chefsknife 1.0

The shape of the chef’s knife is what makes it so versatile. This illustration from Wusthof shows how parts of the knife are used for different tasks.

The mid section of the blade is appropriate for either firm or soft food. The gentle curve of the blade is ideal for mincing leeks, chives, parsley etc. A chef's knife edge is ground thin for cutting performance. Chopping through hard, dense bones with the center of the edge will dull the blade and could damage the fine edge. Use a cleaver and not your chef's knife for heavy duty meat chopping. Chefs knives do not have serrated blades which are designed to cut soft objects. The tip is pointed, slightly flexible, and can be maneuvered around bones. The curved front of the blade should be kept sharp as it is suitable for many small cutting jobs. It is particularly useful for chopping onions, mushrooms, garlic and other small vegetables. The curved shape lets you chop and dice with a smooth rocking motion which reduces fatigue on those big jobs. The spine of the blade is flat and much thicker than the edge. The spine of your chefs knife can be used to break up small bones or shellfish or for tenderizing meat cuts. The weight distribution and balance are optimal at the bolster, just above the heel of the blade. The heel section of the blade is used to chop through extremely firm food objects like turnips and other root vegetables. A bolster that extends full length to the heel provides better finger protection but can make sharpening the heel section more difficult. The wide flat surface of the blade is suitable for smashing garlic, and for flattening fillets as well as for lifting the choppings into the pan.