Dinner Knife

Dinner knife is one of the most important cutlery items, which is used for slicing food at the dinner table, with the knife being the heaviest and longest one among all other knives like fish knife and dessert knife, with the former being wider, shorter and broader, and the latter being slimmer and shorter. Dinner knives are used for cutting only cooked food and are therefore not much sharp as compared to the knives used in the kitchen for slicing raw food. There are several manufacturers who are engaged in the production of dinner knives, with a typical dinner knife set available in a pack of 4 or 6 knives.

 

Using dinner knife, fork and spoon appropriately in a formal dining environment is one of the most important table manners, which should be known to everyone. 

 

Features of Dinner Knives

The features of dinner knives are mentioned hereunder:

 

  • Dinner knives do not have very sharp blades.

 

  • One of the essential features of dinner knife, which is a kind of table knife, is its rounded and blunt end.

 

  • There are several types, styles and designs of dinner knives available commercially, with the stainless steel type being the most common one. However, at times complex and elaborate ones having wooden, ivory or bone handles are also available.

 

  • The stainless steel types are highly durable and are dishwasher safe.

 

 Placing Dinner Knives

In a formal dining setting, dinner knife is positioned on the plate’s right hand side. The knife is placed in such a way that the blade of the knife faces the plate. The spoons are placed on the knife’s right hand side and the forks are placed on the plate’s left side.

 

Use of Dinner Knives

The main purpose of using dinner knives is to facilitate the task of eating solid food items like pizzas, spring rolls, and grilled meat. Here a fork is used as an accompaniment tool to dinner knife, with the food being sliced with help of knife and eaten with the aid of fork. It is very easy to eat food with the help of dinner knife and fork, with the former tool being held in the right hand and the latter held in the left hand. The food is held firmly with the help of fork; pressure is exerted with the help of index finger; dinner knife is used for slicing the food; and the food is eaten with the help of fork.