How many have their knives professionally sharpened?

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The conventional wisdom is that people get more cuts due to dull knives than cuts due to sharp knives because you have to apply more pressure to cut with a dull knife. I don't believe that's true.

If you have a sharp knife, you can feel how easily it slices through foods. As you continue to use the knife it gets dull over time and the pressure needed to slice increases gradually. As this happens, you brain/hand adjusts to that need for more pressure. It's a gradual change so you automatically compensate. You don't even know it's happening.

Going in the opposite direction, dull to newly sharpened, the change is more drastic/sudden. Still, you know you sharpened the knife so you're more aware.

I think the only difference between a cut from a sharp knife vs. a cut from a dull knife is how much the cut hurts. Cuts with dull knives hurt more.

I believe people get cut more due to carelessness/not paying attention than any other reason.
 
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The conventional wisdom is that people get more cuts due to dull knives than cuts due to sharp knives because you have to apply more pressure to cut with a dull knife. I don't believe that's true.

If you have a sharp knife, you can feel how easily it slices through foods. As you continue to use the knife it gets dull over time and the pressure needed to slice increases gradually. As this happens, you brain/hand adjusts to that need for more pressure. It's a gradual change so you automatically compensate. You don't even know it's happening.
I disagree. The other thing that happens when a knife is getting dull is that with increasing pressure, the knife will sometimes slip suddenly and hit a finger instead of going through the food. I think that's how cuts from a dulling knife usually happen.
 
Interesting discussions I'm reading. Sorry if I wasn't so clear in post 26 but I was thinking more about the user's level of ability and how sharp of a knife should be matched to that. Not suggesting they use dull knives.

The balance implied is how skilled a user and how sharp of a knife they can use safely. If I were teaching a young person to cook, I wouldn't start them out with a knife as sharp as a mandoline.

I think we are all going to have our own opinions on this.
 
Interesting discussions I'm reading. Sorry if I wasn't so clear in post 26 but I was thinking more about the user's level of ability and how sharp of a knife should be matched to that. Not suggesting they use dull knives.

The balance implied is how skilled a user and how sharp of a knife they can use safely. If I were teaching a young person to cook, I wouldn't start them out with a knife as sharp as a mandoline.

I think we are all going to have our own opinions on this.

That sounds to me like somebody saying they only let their children play with unloaded guns.
 
Interesting discussions I'm reading. Sorry if I wasn't so clear in post 26 but I was thinking more about the user's level of ability and how sharp of a knife should be matched to that. Not suggesting they use dull knives.

The balance implied is how skilled a user and how sharp of a knife they can use safely. If I were teaching a young person to cook, I wouldn't start them out with a knife as sharp as a mandoline.

I think we are all going to have our own opinions on this.
When I went to culinary school, we were given a knife kit with quite sharp knives. One of the first lessons was knife skills (making classic knife cuts) and how to hone them to keep them sharp. Makes sense to me.
 
I disagree. The other thing that happens when a knife is getting dull is that with increasing pressure, the knife will sometimes slip suddenly and hit a finger instead of going through the food. I think that's how cuts from a dulling knife usually happen.



I contend that issue is one of carelessness rather than dullness.
 
A mandoline isn't more dangerous because it is sharp. It is dangerous because people are less familiar with it and they either don't know how to use it safely or willfully refuse to use the food holder it came with.
 
I contend that issue is one of carelessness rather than dullness.
I contend that you are mistaken [emoji2] A knife that is becoming dull can slip away from the intended cutting surface no matter how carefully the person is using it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
I disagree. The other thing that happens when a knife is getting dull is that with increasing pressure, the knife will sometimes slip suddenly and hit a finger instead of going through the food. I think that's how cuts from a dulling knife usually happen.

I agree.

I think those cuts are worse because of the extra pressure that was being used.
 
Skilletlicker wrote:

A mandoline isn't more dangerous because it is sharp. It is dangerous because people are less familiar with it and they either don't know how to use it safely or willfully refuse to use the food holder it came with.

The comparison is only to the sharpness of the mandoline blade.

GotGarlic wrote:

When I went to culinary school, we were given a knife kit with quite sharp knives. One of the first lessons was knife skills (making classic knife cuts) and how to hone them to keep them sharp. Makes sense to me.

Me too. By the time a person is admitted to culinary school the administrators there must have believed you had the requisite skills in the kitchen to be considered for entrance. It would follow that you would be trained with more advanced cutlery. Wouldn't you be considered semiprofessional at that point ?

In any case there are infinite scenarios we could debate and spin here. Similar with our views of what is and what isn't common sense.
 
This sounds like a basis for a lawsuit: a beginner, that cuts themselves with a new, very sharp knife, could say that the company should have had a warning that it was "only for experienced knife users".:LOL:
 
I contend that you are mistaken [emoji2] A knife that is becoming dull can slip away from the intended cutting surface no matter how carefully the person is using it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I have only cut myself on dull knives or when I was holding the knife improperly. I prefer knives with heels, again, I have seen cuts from heel-less knives, again, because the person was holding it improperly. I am with GG on this. In a professional kitchen, you can find yourself honing your knife several times during a shift.
 
Me too. By the time a person is admitted to culinary school the administrators there must have believed you had the requisite skills in the kitchen to be considered for entrance. It would follow that you would be trained with more advanced cutlery. Wouldn't you be considered semiprofessional at that point ?
Um, no lol It's not difficult to be admitted to culinary school. Most of my classmates were just out of high school.
 
Oh, ok I see. I have no issues with sharp knives personally. I keep mine sharp too but I think it is salient to the user in question. We'll all have different kinesthetic-spacial ability and that may influence our preferences.
 
Oh, ok I see. I have no issues with sharp knives personally. I keep mine sharp too but I think it is salient to the user in question. We'll all have different kinesthetic-spacial ability and that may influence our preferences.

After googling kinesthetic-spac tial ability, I still don't know whut it is.

But that cheap old Dexter knife was sharp enough to shave my face and make safe and simple work of slicing up this slippery slab of raw pork loin.
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