends on the purpose of the tool.

1. Classic convex wedge (a cross-section characteristic of some Eastern longbow weapons)

2. Flat-convex wedge (cross-section, often found on Japanese samples of cold weapons, on some hunting knives)

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3. Combination of flat-concave cross-section with convex shape of descents (sharpening)

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4. Combination of flat-conical cross-section with convex form of descents

5. Lenticular cross-section (some samples of ancient swords and daggers)

6. Combination of wedge with convex shape of descenders

Having considered the types of cross-section it is possible to draw a conclusion:

• Lower blade sharpening angle – less effort to go deeper into the material

• Larger blade sharpening angle – more effort required

• Lower angle of sharpening – less blade strength

• Higher blade strength – more effort to cut

Thus large angles are needed to cut hard materials, while for cutting soft materials the angle will be much smaller. After studying the types of blade cross-section it becomes clear that for the use of the knife, it is necessary to consider the geometry of descents and angle of sharpening as the most important factors that provide comfort of work and quick results.

So why do we sharpen, bring to a mirror shine and perfect sharpness of our knives? Of course, to make us feel comfortable, pleasant to use them. Today we will talk about the correct grip of the knife, cutting techniques and maintaining sharpness.

First of all, it’s worth briefly mentioning what kind of knife to choose for this or that product.

• The chef’s knife is our most important and indispensable kitchen knife. Its blade length can vary from 6 to 12 inches (15.24 cm to 30.48 cm). The standard size is 25.40 cm. It can be used to peel, cut and chop vegetables, fruits, process meat and almost any kind of food. Also chef’s knife is called a Santoku knife – which has the geometry of a goat’s leg.

• Slicing knife (Slicing knife) – has a long, thin blade and is designed for cutting raw fish, vegetables and fruits, cutting thin slices. The blade is usually 20.32 cm long.

• Carving knife, can go with fork (Carving knife and fork) – knife, with a long narrow blade, used for slicing hot roasts. It is often paired with a fork (Roasting fork), which has two long tines to hold the food. It should have a comfortable handle, preferably with a safety catch to protect your hands.

• Fruit and vegetable peeling knife (Paring knife) – designed for peeling and cutting fruits and vegetables. It is light, sharp, with a short, stiff blade. Its blade is usually only 5.08 cm long. – 7.62 cm.

• Serrated knife (Serrated knife) – The “teeth” of this knife can slice fragile and delicate foods such as bread, moist muffins.

• Sole filet knife – This knife is designed for cutting into fillets of fish or meat. It has a long, thin and flexible blade.

• Boning knife (Boning knife or Deboning knife) – has a long, non-bending blade, 8.89 cm – 15.24 cm long, has a curved blade point that can reach the joints of meat and poultry.

• Butcher knife or Cleaver – The thick and heavy blade of a hatchet is used most often for chopping bones. The back or side surfaces can be used to “chop” escalopes.

There are many varieties of knives for use in the kitchen: mezzaluna, cheese slicer, pizza knife, oyster knife, and others, but only three knives are essential: a chef’s knife, a vegetable knife, and a paring or paring knife.

Once we’ve chosen the knife we want to use, let’s get to work.
The first thing we need to learn is the correct grip of the knife.

• Grip the blade as in the picture with your thumb and tucked index finger. The thumb lies sideways, along the handle of the knife, and the index finger sort of wraps around the handle from above

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• With your remaining three fingers, wrap the remaining three fingers around the handle of the knife

• Don’t grip the blade and handle very tightly or you won’t be able to use the knife for long. Hold it not relaxed, but firmly enough – confidently.

The most common mistakes to avoid:

• Do not place your thumb or index finger on the knife’s edge

• Don’t hold a knife like a sword

The second point is how to hold your fingers correctly. We have one hand occupied with the knife, let’s deal with the other hand that holds our food.

• Fingertips should always be tucked inward.

• The second phalanges of the index and middle fingers are almost perpendicular. The blade of the knife is pressed against the folds of the fingers and slides over them when slicing.

• The thumb should be pulled back, otherwise you’ll get carried away and cut your nail off in two. It kind of wraps around the vegetable or fruit and pushes it towards the knife.

The third point is which part of the knife to cut with?”
When slicing foods, we can use different parts of the knife blade. From left to right:

• The part of the blade at the point. This is the sharpest and narrowest part of the knife. It is used for delicate slicing or slicing small pieces.

• Centerpiece is used in most cases.

• The palm is used for labor-intensive slicing when you need to apply more force.

And finally the fourth point is how to guide the knife correctly?
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Imagine the handle is attached to the rim of a wheel rotating along the cutting plane, keeping the tip of the knife on the board.

It takes practice and time for your hands to get used to slicing like the big name chefs in movies or shows. Start learning gradually, first without food, and when you realize that your hands are making the right moves move to merciless slicing of onions and carrots, but don’t worry if you don’t get perfect slices from the start, everything will come with time and practice, you have to shed a lot of tears over the onion before you get perfect cubes or slices of the same thickness.

Many slicing techniques are used in the professional kitchen.
Let’s take a look at the main types:

Shingling

Dicing

Julienne slices

Chiffonade slicing

Cheese slicing.

• Parmesan, pecorino, grana padano are not cut in slices, especially since this is difficult to do with an ordinary utility knife, but are broken off with a special spatula.
• Brie and Camembert are served whole, complete with a table knife, with which eaters cut off pieces of the desired size.
• Mozzarella is cut with a serrated blade.

• Moldy cheese is diced with a small all-purpose tool with a wide blade.
• Semi-hard cheeses (Russian, Dutch, Gouda) are cut with a universal with holes in the blade.
• Thin slicing of semi-hard cheeses is done with string knives or a knife resembling a spatula with a slit in the center part. It is also known as a “cheese slicer” – it was invented by carpenter Thor Björklund from Lillehammer in 1925.

Slicing bread

• Bread is cut exclusively on a board designed for this purpose. Never use a board for vegetables and even less for raw meat.
  
• A separate bread knife is used for slicing bread, often with a serrated sharpening.

• Slices of molded bread are cut in half: perpendicular to the base, parallel to the base, diagonally. Baton slices are served whole.
• The approximate thickness of the slice is 1 centimeter. Thinner slices are made only for layered sandwiches.

Slicing meat

• The knife should be appropriate for the type of meat to be cut – fillets/meat with gristle, white/red meat and so on.
• There should be no serrations on the blade of the meat knife.

• Meat is only cut across the fibers, not lengthwise.
• Meat from the bone is cut by holding the bone itself with a paper towel, and the cut itself is made in the direction away from the bone, about 1 cm wide. If it is a rib part, do the same or remove the ribs altogether.

In the process of work the knife loses its initial sharpness and to maintain it you will need a mousate, with it the cutting edge will remain perfectly sharp throughout the work. And to avoid losing sharpness due to the surface on which you work, we advise you to use an end board – monolithic of small bars with vertical fibers, such a board does not dull the knife, almost eternal and environmentally friendly.