Vol. IV · Knives, Tools and the Work Space Plate 2 of 10pinch grip, claw grip, knife safety, board height, ergonomics, guiding handTS

Holding and Guiding.

One hand holds the knife; the other hand decides where it goes. Most cuts are caused by the second hand.

Professional cooks hold a knife with a pinch grip: thumb and the side of the forefinger pinching the blade just ahead of the handle, the other fingers wrapped round the handle. It puts the hand close to the blade's balance point, so the edge goes where the hand points. Holding only the handle, with a finger on the spine, is common at home and much less precise.

The other hand matters more. In the claw, the fingertips are curled under and the flat of the blade rests against the middle knuckles, which slide back after each cut and set the thickness of the next slice. The fingertips are always behind the knuckles, out of reach of the edge. And the board should be at the right height: too low and you stoop and press down; too high and you cannot see or push through.

Below: a side view of the work surface for a cook of the height you enter: elbow height, the recommended top of the board (a little below the elbow), and how far your board is from it.

What you will learn

Use the pinch grip.
Use the claw to guide the blade and protect fingertips.
Set a board at a comfortable height.
Know the first rules of knife safety.

Workshop

Elbow height is taken as 0.63 of standing height (a common anthropometric ratio); a comfortable cutting surface is about 10–15 cm below the elbow. The board sits on a counter of the height you set.

The guiding hand

For a cook 170 cm tall the elbow is about 107 cm from the floor and a comfortable board top about 95 cm; a 3 cm board on a 90 cm counter puts the cutting surface 2 cm below that. A 190 cm cook wants the board at about 108 cm, so stacks a second board or uses a higher table; a 155 cm cook wants about 86 cm and does better at a lower table. A board that slides is as dangerous as one at the wrong height: put a damp cloth or a non-slip mat under it.

Then the rules. Curl the guiding fingertips under and keep the blade against the knuckles; the blade never rises above them. Cut with the whole edge, in a forward or rocking motion, rather than pressing straight down. Make round things flat first — halve the onion, take a slice off the carrot — so nothing rolls. Never try to catch a falling knife. Carry it point down at your side, and never leave one in a sink full of water where it cannot be seen.

At the stove

Practise the claw on a carrot halved lengthways and laid flat. Cut thick slices slowly, sliding the knuckles back a few millimetres each time and keeping the blade's flat against them. Speed comes later, by itself; the habit is what protects you.

In Chinese kitchens the cleaver is guided the same way: the left hand's knuckles set the thickness of each slice, and the broad blade rests against them as a guard.

Terms

Pinch grip: Holding the knife by pinching the blade just ahead of the handle between thumb and forefinger.
Claw grip: The guiding hand with fingertips curled under, knuckles against the blade.
Rocking cut: A cut made by rolling a curved edge from tip to heel.
Non-slip mat: A damp cloth or rubber mat that stops a board sliding.

The guiding hand decides safety: fingertips curled behind the knuckles, board steady and at the right height.

Sources

A teaching value chosen for the course: the right order of magnitude and shape, not a measurement of a particular food.