How to Use a Kitchen Knife (and keep your fingers)

If there’s one thing that Web Watch has learned from watching hours of Food Network programming, it’s that there are many different ways to maim yourself with a kitchen knife as there are foods that need to be sliced and diced.

Tom Mylan, owner of THE MEAT HOOK in Brooklyn, New York, knows a thing or two about proper knife usage since he uses them every day as part of his job. 

Here are some of Tom’s TIPS FOR HOW TO USE A KNIFE IN THE KITCHEN:

• Wooden handles are better than plastic handles if you’re working with a lot of slippery foods.  Wood allows you to continue to hold your grip, while plastic handles can slip out of your hands
• Keep your knife sharp, whether this means learning to use a steel or taking your knives to a professional sharpener.
• Hold the knife firmly at all times.  This will help you keep track of where the blade is.
• Never cut towards yourself
• Keep your workplace, cutting area, and the knife clean.  Cleanliness helps avoid stupid mistakes due to having things in the way or on the knife blade or handle that could lead to injury.
• Never leave a knife just lying around.  Always put them away in a safe place when they’re not in active use.
• If you do cut yourself, there’s no need to rush for the first-aid kit.  Just wash the cut out, wrap it with clean paper towels and kitchen plastic wrap, and wrap it as tight as necessary.   This will buy you time until you can adequately deal with the cut with proper medical care.

One commenter had this to add to Tom’s list: ”Never try to catch a falling knife.”