Kitchen knife shapes and uses
There are a lot of unique and bizarre-looking knife blades around the world but only a few are actually practical for everyday kitchen use. Now we are going to list our favorite shapes that work for the kitchen the best.
- The straight-back blade
The name says it all really. These types of blades have a dull flat back and a curved edge. The operation with this blade is much easier because the back is not sharp and it allows you to use your hand or fingers to apply additional pressure to increase the cutting force. That is perfect, especially with heavier blades and you know these blades can be heavy since the dull back adds a little weight to the blade.
Professional chefs love to use these blades for quick slicing, mincing and dicing.
2. The trailing-point blade
This type of blade has a distinctive back edge that curves up which allows for improved slicing ability. The large curve is often referred to as a “belly” and a large belly is particularly useful for skinning. The curve allows for a more lightweight knife as compared to the normal blade. This blade style is also popular on filet knives.
3. The sheepsfoot blade
This fascinating blade has a sharp straight edge and a dull back which is largely straight then curves at the end. These knives are very much loved by professional chefs because it can be closely controlled by your fingers being placed on the dull back and were originally used for trimming the hooves of sheep. You will mostly meet this blade on chopping kitchen knives because it offers a great chopping experience. A downside is that it does not have a sharp point, but that is not a big deal for many.
4. The clip-point blade
The clip point blade looks very interesting and has a great purpose. You won’t meet it very often in kitchen knife collections but its uniqueness doesn’t mean it is not a strong one. This is how it is made; they take a perfectly normal blade and clip the back. This results in a thinner tip, which can be used to cut in hard to reach places and provides some additional control.
5. The Dao blade
These blades are mostly used in cleaver kitchen knives because they can support heavy-duty cutting that cleaver knives perform. After all, Dao knives are in the style of the traditional Chinese single-edged sword. The Dao knife blade features a single sharpened edge and a straight spine. The edge chops sharply and the dull straight spine ensures comfort and safety.
In conclusion: Always look for blade shapes that fit the type of cooking that you mostly do. Make sure to keep your steel blades rust-free and sharp with our guides on how to clean rust from a kitchen knife and how to sharpen steel knives.
