A prep cook in Chicago taught me the real way to hold a knife

I was working a busy brunch shift and this new guy, Miguel, was dicing onions painfully slow. I went over to show him the 'proper' grip. He just looked at my hand and said, 'Chef, you're choking it. Hold it like you're shaking its hand, not wringing its neck.' He showed me his grip, with his thumb and forefinger pinching the blade, not wrapped around the handle. I tried it and my cuts were instantly cleaner and faster. Anyone else have a simple fix that changed your whole technique?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucashart1mo ago

My buddy had the same "wringing its neck" issue with his hammer until a carpenter told him to hold it at the very end of the handle. Total game changer for driving nails.

gavin_hill271mo ago

It's like that with most tools, honestly.

miles721mo ago

My grandpa taught me that trick with hammers when I was ten.