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Top Five Rules for Safe Knife Handling

Safety is the prime option when using a knife. You should not be injuring yourself by losing your fingers or having a scar on your feet.  Below are some essential basics that we have highlighted for you. For more information, click on https://knivesadvice.com/.

Watch out for your fingers

And we mean this quite literally. You need them for other important tasks like eating, driving your car, or even picking up your pet. If you value these things, be more deliberate next time when you are on the chopping board.

When cutting meat or any other ingredient, your fingers should not be flat. If they are flat, it means that when you miss what you are cutting, you will cut your fingers. Instead focus on creating a claw with your first, middle, and index finger. That way, when you miss the only other target will be the chopping board.

Keep your knives sharp

A dull knife requires more force to cut. As a result, it can increase the odds of getting an injury.  Keeping your knives sharp is the best way to keep you and the knife safe.  You can do this by using honing steel to maintain the sharpness of a blade. Or use a wet whetstone for sharpening a dull blade.

The degree of sharpness depends on the kind of ingredients you will be dealing with. A 15 degree of sharpness is ideal for soft ingredients while a 20 degree of sharpness is perfect for hard ingredients.

Storing them correctly

Knives should not be dipped into soapy water or thrown in a dishwasher. If thrown into a drawer together with other cutlery and dishes, it can lose its edge through friction and run the risk of injuring yourself when reaching out for it.

You can opt for knife blocks. These are great for general home users but suck for chefs because they will have to check every knife block to confirm the type of blade. Another solution is installing a wall-mounted magnetic strip. It looks stylish and insists on saving counter space in your kitchen.  It also favors someone who quickly forgets where they placed a specific knife.

Pay attention to what you are doing

Looks simple enough but this tip is an essential one. There are distractions all over the place. Some of them aren’t your fault. Maybe you are the parent to your son or daughter. Or have one annoying pet. And there’s a possibility that these people or animals might be active while you are in the kitchen.

You need to pause for as long as takes and solve whatever is begging for your attention. The worst thing to multi-task with is a knife. If you cut yourself, you can turn into a ball of stress even if the stakes of the conversations you are holding are high.  It’s better to tell someone that you will get to them later and continue cutting in peace.

Use the right knife for the right task

It’s important to understand the functionality of each blade in your arsenal. This applies to every kind of foodservice guru out there. However, this task is not an easy feat. You can overcome this Everest by understanding a few concepts. They include:

  • Edge of blade
  • Size of blade
  • Versatility
  • Flexibility