It's Natasha from NatashasKitchen.com,

and today I'm gonna show you how to sharpen and use a knife.

First things first.

Your surface has to be steady.

It can't be moving around like this when you're chopping.

Otherwise, it could be a disaster.

So what you want to do is take just a simple paper towel,

get it damply wet,

and lay that right under your board.

Boom, it's not going anywhere.

All right.

And the secret to having a sharp knife

is to sharpen it every time you use it.

And to sharpen it, you'll need a steel.

The longer the better.

And make sure when you're holding it,

you keep your fingers behind the safety guard.

You don't want to lop off a finger

while you're sharpening your knife.

And then also make sure you have the correct angle.

So your knife should be about 20 degrees off of the steel.

So about a finger's width away from the steel.

And you're going to pull away from you and back.

And we're not going for speed here.

As you get practice, you'll be going

faster and faster and faster and faster and faster.

But initially, start slow and get your rhythm.

Push away from the base,

and then pull it back towards yourself.

Never, never hold your knife to the steel like this

because you will destroy your blade.

Another way to sharpen

is if you want to hold it down like this.

Same thing: 20-degree angle.

Pull it down, pull it down, pull it down.

Whichever method you're most comfortable with.

And make sure you're going from the base of the knife

all the way up to the tip.

And that's the sound you want to hear

as you're sharpening your knife.

Now we're going to talk about

what is the safe way to hold your knife?

And there's a few different ways to hold them.

And you want to pick whichever way

is most comfortable for you.

What you don't want to do

is put your finger on top of the knife

because then it's not steady

and it puts strain on your hand.

You can either put your index finger

under the curve of the knife here

and pinch with your thumb,

wrap your hand around it like so, and chop.

Or what I like to do for a little more control,

maybe because I have small hands,

I like to pinch the very back of the blade

with my thumb and forefinger.

All right.

And when you're using the knife,

make sure you're going in a swinging motion.

Next, a few tips on slicing safely.

So always make sure that whatever you're cutting

is on its flat side.

So with this zucchini,

what we're gonna do is cut it in half first.

That way, it has a flat edge.

And you want to use the three-finger rule.

So the three fingers on top.

And have them curved in slightly.

So I have my knuckle as my guide, so use that.

And then hold your knife properly

and use a rocking motion.

And you're scooting your hand down on the vegetable.

You're not pushing the food towards the knife.

You're just guiding your knife with that knuckle.

And don't worry about going fast.

Safety is more important.

And as you get comfortable, you will get faster.

Beautiful.

And all my fingers? Still here.

Okay, for a quick recap, stable surface.

Sharpen your knife every time you use it,

keeping it at a 20-degree angle.

Also, hold your knife properly.

Make sure you have a comfortable grip.

And the three-finger rule,

using your middle knuckle to guide your knife,

and keeping those fingers curved inwards.

All right.

I hope you guys enjoyed that.

Thanks for watching.