Blunt/Sharp Knife Myth.

T

Thrustus

Joined
Jun 16, 2010
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Last night my friends wife was using one of our sharp kitchen knives and remarked how good it was and then managed to nick her finger. This got me thinking about the old adage that a " sharp knife is a safe knife". Even though a blunt knife is pretty useless I must admit I've never done myself any damage with one, unlike the several times I've required stitches or band aids from sharp ones.
 
Coming from my wife who has degrees from Culinary Institute of America and Drexel University (Hospitality management) and is a Director of Food and Beverage in charge of chefs/cooks, she basically only uses a chef's knife style knife for most if not all cutting needs at home and she has me sharpen them to a shaving edge. An extremely sharp chef's knife is probably the safest tool. Based on what I've heard from her most injuries which occur in the kitchen are from rushing, dull blades, not using proper technique. Don't use a blunt knife unless you're just smashing garlic with it or something.
 
In certain cases I have to agree with you. If a novice is handling a blade out of curiosity, or simply slicing soft cheese for instance, they are more likely to suffer serious cuts with a razor sharp knife. I think the "sharper knife = safer knife" theory is more applicable to experienced knife users performing certain tasks. I would never hand my Spyderco GB to a knife novice on the off chance that they might run their finger down the blade to check sharpness and open the finger to the bone. Heck, even knife nuts like us manage to get "bit" sometimes.
 
My stepfather once needed his thumb rebuilt because of a butter knife. He was prying two pieces of frozen chicken apart, and once they released, the knife (not much sharper than a spoon) hit his thumb with such force that it almost removed the whole finger at the base.

Using a sharp knife correctly will always be safer than a dull knife + gorilla force. If it requires force, use a tool designed for force.
 
My oldest was selling Cutco knives for a while. Yeah I know, overpriced right? But still, made in the US and fairly good quality knives. Anyway, I don't think that there was anyone sale that he made, that did not result in a phone call saying that the knives were so sharp that they had cut through whatever and sliced themselves. So I don't know... is a sharp knife really safer? Maybe not for the average person? :confused:
 
I suppose it depends on the task at hand. If I'm slicing some kind of soft food in my hand (ie. hard boiled eggs) then having a dull knife is actually to my advantage. However if the task demands a truly sharp blade and you try to make it work with a dull, I'd say you're more likely to be injured.

To keep it brief though - I have been cut by a sharp knife but never cut or injured by a dull one. Go figure.
 
A sharp knife might be safer for a chef quickly chopping up food... for the average user? Nope, I don't believe it. When I sharpen knives for non-knife people = non-knife people get cut. All my worst cuts have also been with sharp knives. Maybe it's true up to a point, or for certain uses, but not as a blanket statement...
 
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To add a whole wrench in the theory. I've cut my fingers more on my SAKs than any other knive I've ever used until I knew what I was doing. Even knowing what I'm doing but rushing I recently cut my finger opening a box which had a folding/locking knife(never cut myself with one of those) using my Swisschamp.
 
When used correctly and for it's intended purpose a sharp knife is safer. The main problem I've seen with sharp knives is that when a person who is used to a not so sharp knife uses a properly sharpened knife, they use too much force or don't pay proper attention to what they are doing. This ends up causing the cut many times.
 
Bottom line is that you can't fix stupid. And every time I have cut myself, it has been because I was stupid (using a dull knife, not paying attention, etc).

The advantage of a sharp knife is that you don't have to use it as hard, reducing the chances of it going some place you don't want it to. And if it does, at least its a clean cut.

Sheared a big chunk of fingernail off once...scared the bejeebus outta me, but the knife was sharp enough to do that without making it to skin!
 
I totally agree with a sharp knife being safer. Force from using a blunt or semi blunt knife with the increased force needed can cause more a lot more injury than the lighter pressure required from a razor sharp knife. Would you want to shave with a butter knife or a razor??
 
Sharp knives are safer in that they require less force to use than a dull one, and that's where the old adage comes from. It would be a little foolish to take that statement literally. The caveat is that whomever is using any cutting tool must always respect its potential to do substantial damage.
 
I think sharp knife is a safer knife when cutting hard objects, which motion could be more controlled and less unexpected slip.

In terms of cutting easy-to-cut objects, where sharp or crazy-sharp doesn't matter, I think a capable edge with good cutting discipline is probably key.
 
jstrykr74 said:
When used correctly and for it's intended purpose a sharp knife is safer. The main problem I've seen with sharp knives is that when a person who is used to a not so sharp knife uses a properly sharpened knife, they use too much force or don't pay proper attention to what they are doing. This ends up causing the cut many times.
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I agree. Not having experience with sharp knives leads to injuries with sharp knives. I have a nice little scar from where I stabbed myself with a dull box knife when I was younger. Haven't had an injury like that since I learned how to properly use a knife. A sharp knife. ;)
 
I nicked myself yesterday, washing(carelessly) a paring knife that I had recently sharpened. Hasn't happened in a long time. My kitchen time is usually chopping veggies, and for that I prefer a sharp WIDE blade, so that the blade doesn't turn on me halfway through the cut. I also "guide" the side of the blade with my index finger big knuckle of the "off-hand", trying to keep my fingers out of the way.
Yeah, sharp is good, since you don't need to use nearly as much pressure. Also, use as thin a blade-stock as you can find in the drawer, as even a thin, dull butter-knife will chop carrots much easier than a razor-sharp Spyderco Gayle Bradley. I do have a Spyderco Stretch, however, in ZDP-189, that will soon provide lots of kitchen duty. Love that knife.
 
My wife's favorite and almost the only one she uses is a Wüsthof Classic 8" Chef’s Knife. It's a very sturdy feeling knife and is actually quite intimidating to non "foody" folks.
 
As a Safety Professional, we constantly teach to keep all cutting tools sharp for one very good reason as illustrated above, a dull knife takes more effort, leading to unintended slips and cuts, and usually more damage from the dull blade as opposed to a clean slice as from a scalpel.

Yes, sharp knives are safer.

Larry
Tinkerer
 
Sharp knives are easier to control using minimal force while a blunt knife becomes clumsy/high force. Someone used to using dull knives is used to being able to be somewhat careless with them because simply brushing up against the edge is insufficient to cut them and they likewise grow accustomed to having to apply excessive force, usually pushing straight down on the blade, which is not how a sharp knife cuts best. The poor technique learned from using dull knives leads to accidents with sharp knives, but proper use of sharp knives is safer than using dull knives. Sharp knives do require additional mindfulness.
 
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