The paring knife is for any job where the chef's knife would be awkwardly big.
The serrated knife? What DON'T I use it for? I use it for EVERYTHING at work except mincing herbs. It's much better for cutting bell peppers than a straight edged knife. Likewise slicing tomatoes. And citrus. I use it to slice the rind off of honeydew and cantaloupe melons for fruit salad, and then because it's in my hand it's just as easy to dice the melon into chunks with it. I can make lovely even parallel cuts in an onion with it, first one way and then the other, and then slice it on the third axis and have perfect little dice fall away. (Okay, at home I do that with a chef's knife, but the chef's knives at work never seem to stay in good shape, even with regular use of a steel, and the offset serrated just does a better job.) I core tomatoes with the tip of that knife, even though most people use a paring knife. I slice strawberries into quarters. (Most people use a paring knife for that too.) I slice sandwich rolls in half, and split cakes into two layers. I slice cheese off a block with it.
The Dexter-Russell offset serrated knife has truly become an extension of my hand.
You can see why I was so annoyed when shadowflyer used it to trim his bamboo drum broom, right?
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Re: What do you use the knives for?
Date: 2004-06-18 07:48 pm (UTC)The serrated knife? What DON'T I use it for? I use it for EVERYTHING at work except mincing herbs. It's much better for cutting bell peppers than a straight edged knife. Likewise slicing tomatoes. And citrus. I use it to slice the rind off of honeydew and cantaloupe melons for fruit salad, and then because it's in my hand it's just as easy to dice the melon into chunks with it. I can make lovely even parallel cuts in an onion with it, first one way and then the other, and then slice it on the third axis and have perfect little dice fall away. (Okay, at home I do that with a chef's knife, but the chef's knives at work never seem to stay in good shape, even with regular use of a steel, and the offset serrated just does a better job.) I core tomatoes with the tip of that knife, even though most people use a paring knife. I slice strawberries into quarters. (Most people use a paring knife for that too.) I slice sandwich rolls in half, and split cakes into two layers. I slice cheese off a block with it.
The Dexter-Russell offset serrated knife has truly become an extension of my hand.
You can see why I was so annoyed when