OSHA[1] recommends keeping knives sharp to prevent restaurant and kitchen maladies from occurring. The Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation[2] recommends the s

OSHA[1] recommends keeping knives sharp to prevent restaurant and kitchen maladies from occurring. The Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation[2] recommends the same. The Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics[3] cites dull knives as a common cause for injury, and recommends keeping knives 'sharp and in good trim' to prevent accidents. In short, "a sharp knife is a safe knife" isn't hokum. When you're pushing a knife into something, you're storing and releasing kinetic energy. A sharper knife requires less kinetic energy to begin cutting the object, which is ostensibly dangerous, but not as dangerous as a failure to cut, which releases all that kinetic energy in uncontrollable fashion. Past that, in the event that you do get cut by a knife, a sharper knife makes a cleaner cut, which means easier healing, easier care, and (if dire enough) easier reattachment. Oh, and less scarring to boot. [1] - https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/youth/restaurant/knives_foodprep.html https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/youth/restaurant/knives_foodprep.h... [2] - https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/downloads/blankpdf/SafetyTalk-Preventingcuts.pdf https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/downloads/blankpdf/SafetyTalk-Preve... [3] - https://books.google.com/books?id=W0M4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=statistical+safety+of+sharp+knives+vs.+dull&source=bl&ots=sE_YjoOvmf&sig=axVDXg30fYXHqpobV6UtROwNiFo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiaubGdo5PVAhWD8CYKHfKVAV04ChDoAQgmMAE#v=onepage&q=statistical%20safety%20of%20sharp%20knives%20vs.%20dull&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=W0M4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA190&lpg=...