There's more to a knife than just the blade and handle. Below you'll find the correct terminology for a knife and its significance.
The handle consists of:
KNIFE BUTT / The back end of the knife
KNIFE HANDLE/ Ergonomically designed to provide comfort and proper fit.
KNIFE TANG / The tang is the metal extension of the blade enclosed by the handle. It gives the knife strength, stability, and balance. Good knives have a full tang, which extends all the way to the butt.
KNIFE BOLSTER / The bolster is a collar or raised area between the blade and handle. Its function is to provide additional mass just forward of the chef’s hand, improving stability, balance and strength of the knife.
FINGER GUARD / Often considered part of the bolster, the finger guard is designed to strengthen the heel of the knife, provide additional weight forward of the handle, and to help to protect the finger from accidentally slipping across the blade.
The blade consists of:
KNIFE HEEL / The heel is part of the cutting edge farthest away from the point - the last few inches of the blade. It is most efficient for making quick, coarse cuts, and for jobs which require strength or pressure.
KNIFE BACK OR SPINE / The blade spine typically refers to the full thickness portion of the blade or the outermost back of the blade, opposite the cutting edge.
KNIFE CUTTING EDGE/BLADE / The most frequently used part is the center of the cutting edge. Most blades taper from heel end to the pointed tip.
KNIFE TIP / The tip of the knife is usually considered the first third of the cutting edge including the point. This region is usually used for fine work or delicate cuts. The tip is also used as an anchor during mincing.
KNIFE POINT / The point is the part of the knife where the edge and the spine meet. The point is generally used for piercing.
Congratulations to Jarvis Wynn, Executive Chef at Tuskegee University for winning the Genesis Collection Knife Kit from Mercer Culinary at our "Food Lab" Culinary Training