GIF Guide: Basic Knife Skills

I finally learned how properly use a knife 🔪 and created this animated guide to explain some basics.

I realized that I never learned the proper technique, and if there’s one kitchen tool I want to master, it’s the knife.  Its a sharp piece of metal that can hurt you 😳 so I definitely want to use it the right way.

The good news is that with an hour of practice, you can improve your speed, consistency, and confidence.

This week I spent an hour practicing the fundamentals – proper grip, proper motion, proper control – and here were my key takeaways.

Cutting Board

The most important thing about your cutting board is stability.

If yours doesn’t have built-in grips on the bottom1, place it on top of a damp cloth to keep it stable.

Knife Hand – 2 Types of Grips

Proper hand placement minimizes the chance of injury and helps you work confidently.  Starting with the hand that holds the knife, there are 2 grips to choose from.

Knife Hand – Handle Grip

The Handle Grip is generally used by beginners or cooks with small hands.  It’s comfortable, but only offers limited control.

How to use a handle grip:

1. Hold the handle, with your hand completely behind the bolster2.
2. Maintain a relaxed grip (under control, but not too tight).

Knife Hand – Blade Grip

The Blade Grip can feel strange at first, it’s the grip that most professionals choose because it offers more control.

How to use a blade grip:

1. Wrap your 3 fingers around the handle, placed up against the bolster3.
2. Rest your thumb against the inside of the blade.
3. Rest your index finger against the outside of the blade.
4. Maintain a relaxed grip (under control, but not too tight).

Once you have a comfortable grip, place your knife at a 45 degree angle to the board.  (Imagine the angle that you use to write or type with).

The ‘Low Cut’

Spend some time practicing the Low Cut, which is used for small food (garlic, onions, etc).  I’m getting ready to create a guide for the High Cut.

STEP 1, SLICE:  Start by resting your knife on the point.  Push the knife forward and roll the heel4 down to the board.  Use the back half of the knife to cut the food.

STEP 2, LIFT: Lift the heel5 off the board – just high enough to make another cut.  The knife should be resting on the tip again.

STEP 3, PULL:  Pull the knife back to where you started and repeat Step 1.

Don’t worry about speed yet.  Practice on a few items and focus on making slow, smooth, circular rotations.

Bonus Tip:  Keep your shoulders relaxed.  People tend to raise their shoulders as they cut, but you can stay in control by using just your wrist and elbow.

Guide Hand – Safety

Don’t use your guide hand to push the food into the knife like a conveyor belt.  Pushing the food exposes your fingers to the blade and puts them in danger.

Do keep the food still.  Instead of moving the food under the knife, pivot the knife over the food.

The only motion your non-cutting hand makes is to gently push back, like an inchworm6.

Guide Hand – Grip

Keep a proper grip on whatever you’re cutting:

1. Shape your hand like a claw so that only your first knuckle is sticking out.  This protects your fingertips so that the knife doesn’t catch them.
2. To keep the object stable, you can drop your thumb & pinky down to the level of the board.  This creates a block to keep things from moving around.
3. Make sure to keep all fingers out of the blade’s way.

Tips to keep in mind:

• For small items (i.e. carrots, garlic, herbs), the knife stays in contact with the board.
• Circular slicing movement.
• Shoulder relaxed.
• Make cuts with the back half of the blade.
• Move the knife, not the food.
• Keep the fingernails on your guide hand tucked in.

Resources:

• Great StackExchange discussion on safely improving your cutting technique
• Huge shout out to Chef Brendan McDermott — his Craftsy course influenced this guide big time!
• This Jamie Oliver video on Knife Skills was also huge.  Made me realize that there’s not as much to learn as I thought
• Good, short Cooks Illustrated’s video on Basic Knife Skills
• Nice discussion on StackExchange on How can I improve my cooking skills?
• Featured Photo Credit: Benjamin Faust