That one sous chef was right about my knife angle

I had this older sous chef at a place in Portland, he kept telling me I was holding my chef knife too flat. I thought it was fine, been cutting that way for like 5 years. Last month I finally spent an afternoon with a sharpening stone and really watched my angle, kept it closer to 15 degrees. My dicing got way faster and I stopped bruising the herbs on my mint. Has anyone else had a small knife change that made a big difference in speed?

2 comments

2 Comments

troychen2h ago

Have you ever noticed how a lot of home cooks hold their knives like they're scraping a grill? I read a piece by an old culinary instructor who said the angle is more important than the sharpness half the time. He said a flat blade just pushes through food while a steeper one actually parts it. That's probably why your mint stopped turning brown. It makes sense when you think about it, a flatter blade is more like a battering ram than a slicer. I switched to that 15 degree hold a few years back and my prep time dropped by a good chunk, especially with soft stuff like tomatoes and mushrooms.

phoenixk647h ago

That angle change is the real hidden cheat code in knife work (nobody talks about it enough). A steeper angle lets the blade glide through food instead of smashing it, which is why your herbs stopped bruising. Pair it with a honing rod every couple of uses and you'll keep that edge working way longer between sharpening sessions.