Meet the pinch grip

The proper way to hold a chef’s knife is the pinch grip. Hold the blade of the knife — just in front of the bolster — with you index finger on one side of the blade, your thumb on the opposite side, ‘pinching’ the blade, then wrap your other three fingers around the handle to hold the handle and add support. The photograph shows the pinch grip.

This method of holding a knife gives one the most control — the blade will not twist, and since the blade is easily controlled, you can relax your hand a bit without losing any control.