Let’s be clear here.  This is the knife my sister uses.

It is a 4 inch paring knife, meant to peel an apple, cut cherry tomatoes, etc.  It is not a “Chefs” knife.  My 17 year old uses a real knife and has for years now.  There is all kinds of research that indicates that dull knives are the reason for most cuts in the kitchen because you have to use more force to cut and because the knife is dull, the resulting cut is worse that if you cut yourself with a sharp knife.

This is the knife I gave her.

This is a Victorinox 8″ Chef’s knife rated best by America’s Test Kitchen and runs about $40.  A great buy for a real knife…

I was shocked when I found out my sister, who has cooked for years, had no good knives and more shocked that when given one, she did not immediately see how good knives made the process so much easier and quicker. I can see now that I may have to follow up my gift of the knife with a class on knife skills.  But, that is what sisters are for….  Remember, though, that once you get a good knife, you have to have it sharpened every few months depending on how often you use it and I use a sharpening steel to keep the blade smooth between sharpenings.

http://asian-fusion.com/704/why-sharp-knives-are-safer-than-dull-ones/

I will now be on the hunt for a technique class at Williams Sonoma on knife skills.  They have great free technique classes on Sat or Sun mornings.  Too bad it is Thanksgiving time because the classes are all about the Thanksgiving meal in November, but hopefully soon, there will be a knife skill class offered.

Between now and then, I will be thankful for my sister and overlook her good knife phobia.