I'm not completely sure, but I personally think that the first cooking implement created by man was the knife. Several millennia ago, man used knives to hunt and gather their food, and later on used to prepare food when fire was discovered. Today, the knife remains as one of the most important tools you could have. The ubiquitous knife is used everywhere, from homes to restaurants to cruise ships.

However, even if we know that the knife is a very important piece of equipment, it's sad to see that a lot of people don't know how to handle and take care of their knives properly. Perhaps it's because knives don't have manuals when we buy them.

One of my pet peeves is watching people use knives incorrectly. But then, no one showed us how to use knives properly whe we were little. All we knew at that time was that knives were dangerous and better kept away from us kids. Knives may not come with instruction manuals indeed, but I believe that people who use them regularly should at least take the effort to learn how to handle them correctly.

First, learn how to hold the knife properly. Basically, there are three ways to hold a knife, depending on the knife and what is being cut. For cutting against a board, a knife should be held with the thumb and forefinger gripping the blade. Grip the handle with your other three fingers. When you want to cut hanging meat, the knife should be held like a dagger for proper leverage. And when turning or peeling with a small knife, one or two fingers should grip the blade, with the othersthe rest around the handle.

Learn also how to care for your knives. Use a wooden board for chopping and cutting. Plastic boards are not as gentle on the edge of the knife as wooden boards. Get a board with the end-grain as a cutting surface, rather than side grain. Why? The end-grain is the least abrasive surface to cut against, so your knife's edge will last a longer time.

When storing knives after use, it's better to use paperboards or plastic sleeves. Clean the knife first after use, then dry before storing it away. Never wash knives in a dishwasher, no matter how convenient it may seem. Always protect the knife's edge against other hard surfaces. It's more dangerous to use a dull knife than a sharp one, so always keep your knives as sharp as possible. To truly sharpen it, an abrasive surface that is harder than the knife must be used, such as a diamond honer. Of course, you can always use a whetstone, but it takes a lot of experience to be able to sharpen a knife to razor-like sharpness with it.

Azlan Irda is the co-founder of AfterKnife.com, which provides high-quality knives and supplies. Visit our website to get all the knives and supplies you need.

Azlan Irda is the co-founder of AfterKnife.com, which provides high-quality knives and supplies. Visit our website to get all the custom knives and supplies you need.