Comments by "John h Palmer" (@johnhpalmer6098) on "Basic 'knife skills' for normals (not chefs)" video.

@EB-bl6cc I disagree, splaying the fingers anywhere near a sharp blade is a recipe for disaster and this is especially true if the blade is not sharp, which is more common than you think for the amateur cook. Even I tend to use the claw and have come close recently to nipping the end of a finger as they get close to the blade and I've been doing the claw for a good while, but I'm also older (late 50's) so my coordination may not be as good as it once was to begin with. And I find I have better control of the food while cutting using the claw too. It has less to do with the "proper" technique than it is for safety.
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@apothecurio Agree, though I'm no match to Julia Collin Davidson with her knife skills.
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@joneclegg Yep, agree on the sharpness. While I don't always keep my knives properly sharp, I can tell when they are dull, and this is especially true of things like tomatoes as a good chef's knife will cut through the tomato's skin pretty easily if sharp enough.
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Adam, A good video, however, I should point out that your knife and the camera, don't worry about the camera when cutting, that is, we can see how things get cut either way. Most chef's that cook on camera don't worry about the camera either and this is especially true for righties that often have the blade of the knife out front in front of the camera. Never try to angle your cutting for the camera, as that can cause problems with cutting and getting cut if not careful. As to the claw, I do it, though not always exactly as it should be performed, but it's helped me keep from getting nicked, though I have nicked my finger nails a time or two. I am not the fastest, but decent enough for home cooking, but getting better at it. One aspect of home cooking that should be kept in mind is you have to deal with a lot more than most pro chef's tend to per shift as you are cleaning as you go, cutting/chopping, sauteing etc for the full meal, while most chef's may be cutting vegetables the entire shift, others just assembling the entree etc. For the home cook, more to distract us and more likely to have a screw up so decent to good knife technique is preferable for the home when cooking for safety if nothing else.
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@sid6645 You really don't have to go slow, just for video. If you watch a good chef cook on camera, you can see exactly how they cut things, just by them being their normal self. An example, Julia Collin Davidson does not necessarily slow down for the camera when she's cutting with a knife and she's one of the fastest cutters out there in ATK land.
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