It is a habit. Tapping the blade on your board, loosens foods that have been cut before it. High volume cutting has ingrained this into out prep work routine.
Tapping the back of the knife against a hard surface will extend the blade until it is stopped by the protrusion on the back.
Never leave knives in the sink: Knives can easily become lost or damaged if left in a sink full of soapy water. Wash knives separately and dry them immediately after use.
Whether it's against food, a cutting board, or any other work surface, just say no to scraping the sharp blade of your chef's knife against anything. Doing this repeatedly will quickly dull the blade of the knife.
High quality blades should never go in the dishwasher. The abrasive detergent, high heat, and jostling with other dishwasher items will cause the blade to dull prematurely and give your knife nicks in the edge. The wooden handles will also crack and loosen over time.
For some reason, it tends to be an instinctual behavior while we prep and cook our food — we scrape bits and pieces to the side of the cutting board to make more room, or we slide our knife under the readied ingredients to transfer and plop them into the pan.
Never leave knives soaked in a sink full of soapy water. You may injure yourself by putting in your hand to take them out. Soaking knives also increases the risk of corrosion. Remember, corrosion resistant doesn't mean that the knife will never rust regardless of how it is used.
For example, an English saying, “Stir with a knife, stir up strife”, reminds us not to stir anything in the kitchen using a knife (be it liquid, flour, powder or anything else) as this could cause bad luck. Knives should not be passed from hand to hand but placed on a flat surface so that they can be taken.
Many chefs have cut themselves on the job, gone to get stitches and returned to work to finish out the night. Accidents definitely happen: Almost every chef we surveyed has been injured on the job in some way, and several chefs said they're missing parts of their fingers.
Keeping your wrist tense while throwing will allow better control on your release. A limp wrist will result in an over rotation. Additionally, flicking your wrist upon release of the knife will cause an over rotation. At release, keep your wrist straight and locked, following the natural momentum of your release.
The 'Michie Golledge' knife is the most widely used. The second one is the 'Jabong' knife, commonly used in Malaysia which is more suitable for speedy and easier tapping, but with a slightly higher bark consumption. It is now gaining popularity.
Professional throwers usually throw by the blade because they can control their throws better from up close. You might have seen WWII war movies, where a soldier would flip the knife and throw by the blade.
Cutting on anything but wood or plastic
Even one slice on a glass or marble surface can do irreparable damage to your chef's knife. There are boards and blocks made from all sorts of materials but many of them are not knife-friendly.
Avoid using your knife on surfaces made of glass, granite, marble, or ceramic. These materials are much harder than steel and will weaken your knife's edge. Even a quick slice on a ceramic dinner plate, a marble cheese board, or a granite countertop can dull your knife.
A knife is made to be sharpened and used. You can't ruin it by sharpening and using it in a reasonable manner, unless you count wearing it out after about 150 years of such use as ruining it.
Knife Safety in the Kitchen
Knife cuts and lacerations are the most common accidents in the kitchen. Blunt knives are common culprits of causing you to slip whilst chopping food. You need to be aware of this when using them avoid hurting yourself or others.
Start really young cooks off with a serrated cake knife or nylon knife set, which mimics the weight, shape, and feel of a chef's knife without the sharp edge. The serrated edge makes cutting bread, cheese, soft fruit, and vegetables possible without any nicks or cuts.
Rule #1: It is important to use a knife adapted to what you want to do / food you want to prepare. For example, you shouldn't use a bread knife to slice a roast or use the blade of a paring knife and use it as a screwdriver (don't laugh, we've all done it!) Rule #2: Don't drop your knife on the floor.
First, stainless tends to be a softer form of steel, which means it often won't hold an edge as well as carbon steel. That's right: carbon steel stays sharper longer than stainless. Second, and this is really important, carbon steel, despite being harder than stainless steel, is way easier to sharpen than stainless.
Generally, Japanese knives are lighter, feel more balanced in the hand and feature steel that is harder, thinner and able to hold an edge for a longer time. These are exactly the reasons they're so popular among professional chefs, and why they're perfect for the precision tasks chefs do all day every day.
The more knives rub against other tools, the more their blades will dull. This means just opening and closing a drawer can do damage over time. Either keep your knives in individual sheaves to protect them inside the drawer, or invest in a safe storage solution like a knife block or magnetic knife strip.