Recently I’ve been watching a lot of woodcarving/whittling videos, but I’ve also seen this happen in videos of people peeling fruit with a knife. I’m always amazed when they make a cut towards themselves and I see the sharp part of the knife make contact with their thumb (or sometimes their palm) after cutting through the material, yet it never seems to cut through their flesh. I feel like I’m way too scared of cutting myself to ever consider drawing a blade towards myself like that.
Is it just practice and knowing the right amount of pressure to apply? Are these knives (woodcarving blades and paring knives) maybe not very sharp, since I’m assuming softwoods and fruit are their intended purpose? If any woodcarvers or avid knife fruit peelers could chime in, I’m all ears!
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A knife cuts best when the force applied is in a back and forth, sawing like motion. On a microscopic level, a knife actually looks like a tiny saw. The cutting action happens when the tiny little points tear through the food. The weight of the knife is what keeps it moving downward.
Compare this to an axe or a meat cleaver. Yes, both of these are sharpened like a knife, but the cutting force is provided by the downward swing and the weight of the tool. The sharp edge allows for the force of said motion to be concentrated in a small area.
Generally, there won’t be a cut if a knife simply presses onto skin. There needs to be the slicing motion for that to happen. A super sharp knife absolutely can make small nicks without the slice though.
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