Knife techniques

[paulraphael]

Around 3:40 he shows the difference a traditional rock-chop (he calls it 'the rolling method') and a more straight up and down chopping motion. When he dices the onionit's basically a rock-chop with the tip off the board. He dices the carrot with a plain old rock-chop.

 

The Global he's using is made in Japan, but has a much fatter blade and more obtuse bevel angles than the thin gyutos I referred to earlier. Which accounts for his using it just like a German knife. This is all straight-up European cutting technique.

Edited February 6, 2017 by paulraphael (log)

[cutter]

paulraphael, 

 you say its basically a  rock-chop with the tip off the board.   why is it when i try to google it or look for it in knife cuts there seems to be no mention of this kind of cutting? is there a different name for this or some where else i can see this cutting action described. I seem to just find all rock chop.... with tip down from start to finish,nothing with mentioning a variation to it?nothing with starting tip off board. (like in video). I see high cuts with weinstein knife skills but that is a long stroke before reach heel, that starts with tip off board,nothing with starting tip in food first then heel down.,unless its a long stoke with knife which this is not.Sorry to be such a pain but would like to see more information on that particular cut. Thanks in advance.

[paulraphael]

I don't know if there's a different name for it. But it's essentially the same technique. The food doesn't know if the tip is on the board or not.

[quiet1]

Keep in mind that everyone is likely to tweak the traditional cuts just a little depending on variables like personal preference (hand size and similar factors), knife size and style and weight and material, items most commonly chopped (if you chop way more carrots than anything else, your style is going to develop into something that works really well on carrots even if it isn't as perfect form for other things), work space available, potentially even cutting board types, etc.

 

If you went into all of our kitchens and looked at folks who are good with knife skills, you'd probably see a decent range of similar but not identical knives (even within something like a Western style chef knife, the different models are not shaped exactly the same) and a similar range of similar but not identical styles and techniques that are probably all based on a core technique like a rock-chop, but have been tweaked over time by the individual. (Heck, I know I don't chop exactly the same when I feel good compared to when my wrist and hand arthritis is acting up, because I can't move my wrist and hand the same way.)

[btbyrd]

1 hour ago, cutter said:

paulraphael, 

 you say its basically a  rock-chop with the tip off the board.   why is it when i try to google it or look for it in knife cuts there seems to be no mention of this kind of cutting? is there a different name for this or some where else i can see this cutting action described. I seem to just find all rock chop.... with tip down from start to finish,nothing with mentioning a variation to it?nothing with starting tip off board. (like in video). I see high cuts with weinstein knife skills but that is a long stroke before reach heel, that starts with tip off board,nothing with starting tip in food first then heel down.,unless its a long stoke with knife which this is not.Sorry to be such a pain but would like to see more information on that particular cut. Thanks in advance.

 

It's just chopping. Chopping is cutting by moving the edge of a knife straight down through whatever you're cutting without significantly moving the blade forward or backward in the process (longer forward or backward motion gets you into slicing territory). That's exactly what's happening in this video. The tip of the knife isn't doing anything in this demonstration. It's the edge that does all the work. Because the knife isn't very long, and because it has a curved blade (as opposed to a cleaver or usuba or nakiri or whatever) the knife must be rocked to cut longer foods like celery. The reason for this motion, in this context, is solely to be able to use the full length of the knife's edge. If the front of the knife didn't make contact with the celery first and the chef just chopped straight down without angling the blade, the part of the celery near the tip wouldn't be cut; because the blade is curved, the edge near the tip wouldn't ever make contact with the board. As I said earlier, that wouldn't be an issue if he used a longer knife or if he used a knife of the same length that had a straight blade along the cutting edge.

[paulraphael]

Btb, I'd agree on all points, except that in many of those examples the blade is slicing forward not just against the food but against the board itself. So it's effectively getting the same forward rolling, shearing action as other kinds of rock chopping. This separates it from push-cutting (or thrust-cutting / tsuki-giri) where the blade slides forward through the food but stops when it touches the board.

[cutter]

thank you for all your help and time paulraphael and btbryd. thanks every one.

Edited February 8, 2017 by cutter (log)

[rotuts]

@btbyrd  

 

what's the source of the video ?  is he using the G-4 ?

 

Im enjoying this thread esp the videos.

 

that's the only way to see  knife technique

 

one other thing I always to wrong:  always :

 

pick the right sized knife for the job.    I have many knives  4 global's are the work-horses

 

I pick a knife that's one size too small for some reason.

 

the correct knife is right next to it !