Is there a point to the point?

firebert said:
It all comes down to personal preference. I've learned a lot experimenting with different designs.

I have a hard time cutting with a perfectly flat blade. The blade must be perfectly flat against the board to finish the cut (especially with tough-skinned foods); either that, or you must slide the point though, with just the point contacting the board. On short blades, it's pretty easy to just keep the point down and slice, but it gets awkward as the blade gets longer. With this technique, the point wears quickly, but the rest of the blade stays very sharp.

The traditional chef knife has a belly and the blade is either rocked or sliced with. The belly of the blade is in contact with the board most of the time and sees the most wear. This wear is more distributed and, (for me), easier to sharpen out. Too much of a belly makes it awkward to put the tip in contact with the board.

There are also concerns not relating to cutting, such as scooping up food (as DWK mentioned).

I recommend sitting down with some paper and trying to design the perfect kitchen knife for you. You could even make some wooden mock-ups. It is an interesting mental exercise that forces you to analyze how you use a knife. I certainly didn't get it right on my first try, (the wharncliffe pictured earlier), but I learned a lot.

Phillip
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Great advice. I just showed your Blackwood chef's knife to She Who Must Be Obeyed and now I'm in trouble:foot:. She wants it.:D
 
I hope this gentleman doesn't mind me using this pic but Bailey knives just made exactly what I was picturing in my mind.
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The tip of a Chef’s knife can be used in lieu of many of the recommended tasks of a petty or paring knife.

I've used several Chef’s knifes with different blade shapes (German, French, Asian, and Japanese). The tip, belly, and heel serve different functions depending on the design. The tip of a French / Gyuto style chef’s knife is very pointy, nearly triangular (useful for piercing), the German is pointed, rounded like a drop-point (useful for following contours). The tip section of both styles is thinner in width and height, and more sensitive than the rest of the blade. Up to certain point, I can do a lot of incidental paring / petty knife choirs like precise cutting and smaller items such as shallots, onions, mushrooms, garlic, etc. with the tip of a French or German Chef’s knife.

The tip section of a Santoku or Asian (veggie cleaver) are not pointed, and just as wide and tall as the rest of the blade. I can’t control or feel the tip of a Santoku, Asian or >10” long German / French chef’s knife, and have to switch to another knife to do the finer cuts, small items.

The relatively flat belly (French, Santoku or Asian style) is useful for push-cuts, slicing whereas the Germans' more rounded or pregnant belly is for rock chopping (lifting the handle and rolling the knife forward on the blade or chopping with the belly and heel of the blade). Mincing is easier with a curve belly, and julienne better with flat belly.

An Asian cleaver push cuts less precisely, but faster b/c the additional blade height rides along your knuckles. The heel of a German, Asian is thicker, useful for rough coarse cuts, light chopping.
 
looker said:
The tip of a Chef’s knife can be used in lieu of many of the recommended tasks of a petty or paring knife.

I've used several Chef’s knifes with different blade shapes (German, French, Asian, and Japanese). The tip, belly, and heel serve different functions depending on the design. The tip of a French / Gyuto style chef’s knife is very pointy, nearly triangular (useful for piercing), the German is pointed, rounded like a drop-point (useful for following contours). The tip section of both styles is thinner in width and height, and more sensitive than the rest of the blade. Up to certain point, I can do a lot of incidental paring / petty knife choirs like precise cutting and smaller items such as shallots, onions, mushrooms, garlic, etc. with the tip of a French or German Chef’s knife.

The tip section of a Santoku or Asian (veggie cleaver) are not pointed, and just as wide and tall as the rest of the blade. I can’t control or feel the tip of a Santoku, Asian or >10” long German / French chef’s knife, and have to switch to another knife to do the finer cuts, small items.

The relatively flat belly (French, Santoku or Asian style) is useful for push-cuts, slicing whereas the Germans' more rounded or pregnant belly is for rock chopping (lifting the handle and rolling the knife forward on the blade or chopping with the belly and heel of the blade). Mincing is easier with a curve belly, and julienne better with flat belly.

An Asian cleaver push cuts less precisely, but faster b/c the additional blade height rides along your knuckles. The heel of a German, Asian is thicker, useful for rough coarse cuts, light chopping.
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Thank you. That is great info.:thumbup:
 
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