An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives—How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp, and Use Them Like a Pro

Like a pro, you should use the tip of the knife for the small stuff, and the area nearer the heel for the larger.

If you need instruction on how to handle a knife without lopping off a finger, I recommend Jacques Pepin's La Technique.

You need, for God's sake, a decent chefs knife.

But look closer at one of your wooden spoons (I’m assuming you have at least one because I’ve never been in any kitchen that didn’t). Feel the grain. Is it a workmanlike beech factory spoon or a denser maplewood or olivewood whittled by an artisan? Now look at the shape. Is it oval or round? Slotted or solid? Cupped or flat? Perhaps it has a pointy

shiny new Wusthoff knives