How To Hold A Knife – The Best Practices
- Published: May 13, 2022
- Last Modified: August 9, 2022
You want to make your cuisine like a professional chef without losing your finger. You are making an ingredient for a recipe from a healthy-ish or favorite cookbook, then you need to know how to hold a knife.
How to use a chef knife and a little bit of practice will help prepare dishes like an experienced chef. It does not matter what you are going to cut.
Just tuck your fingertips under your knife knuckles and hold the knife with your dominant hand. Dear readers, let’s dive into how to hold a knife.
Let's Learn- How To Hold A Knife
There are two basic grips to hold a knife-
(a) The Handle Grip and (b) The Blade Grip.
The Handle Grip
Before getting into how to hold a knife, let’s look at the anatomy of a knife. There are four basic parts of a knife, the cutting edge of the knife that runs from the heel to the tip while the spine is the thick edge of the opposite side of a blade.
The tang that is encased within the handle is the extended part of a blade. Some knives are crafted with full tangs, some are designed with half tangs while some are not crafted with tangs at all.
The handle where you grip the knife can be crafted with different materials. Rivets are the metal pins used to connect the handle to the tang.
The bolster that meets the blade of the knife to its handle protects your fingers from slipping while you work.
Front View:
Photo Received from Serious Eats
For holding a knife, your hand should be behind the bolster on the handle itself. The grip is usually used by beginners or cooks with small hands. This grip is comfortable and easy but offers limited control while doing kitchen chores.
Back View:
Photo Received from Serious Eats
The same grip is used for the hand-holding knife. All the fingers are tucked behind the bolster for holding the knife.
The main drawback to the handle grip is that the cuts can be inconsistent as the grip is far away from the end of the blade. Practice is needed to get a precision cut for holding a knife.
The Blade Grip
Have you ever noticed how professional chefs cut through food ingredients with swiftness and grace?
Well, it does not only depend on practice but also depends on how the chefs grip the knife. In many culinary arts programs, the first thing taught is how to hold a knife. The most effective way to hold a knife is the blade or ‘pinch’ grip. The grip requires ‘pinching’ the blade between your forefingers and thumb and the rest of the fingers should be tucked under the handle.
Well, it does not only depend on practice but also depends on how the chefs grip the knife. In many culinary arts programs, the first thing taught is how to hold a knife. The most effective way to hold a knife is the blade or ‘pinch’ grip. The grip requires ‘pinching’ the blade between your forefingers and thumb and the rest of the fingers should be tucked under the handle.
This grip offers several advantages including more centered balance and control over the knife and provides effortless cuts such as the ‘rock chopping’ method. This technique involves anchoring the tip of the knife and rocking the knife up and down through food ingredients against a cutting board. The more you practice how to hold a knife, the closer you are to slice, mince, chop, and dicing like a professional chef.
Front View:
Photo Received from Serious Eats
The blade grip is preferred by more experienced cooks. Your thumb and forefinger should be placed in front of the bolster on the blade. The grip will provide you with better control and balance.
Remember that the grip may turn into a difficulty for cheaper stamped knives that don’t consist of a bolster.
Back View:
Photo Received from Serious Eats
Apply the same technique for the back view grip of the blade. The only difference between the front view and back view grip of a blade is that the first finger should be in front of the bolster.
Way to Use Hand Holding Knife
Holding a knife rightly makes your kitchen tasks enjoyable. The proper grip is also the key to kitchen safety.
Remember that a sharp knife cuts well whereas a dull knife requires more force to cut. Apart from this, a sharp knife does most of the work, not your arm.
Let’s go through how to hold a knife for making dishes.
The Right Way and The Wrong Way to Holding Knife
For holding a knife correctly, use your index finger and thumb to choke. This will provide you with strong control over the blade and leads to less hand strain. The technique is easy and is a much safer way to use a knife.
Another way of hand holding knife is the firm grip of the handle only. For this, you need a knife that is crafted with a non-slip handle to prevent your hand from slipping during use. The technique offers less control over the knife than the blade choking technique.
But the technique is quite safe as your fingers are fully protected from the blade of the knife.
There is no single right way for holding a knife but there is one wrong way for hand-holding knife and that is using your index finger on the spine of the blade. The resting of your index finger on the spine of the knife can lead to injuries.
Keep your knife sharp
A sharp knife offers precision cuts of food ingredients according to your intention. To keep your knife sharp, you can visit the site “how to sharpen chef knife, or how to sharpen kitchen knives”. You can use a whetstone or an electric knife sharpener to keep your knife sharp.
Now, you are acquainted with how to sharpen a knife. The professional chefs suggest keeping your knife always sharp. A sharp knife can easily cut through meat, fruit, and vegetables. Apart from this, a sharp knife avoids the probability of any injury to happen.
It does not matter whatever technique you use for holding a knife. You have to keep your kitchen knives sharp.
Conclusion
Guiding a knife is an art to learn. A sharp knife along with a cutting board, the technique of holding a knife, and a little bit of practice will help to make all recipes appealing. By achieving mastery over how to hold a knife, the art itself will increase cutting speed.
Be careful of keeping your off-hand in the claw position.
Frequently Asked Questions of How To Hold A Knife
Q: How do you hold a knife?
Ans: Grab the handle with your middle, ring, and pinkie fingers of your dominant hand. Then rest your index finger flat where the blade part starts and rest your thumb on the opposite side of the blade.
Q: What are 4 tips to follow when holding a knife in the kitchen?
Ans: Follow at least 4 tips while using a knife in the kitchen.
Q: Why do we need to know how to hold a knife?
Ans: A knife is one of the most essential tools for preparing any kind of recipe. Then it is important to know how to hold a knife. Holding a knife correctly can minimize the risk of personal injury. It also ensures precision cuts.
Q: Why do we handle a knife safely?
Ans: Using a knife at random is dangerous. Basic knowledge is essential for holding a knife. By holding a knife properly, you are decreasing the chances of ruining yourself. The basic technique of using a knife is to cut away from yourself.
Q: How can I achieve mastery of handling a knife?
Ans: A little bit of practice will help you to achieve mastery over handling a knife. After practicing, you will find that you can use your knife with ease and comfort to prepare any kind of recipe.