Three ways to cut
Almost everything a kitchen knife does comes down to three motions. Pick one below and watch the blade. Each motion favours a blade profile, and that is the real difference between a chef knife, a santoku and a slicer.
Contents
The rock chop
The tip stays on the board and the heel goes up and down while the knife creeps forward. It is fast and safe for herbs, garlic and onions. It needs a curved belly, the profile of the classic Western chef knife. On a very flat edge the motion thuds: the whole edge lands at once.
The push cut
The blade moves forward and down in one stroke and lands flat on the board, then lifts clear. It gives clean, even slices of vegetables and is the natural motion of flat-edged knives: santoku, nakiri, bunka and flatter chef knives. It asks for a sharp edge more than any other, because nothing but the edge does the work.
The pull cut
The tip enters first and the knife is drawn back toward you through its whole length, with almost no downward pressure. This is how you slice raw fish, a roast or a ripe tomato without crushing it. A long blade makes it easy, which is why slicers and kiritsuke are long and narrow.
What it means when you choose
If you rock, buy a curve. If you push, buy a flat edge. If you slice proteins, buy length. Most cooks do all three, and a 20 cm chef knife with a moderate curve handles them all well enough. The chef knife guide covers the rest of the choice, and the sharpening angle tool shows how to keep the edge that makes these cuts possible.