Right/Left- Handedness with knives

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Chips

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When I bought an old used yanagiba today, it made me think, would I be willing to try to use it as it's designed (right-handed) and what that would require? I'm left-handed for writing and drawing/painting as an artist, but every ball and dart I've ever tossed, target shooting with rifles, I've been right handed; even computer mouse included, so I wonder how hard it would be to train or learn to use a right-handed knife? Has anyone switched teams and care to share their thoughts? I'm not looking for speed, as a home/hobbyist cook, so the extra time and attention needed to use my non-dominant hand might not be a big deal, but I wouldn't want to be back in a professional kitchen and need to perform under a timeline with the wrong hand.
 
I'm generally in the same handed boat as you, and I can write fine but slowly and awkwardly with my right hand. I personally cant fathom switching hands for a knife. Im too used to my correct hand for that and Id be paranoid about cutting myself. Ive been biting the bullet and getting left handed single bevels.
 
I've been slowly training myself to cut right handed (Lefty normally) and it feels very awkward at first. I'd recommend getting a cut proof glove, starting with soft produce, and cutting very slowly. At first it felt like both hands were alien and not doing part of my body. I've slowly gotten better and practice an hour or two a week at work (no ones noticed yet...), but its definitely an uphill battle and I can't imagine it will ever catch up to my left hand in terms of production. I honestly started due to boredom and its slowly evolved into a long term project.
 
I'm lefty, using right hand mouse, left rifle, right handed nigiri, lefty knife.

I've tried right handed knife, strange to me...
 
It sounds to me like Chips is pretty close to ambidextrous. I don't think that he would have much problem using the knife right handed. IME handedness is a continuum with some people at the extremes and others closer to ambidextrous. I'm very much right handed, but have little trouble using my left hand for high dexterity tasks such as welding, and shaving with a straight razor. Some people claim that their 'off' hand may as well be a club.
 
I would say that I'm in the same boat as the OP - any fine dexterity skill I use my left hand (writing, knife, shaving, etc) but strength skills are right (sports, etc). I am right eye dominant. That said, I will use tools either handed depending on the space I'm working with.

Way back when I was a teenager, I worked in a German deli as counter help. When cutting up a roast etc for a customer, I would use either hand for the knife depending on the space that was available to me on the cutting boards in the shop.

I've thought about that if I were to get a yanigaba I might try a righty to lower the cost, but at the end of the day right now I just don't do that much fish and I will suffer using my suji.
 
Just practice and you will get it. I shoot guns right handed, shoot pool right handed, write right handed, cut left handed, bowl left handed, throw darts left handed, use scissors right handed, brush my teeth left handed, stir stuff left handed. You can do it!
 
Same. Hand & power tools, kitchen knives, toothbrush, write, tasting spoons, serving spoons, stiring pots, all left handed. Eating knife, desert & soup spoons, chop sticks, mouse with standard button assignment are regular right handed. Can't control a pen or pencil in my right hand though.
 
I'm a lefty and I'd say about 50% of tasks I ever do, are right-handed, but I think swapping knife hands is really tough. Good luck and it's an interesting experiment, but I think there are some tasks that you just can't swap over. I'd just get a lefty yanagiba, I got a lefty kamagata usuba many years ago and it was fun for a while to mess about with
 
I played a ton of pool/billiards in college and remember trying to see if I could switch up between which hand I held the cue. I generally found that my eye was trained with a pool cue the same way I was with a rifle, so I shot right handed.

Since I don't eat or prepare seafood, I don't need to worry too much about a yanagiba usage at home, but I'd like to challenge myself to learn.
 
Had to try using a knife right handed.
Took an onion and tried to chop it using my right hand. Felt a bit awkward, but I got the job done and still has 5 finger on my left hand ;) . With a little bit of training I could make it work just fine I think.
Next time I need to slice some fish, I'll try my sujihiki right handed.
 
I just got my first left-handed knife, but have been thinking about this all year since starting to get into Japanese knives. I'm similar: for 75% of the things I do, I can use either hand. For many things, particularly hand tools, the idea that I COULDN'T use both hands all the time would be frustrating. There are just times where using the other hand makes getting at a thing easier or reduces fatigue when doing things like hammering. Scissors, hand tools, computer mice, it doesn't really matter.

Then there are those things I do right handed only because I am right-eye dominant (many people are opposite eye dominant): shooting a rifle, using a hockey stick, etc. Holding a shotgun to my right should aligns it with my right eye and leaves my more dexterous left hand to aim the barrel.

The number of things I do left handed only are mostly detail-oriented things like drawing, writing, and the like.

But two things I noticed with cooking: first, I can always move whatever I am cutting on the cutting board to align better with my hand, so I don't have the need to switch hands, and second, switching hands is messy, which is why most chefs have a dirty hand/knife hand.

I did try spending some time cutting with my right hand, and it wasn't THAT hard, but I definitely have a lifetime of muscle memory in my left side, so I'm sticking with that for now.
 
Kinda similar. Lefty who golfs, bats, shoots righty, etc...

When cleaning salmon, instead of flipping the fish/ filet around to manipulate like most everyone else, I just switch hands. I can take the belly off, etc... pretty effectively with my right hand. Weirds people out.

Also, it keeps the goo/ skin slime mess to a minimum, and my portions are much cleaner, as my board stays clean. I handle it with wipe-all paper towels.
 
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