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strumke

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I've watched a bunch of videos where people just plow through veg at high speed to show off technique and knife quality. Is there any video that goes through proper knife technique, ergonomics, cuts, etc at a 'learning' speed? I've never worked in a kitchen or taken any knife classes, so everything I've learned is from practice or tv/videos. I use a pinch grip, can dice an onion, and typically sport the claw (minus a few mishaps that luckily happened with relatively dull knives).

The vids tagged as learning tutorials start and end so basic that they aren't useful. I'm most interested in moving from a rocking 'locomotive' cut to more of a push cut.
 
Chad Ward's book "Edge in the Kitchen" would be a good starting point for you. I got my first look at it from my local library or Amazon will put it on your door.
 
The Japanese Knife Society videos are worth a look. They are depictions of pros using traditional Japanese knives expertly. As far as intermediate instructional videos, I'm not really aware of any.
 
^^ nice profile of that knife in the video. Looked like it cut those potatoes very smoothly.
I am favoring more of a flatter profile lately. Really helps with chopping. My new Hiromoto 240 Gyuto is experiencing some acordioning(sp?) due to the belly. I'll have to get used to that one with practice.
 
That video was definitely along the lines of what I was looking for, thanks... I did order "Edge in the Kitchen" as well. I'll check it out and possible look into the Charlie Trotter book as well.

It's cool to watch the folks that can mow through food, but if I started at that pace I wouldn't have any knuckles left... slow and steady, right?
 
I've been asked to do this many times now and have always wanted to oblige. Sorry I haven't yet. Maybe this offseason.
 
That goes in the right direction, but the info on knife handling is very meager all considered.

For instance I would like to learn what different grips to use in which situation (point grip for maximum precision in soft foods, hammergrip when you need the whole blade for large produce like cabbages, hammergrip with the thumb on the spine for very hard stuff, pinchgrip for both good strength and precision) ...

... and when to use which cutting technique (pull cuts for large, soft produce like cucumbers and cabbage, push cuts for large, harder produce, rock-chopping for small produce and/or very fine julienne, draw cuts with tip on the board for tomatoes/cucumbers/bellpeppers so they don't stick to the blade).

Also, what NOT to do, like pinching the tip of the blade between your fingers for mincing (because you could slide off and your fingertips could end up under the blade, instead use your flat hand) or pressing down too hard while mincing (because the edge will dig into the board, get twisted and chip. Think of all the Shuns that could have been saved :lol2:)

Also, how to tell when your knife is in poor condition - concave overground spots in the profile, a bolster that extends beyond the edge and wont let it touch the board, knives that are extremely unbalenced/handle heavy, how to tell whether it is sharp (paper test) and when it needs to be thinned (width of bevel at a given angle, cracks carrots).
 
mhpr262 said:
That goes in the right direction, but the info on knife handling is very meager all considered.

For instance I would like to learn what different grips to use in which situation (point grip for maximum precision in soft foods, hammergrip when you need the whole blade for large produce like cabbages, hammergrip with the thumb on the spine for very hard stuff, pinchgrip for both good strength and precision) ...

... and when to use which cutting technique (pull cuts for large, soft produce like cucumbers and cabbage, push cuts for large, harder produce, rock-chopping for small produce and/or very fine julienne, draw cuts with tip on the board for tomatoes/cucumbers/bellpeppers so they don't stick to the blade).

Also, what NOT to do, like pinching the tip of the blade between your fingers for mincing (because you could slide off and your fingertips could end up under the blade, instead use your flat hand) or pressing down too hard while mincing (because the edge will dig into the board, get twisted and chip. Think of all the Shuns that could have been saved :lol2:)

Also, how to tell when your knife is in poor condition - concave overground spots in the profile, a bolster that extends beyond the edge and wont let it touch the board, knives that are extremely unbalenced/handle heavy, how to tell whether it is sharp (paper test) and when it needs to be thinned (width of bevel at a given angle, cracks carrots).
Click to expand...

It might be good to have these types of learning series posts in one place for reference. Experienced folks can continue to update and educate as new topics come up.

I've been reading through Edge in the Kitchen (1/3 through), and it has good info, but I don't know that I've gotten much new out of the book vs the past month or so of reading through the forums here. I can give another update after I get through the rest of the book.
 
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