A Knife Does the Work: The Grip, the Claw, and Why the Blunt One Cuts You

Put your thumb and the side of your index finger on the flat of the BLADE, just in front of the handle, and wrap the remaining three fingers round the handle. That is the pinch grip. It works because it puts your hand at the knife's balance point, so the blade becomes an extension of your arm rather than a weight on the end of a lever. The difference in control is immediate and slightly surprising. Holding the handle alone — the grip everybody starts with — leaves the blade wagging and forces the wrist to do the steering. It is the reason a beginner's slices are uneven, far more than any lack of practice.

Curl the fingertips of the guiding hand under, so the flat middle joints of your fingers face the blade and the tips are tucked safely behind them. That is the claw. Then rest the flat of the blade against those knuckles and let them guide it. The knife physically cannot reach your fingertips while it is touching your knuckles, and the knuckle position sets the thickness of each slice — so the same habit gives both safety and evenness. Move the claw back a slice's width at a time. A steady retreat produces even slices without measuring anything, which is the dividers-and-stepping-off idea in a kitchen.

Keep the tip of the knife on the board and rock the handle down and forward, so the edge travels through the food rather than pressing straight down. A cutting edge is a row of microscopic teeth; drawing them across the food lets them cut, while pressing straight down asks them to split it apart by wedging. That is why a slicing motion goes through a ripe tomato that a downward press just squashes. Let the knife's own weight do most of the work and guide rather than push. If you are leaning on it, either the knife is blunt or the motion is wrong, and both are worth stopping to fix.

Put a damp cloth or a sheet of damp kitchen paper under the board. A board that slides is the second commonest cause of a cut hand, after a blunt knife, and it takes five seconds to prevent. Then give every round thing a FLAT SIDE before you do anything else. Cut an onion or a carrot in half and lay it cut-side down, and it cannot roll — which removes the situation where a knife skids off a curved surface entirely. Keep the board clear and the edge safe between cuts. Scrape food off with the SPINE of the knife rather than the edge, lay the knife flat when it is not in use, and never put a knife in a sink of water where a hand will find it before an eye does.