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Just curious, what happened exactly? Should you have used the big chef's knife, or the serrated knife? In my experience, the only use for a serrated knife is f

Just curious, what happened exactly? Should you have used the big chef's knife, or the serrated knife? In my experience, the only use for a serrated knife is for bread, especially hard crusty bread. A big chef's knife should be able to do most things in the kitchen.

Broken_Hippo 10y ago
In a kitchen with knives kept properly sharp, sure, it can do a lot - if that big knife fits your hands well. Sometimes a smaller or different shaped knife is just as useful - always smooth and sharp, of course. But in the home kitchen, things change some. Cheaper knives don't always take well to sharpening and most folks don't know how to sharpen knives. Taking this into consideration, a serrated - or partially serrated knife, as is popular with cheaper knife sets - becomes a better and probably safer choice with some items. Take tomatoes, for example. Most home cooks get a easier slice with a serrated blade than the smooth, simply because the smooth-edged knife must be sharp to slice through the skins. Celery can be a similar thing - the serration cuts through the strings better than a dulled chef's knife. Some of this is likely technique as well. I was lucky enough to be taught some knife skills from a chef, who I worked in a small establishment with. Lots of others don't put any practice into it, nor can the home cook generally build up the skills as quickly simply because the volume is less.
- jimmywanger 10y ago
  > Cheaper knives don't always take well to sharpening and most folks don't know how to sharpen knives. I'm sort of a sharpening fanatic (I have an apex sharpener) so I just generally reach for my big chef's knife, or my little paring knife for detail work. Sharpening serrated knives is quite unpleasant though, I don't like doing it at all. > Most home cooks get a easier slice with a serrated blade than the smooth, simply because the smooth-edged knife must be sharp to slice through the skins. But a smooth-edged knife actually slices, the serrated knife pulls and tears. I usually have a couple of tomatoes on hand when I'm sharpening my knives, just to make sure I'm happy with the edge I put on them.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Knives must be kept sharp, including (perhaps especially) in the home kitchen. Failure to do so is dangerous, and that's compounded by poor technique.

Broken_Hippo 10y ago

In a kitchen with knives kept properly sharp, sure, it can do a lot - if that big knife fits your hands well. Sometimes a smaller or different shaped knife is just as useful - always smooth and sharp, of course. But in the home kitchen, things change some. Cheaper knives don't always take well to sharpening and most folks don't know how to sharpen knives. Taking this into consideration, a serrated - or partially serrated knife, as is popular with cheaper knife sets - becomes a better and probably safer choice with some items. Take tomatoes, for example. Most home cooks get a easier slice with a serrated blade than the smooth, simply because the smooth-edged knife must be sharp to slice through the skins. Celery can be a similar thing - the serration cuts through the strings better than a dulled chef's knife. Some of this is likely technique as well. I was lucky enough to be taught some knife skills from a chef, who I worked in a small establishment with. Lots of others don't put any practice into it, nor can the home cook generally build up the skills as quickly simply because the volume is less.

jimmywanger 10y ago
> Cheaper knives don't always take well to sharpening and most folks don't know how to sharpen knives. I'm sort of a sharpening fanatic (I have an apex sharpener) so I just generally reach for my big chef's knife, or my little paring knife for detail work. Sharpening serrated knives is quite unpleasant though, I don't like doing it at all. > Most home cooks get a easier slice with a serrated blade than the smooth, simply because the smooth-edged knife must be sharp to slice through the skins. But a smooth-edged knife actually slices, the serrated knife pulls and tears. I usually have a couple of tomatoes on hand when I'm sharpening my knives, just to make sure I'm happy with the edge I put on them.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
dragonwriter 10y ago
Knives must be kept sharp, including (perhaps especially) in the home kitchen. Failure to do so is dangerous, and that's compounded by poor technique.