The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 51

serve different purposes Here are the main features of most knives: • The Cutting Edge is the sharpened, honed edge of the blade It should be razor sharp—a wellsharpened knife will literally be able to take the hairs off your arm (don’t try it) Chef’s knife blades come in varying degrees of curvature, designed for various tasks, such as slicing or rockchopping • The Back, or Spine, is the long side opposite the sharp blade This is where you hold your non–knife hand when rocking the knife back and forth for rapid mincing It can also be used as a makeshift bench scraper for moving pieces of food around on your cutting board (you should never this with the cutting edge—it’ll dull it) • The Tip is the sharp point at the end of the blade It’s used primarily for precision work • The Heel is at the bottom of the blade In many Western-style knives, the metal thickens significantly at the heel This is to make it easier to grip the knife using the blade grip (see here) • The Bolster is the part of the blade that meets the handle It is thick and heavy, providing a good balancing point for the blade and the handle In a well-balanced knife, the center of mass should be somewhere near the bolster, so that you can rock the knife back and forth with minimal effort • The Tang is the extension of the blade that runs through the handle It provides balance as well as sturdiness A knife with a full tang (that is, metal that extends to the butt of the handle) is unlikely to ever lose its handle • The Handle is where your whole hand rests if using the handle grip, or where your three smaller fingers rest if using the blade grip (which I recommend) Handles can be made of wood, polycarbonate, metal, or various exotic materials I like the feel and grip of a real wood handle, but there is no right or wrong here • The Butt is the fattened section at the very bottom of the handle THE TWO GRIPS T he first step to perfect knife skills is learning how to hold a knife There are two basic grips: the handle grip and the blade grip  ... but there is no right or wrong here • The Butt is the fattened section at the very bottom of the handle THE TWO GRIPS T he first step to perfect knife skills is learning how to hold a knife There are two basic grips: the handle.. .through the handle It provides balance as well as sturdiness A knife with a full tang (that is, metal that extends to the butt of the handle) is unlikely to ever lose its handle • The Handle... using the handle grip, or where your three smaller fingers rest if using the blade grip (which I recommend) Handles can be made of wood, polycarbonate, metal, or various exotic materials I like the