Why bother paying for instruction or books.
The best way to learn is watching a video and practicing.
Youtube Youtube has a great wealth of videos on knife skills.
I'm more a visual learner.
I like to see a video.
A book are not going to help me squat.
Knife Skills: Julliene with Ann Burrell Knife Skills: Chiffonade with Ann Burrell
Knife SKills: Slicing with Ann Burelle and Beau Knife Skills:
Bias Cuts with Ann Burrelle and Beau
Honing a knife with Gordon Ramsey
(video is labeled as sharpening although he is showing a knife being honed)
Rick Theory, well respected on knife forums for good technique
Sundry old Martin Yan episodes across youtube.
Cleaver centric technique that requires paying attention to do safely, but can achieve a lot.
Chowhound Chowhound has a great wealth of knife skill videos.
How to make a chiffonade cut How to chop How to dice How to hone a knife Roll Cuts Know your Knife Cuts How to make julienne and batonnet cuts How to cut with a chef's knife : 5 Simply knife safety tips
How to hold a knife Not totally related but
- Should i buy a knife set Knife Skills troubleshooting How to make a bias cut Other Wusthof Knife Skills Series
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/6320/chrisjlee
I really like the book " Knife skills Illustrated "; it is a bit annoying that it has left and right handed versions of everything, though.
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The Good Eats episode American Slicer was devoted entirely to knife usage.
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The absolute best way to pick this up is to do it with the help of an in-person instructor.
It is a motor skill that is best learned by trial, error, and the emulation of experts.
Your local culinary institutes might offer courses or one-day workshops on various topics for the general public and cooking enthusiasts.
For instance, here's a place in Maryland that offers classes: L'Academie de Cuisine .
I once gave my wife a gift certificate for their "knife skills" workshop.
She can now chop circles around anyone who isn't a chef!
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/7216/Angelo
Epicurious have some useful videos on knife skills, they can be found at: http://www.epicurious.com/video/technique-videos/technique-videos-knife-skills/1915458779/knife-skills-how-to-sharpen-a-knife/1915433332
Another interesting source is Rouxbe, they have a large number of cooking lesson videos online, which include knife skills.
This site, however, requires a subscription: http://rouxbe.com/
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/115/Pulse
Serious Eats has some videos and what not in their Knife Skills section.
The basic skills are covered in this article (slice, chop, rock chop).
Other things to note include how to carve meats, how to cut herbs and tomatoes.
America's Test Kitchen is pretty good as well, since they go slow and show things visually though they often don't narrate their knife skills verbally.
I've also seen good material in Gordon Ramsay 's Ultimate Cookery Course and Home Cooking, though he's a bit faster and less detailed.
Some of the stuff is on his youtube channel.
Finally, I'd like to recommend Jaques Pepin's New Complete Techniques (though the original complete techniques is fine, the new one is in color).
He's very careful in explaining how to do things.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/29230/Batman
Mastering Knife Skills: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Tools in Your Kitchen by Norman Weinstein is a great picture book demonstrating technique for specific fruits, vegetables, and meats.
cooking.stackexchange.com/users/7165/devin_s
What are some good resources for learning knife skills? Specifically, is there anywhere that I can see video demonstration of different slicing techniques and when those techniques are appropriate?
What are some good resources for learning Knife Skills?
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<knife-skills><resources><learning><cutting>
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There are several good video tutorials on Youtube or on cooking shows like Good Eats. Books including Mastering Knife Skills: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Tools in Your Kitchen by Norman Weinstein and Knife Skills Illustrated offer pictures demonstrating proper techniques, or local culinary institutes and private instructors might offer workshops for the general public. While the best way to learn is in person, there are lots of resources available online, from books and TV.
There are lots of video you can watch on Youtube and Serious Eats also has a knife skills section. Mastering Knife Skills and Knife Skills Illustrated are recommended books. Good Eats is a god show for learning skills like this. Look for a short course at a local culinary institute as the best way to learn is in person.