What you should know about knives

Terminology, materials, edge and blade

Three shapes can be distinguished:

High tip

The back of the blade is straight while the cutting edge is curved, e.g. on a utility knife. This shape permits the blade to be raised from the cutting board with a rolling action.

Centre tip

Both the back of the blade and the cutting edge are gently curved, terminating in a point. With a pronounced tip like this (e.g. on a chef´s paring knife) the blade can easily be used to lard a roast with bacon or herbs.

Low tip

The back of the blade is curved while the cutting edge runs straight up to the point. This shape permits smooth, straight cutting on a cutting board without any chopping action (e.g. with the vegetable knife).