knifeopedia

Handle and Knife Construction

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Now we finally come to the handle. Staying with the car analogy, whether a car is not only fast on the road, but also fun to drive, depends a lot on the interior. Comfortable seats, good ergonomics of steering wheel, switches and buttons, so that you are still feeling well after hours of driving, and a nice interior design that attracts you and makes you enjoy getting into your car.

 

In knives, that’s where the handle comes in. It has a major impact on design and thus whether you are attracted to the knife and reach out for it in your knife block or not. And if the ergonomics of it match your cutting technique, you will enjoy cutting more.

 

For a home user, the handle (shape, design, material) is mostly a matter of personal preference and taste. For a professional user however, it’s a matter of productivity. If the handle doesn’t fit, a long prep-session will be tiring and painful.

 

Still, the handle is unrelated to the cutting performance of the knife.

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But before we talk about the handle, there is something else that we haven't touched on yet - the construction of the knife. Why not? First, because the construction is not really a factor that has a big impact on quality. Second, because the construction is largely determined by how the handle is attached to the blade.

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Therefore, before we can talk about the handle itself, we need to talk about the overall construction of a knife and how blade and handle are combined.

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