Kitchen Knife Safety

Knives are the tools you'll use most in a commercial kitchen or a meat room, and cuts are among the most common injuries in food work. Nearly all of them come down to a few habits: a dull blade, a poor grip, a rushed movement, or a knife left where someone can't see it.

This guide covers safe knife handling for anyone who cuts food for a living, from prep cooks to meat cutters and catering crews. It doesn't teach specific cuts or recipes. Those come with practice on the job.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Pick the right knife for the job.
• Hold a knife and guide food with a safe grip.
• Set up a stable cutting station.
• Keep a knife sharp and tell honing from sharpening.
• Carry, pass, clean and store knives without putting others at risk.
• Respond correctly to a cut.

Why a Sharp Knife Is Safer

A sharp blade cuts where you aim it. A dull blade needs more pressure, and it can slip off the surface of the food and into your hand. Dull knives also tire your hand and wrist, which makes you more likely to make a mistake.

Sharp knives still cut deeply, so respect the edge. Pay attention every time you pick one up.

Choosing the Right Knife

Use the right size for the food. Don't use a knife as a can opener, a screwdriver or a pry bar, because the tip can snap and fly. Look for a handle that's firmly attached and that isn't cracked or greasy.

Setting Up Your Station

1. Put a damp towel or a non-slip mat under your cutting board so that it can't slide.
2. Use a board big enough for the job, and keep it clear.
3. Keep your floor dry. A slip with a knife in your hand is a serious injury.
4. Leave space for your elbows, and stand square to the board.
5. Good lighting matters. If you can't see the edge, you can't control it.
6. Keep the knife on the board, with the edge turned away from you, when you're not cutting.

Holding a Knife and Guiding the Food

Your knife hand. Most cooks use a pinch grip. Pinch the blade just in front of the handle with your thumb and the side of your index finger, and wrap your other fingers around the handle. This gives you much better control than holding only the handle.

Your guide hand. Use a claw grip. Curl your fingertips under and let your knuckles rest against the flat of the blade. The blade moves up and down against your knuckles, and your fingertips stay out of the way. Keep your thumb tucked behind your fingers.

Round foods. Cut a flat side first. Then lay the food on the flat side so that it can't roll.

Pace. Slow, even cuts are safer and more accurate. Speed comes from practice, not from trying to go fast. Look at what you're cutting. If someone speaks to you, stop cutting before you look up.

Always cut away from your body and on a board. Don't cut food in your hand with a large knife, and don't cut toward a coworker.

Cut-Resistant Gloves

Cut-resistant gloves, such as those made of steel mesh or high-performance fiber, go on the hand that isn't holding the knife. They're common in meat cutting, oyster shucking and when using a mandoline. They reduce cuts but don't stop every injury, especially a stab from a sharp tip.

Under the FDA Food Code, a cloth-style cut-resistant glove may touch only food that will be cooked afterward. For ready-to-eat food, the glove needs a smooth, nonabsorbent surface, or a single-use glove worn over it. Your local code may differ. Wash and sanitize reusable gloves like any other food-contact item.

Keeping an Edge

To hone a knife:

1. Hold the steel in your guide hand, with its tip resting on a towel on the board.
2. Hold the blade against it at about 15 to 20 degrees.
3. Draw the blade down the steel, from heel to tip, in a smooth arc.
4. Alternate sides, about five strokes each side.
5. Wipe the blade before you use it.

Slow, controlled strokes work better than fast ones. Fast honing can look impressive, but it adds risk and no benefit.

Carrying and Passing Knives

• Carry a knife down at your side, with the tip pointing at the floor and the edge turned back.
• Say "knife" or "sharp, behind you" when you walk behind someone.
• Don't walk with a knife in your hand if you can avoid it.
• Don't pass a knife hand to hand. Set it on the board and let the other person pick it up.
• Don't gesture with a knife in your hand.
• Move a knife in a knife roll, in a sheath, or by holding it flat on a tray or a cutting board.

If a Knife Falls

Step back and let it fall. Do not try to catch it. Tell the people nearby, then pick it up by the handle. Wash and sanitize it before you use it again.

Wearing closed-toe, non-slip shoes protects your feet, and it's the reason most kitchens require them.

Cleaning and Storing Knives

Warning: Never put a knife in a sink full of soapy water. The next person can't see it and may reach in and be cut badly.

1. Clean a knife right after use, or put it in a set place beside the sink.
2. Wash it with the edge pointing away from your hand. Wipe from the spine toward the edge, never along the edge.
3. Rinse and sanitize it, and let it air-dry.
4. Clean knives between raw and ready-to-eat food, and whenever they may be contaminated.
5. Store knives in a magnetic strip, a knife block, a sheath or a knife roll. Don't leave them loose in a drawer.

Don't leave a knife under a towel, a cutting board or a pile of trim. People put their hands on those things.

Most high-quality knives shouldn't go in the dish machine. Heat and banging can damage the edge and the handle. Follow your employer's process.

Other Sharp Hazards

Some kitchen tools cause just as many cuts as knives:

• Mandolines and slicers: Use the guard or a cut-resistant glove.
• Food processors and blenders: Unplug them before you touch the blade. Handle blades by their hub.
• Box cutters: Retract the blade after every cut, and cut away from your body.
• Broken glass: Stop, tell others, and use a dustpan or a thick cloth. Throw out exposed food nearby.
• Can lids: Dispose of them right away.

Powered equipment such as meat slicers and saws has its own rules. Only trained, authorized workers should use it. Federal child labor rules bar workers under 18 from operating many powered meat slicers and saws, with limited exceptions.

If You Get Cut

1. Stop what you're doing, and step away from the food.
2. Press firmly on the cut with a clean cloth or gauze.
3. Tell your supervisor.
4. Wash the wound and cover it with an impermeable bandage. Add a single-use glove if it's on your hand.
5. Throw away any food the blood touched, then clean and sanitize the area.
6. Report the injury according to your workplace's procedure.

Get medical care right away for a deep cut, bleeding that won't stop after a few minutes of steady pressure, numbness, or a cut that exposes tissue. Call 911 for severe bleeding.

Common Mistakes

Check Your Understanding

1. You're dicing onions and your cutting board keeps sliding. What do you do?

Stop and put a damp towel or non-slip mat under the board. Then start again.

2. A coworker asks you to pass the paring knife across the table. How should you do it?

Set it down on the board or the table, with the edge away from them, and let them pick it up.

3. Your knife still feels dull after honing. What does that tell you?

Honing only straightens the edge. If it doesn't help, the knife needs to be sharpened.

4. You nick your finger during the lunch prep. It's bleeding a bit and there's blood on the lettuce. What should happen next?

Step away, apply pressure and tell your supervisor. Throw out the lettuce, clean and sanitize the board and the knife, and cover the cut with a bandage and a glove before you go back to work.

Key Takeaways

• A sharp knife, a stable board and a claw grip prevent most cuts.
• Keep your eyes on the blade, and stop cutting before you look up.
• Hone often and sharpen when honing stops working.
• Never catch a falling knife, and never leave a knife in a sink of soapy water.
• Pass a knife by setting it down, and carry it pointed at the floor.
• Treat, report and cover every cut, and throw out any food it touched.