But remember, if your knives are not kept sharp, they will not perform well and you will be working harder to accomplish each knife task. Dull knives are a big factor causing home cooks to become discouraged about their culinary skills. They are also dangerous because a dull knife can slip on the food being cut but still be sharp enough to cut through skin. Good quality knives should be stored in a wooden knife block or on a wall-mounted magnet strip. Storing knives in this manner will prolong the sharp edges as well as provide a safety factor.
Knives stored in a kitchen drawer can be very dangerous and also detrimental to the sharp edge.
Paring Knives Paring knives become an extension of your thumb and index finger for good leverage and balance to efficiently peel small fruits and vegetables. The blade should be flexible for boning small meats from the bone as in boning fish or small fowl. For chopping, dicing, mincing and slicing. When mincing, the blade is rocked up and down with one hand while the fingers of the other hand rest lightly on the back of the blade. For carving or slicing medium sized roasts and fowl or large vegetables and fruit.