anciently, The knife was a constant companion of man, it was necessary for hunting, razdelyvaniya trophies, the processing and cooking. Iron knife attributed to the role of defender, not only from the real enemies, but imaginary - witches, demons and other evil spirits, representing different beliefs terrible threat. Found a small tornado in a quiet calm weather was omen, entailing misery, which could have been prevented, throwing a knife in the grass, straw or trash, spinning in a tornado, because they meant invisibly passing witch. Knife, stuck in the door of the dwelling, He shielded his hosts from attackers and other calamities. Similarly, the knife guard baby, if the stick in the back of the cradle or placed under it.
Despite, that the word "knife" were forbidden to the pronunciation in the sea, but the subject, stuck in the mast, according to the superstition, It was to ensure success in the deepwater fishing on board. Sign of a quarrel - if the knife and fork or two knives on the table crosshairs, It should be immediately spread them apart. It was impossible to sharpen a knife in the evening and leave it on the table at night, as, The former could lead thief in the house, and the second - a knife is needed for butchering pet, which necessarily fall night. It must be noted, that the latter is not superstition was devoid of practical sense, defense of the owner of the gun, which could not only perform household functions, but also carried the potential threat of using it to attack.
It was believed, that can not be used for toasting bread knife at its tip, and there is a knife (it is also unsafe). It is not good to rotate the knife on the table, but it was used as a divination, to see the color of the skin of the future wife or husband, blade, turned to reptile, indicating light color, and the handle - on the dark.
An incredible amount of will and superstitions, associated with a knife, the protagonist in the fight against evil forces and at the same time, instrument, threatening attacks, They existed among different peoples and described with different variations in the epics and literature.
A striking example of superstition, extant, It is, what, in any case it is impossible to give a knife, because it can cut, i.e, tear up friendships or love relationships. Way out, when presented with knives, It offers a second superstition - it is necessary to give something in return, or to give some money, this will prevent the rupture of relations. It is also tenacious and today superstition Slavic peoples, it is impossible to apply the wake of knives and forks, not to hurt the soul of the deceased. Church for many years unsuccessfully denies this superstition, like many other. All signs and superstitions have pagan origins, and, of course, rejected the Christian religion, but, Despite this, Very living.
Modern life knives are also surrounded by a kind of halo of myths, often generated not quite professional, and not fair advertising. These myths mislead. Consider some of them.
1. Self-sharpening blades easy and not a long time tupyatsya. In fact - it is not so, if the knife is easy to be chiseled, he also quickly blunts. Knives are divided into: with a long period of sharpening, short period of sharpening, as well as those, that can not be sharpened at home (we are talking about knives with sereyterom - tooth profile).
2. Damascus steel or steel manufacturing damask Mystery lost irretrievably. products, manufactured by modern smiths wrought and cast Bulat Damascus, Quality superior to the ancient samples. Besides, thanks to modern technology and equipment has been made possible in vacuum furnaces to produce high-quality stainless Damascus.
3. Stamp on the knife is always its high quality. It should distinguish between the following application techniques hallmarks: etching or electrochemical method, stamping, laser engraving. If the mark is made uneven stamping depth, the, most likely you are dealing with forgery. It should also be borne in mind, that the knives, made from steel with a high carbon content, not subject to punching - wherein the broken crystal structure of the steel, that degrades the quality of the blades. hallmarks, formed by etching or electrochemical method, is rarely seen in the forgery, as the technology of their application requires expensive equipment. Branding technique is applicable for laser engraving of metals of any hardness at the few companies - roads lasers and difficult to maintain, of course, "Laser" a brand is a guarantee of quality, can not be said about the stigma, paint application.
4. The grinding angle for the blades, universal. In fact, the sharpening angle depends on the destination of the knife: smallest angle sharpening (to 10 °) used in medicine (The slides), Shaving. The angle of 10 ° -25 ° is appropriate for kitchen knives and cooks; 22°-30° – for hunting, tourist knives, which are used in campaigns and natural conditions; 25°-40° – for cutting or heavy work (hatchets, shears Deba); maximum angle of 50 ° – for choppers, chisels, metal, swords.
5. Argued, that test the quality of the steel can through the paper, which should try to cut into weight. – If the knife is ground well and made of stainless steel, this experience is easy to implement. But, in fact, if the sharpening angle of the small, that this experience will help to objectively determine the quality of steel.
6. Knives with a wavy cutting edge not tupyatsya, there is no need to sharpen serrated blade. The cutting edge is serrated blade undulating, whereby its length is longer, than a conventional knife 1,5-2 fold. Cutting capacity wavy edges due to a sharp corner contact of teeth with the object (material) a remarkably high. This type of sharpening demand, because the smooth blade of inexpensive steel has very low cutting ability, a product of the same material, but with a sawtooth edge is much better, at least, at first time. But gradually, as serrated blade tupyatsya, Like all knives.
7. The handle of the knife should be made of natural materials, such as wood or leather. Actually, the most practical materials are modern materials, eg, rezinoplastik, mikarta, various composites of plastics with fillers, are not afraid of contact with moisture and aggressive media, provide the necessary strength and ease of maintenance. The wooden handle is easy to get dirty, It absorbs odors, moisture, and can also save the mechanical strength dries. Used for wood impregnation, type epoxy resin, have harmful effects on human skin. The handles are often made of leather with a violation of the technology - as a result of such blades can not withstand adverse environmental factors (temperature, humidity, etc.) and are easily damaged. The handle of the other natural materials (kostyanыe, horny, winding silk cord) appropriate for gift items.
8. The main criterion of quality steel - hardness. This statement should be considered depending on the purpose of the knife. Unnecessarily rigid blade may break, edge may be damaged by mechanical shock. Depending upon the particular application it is recommended some combination of hardness, sharpening angle and viscosity.
9. The longer the knife, the better it. A similar pattern holds for the choice of cooks knives, but not for the kitchen work. The greater the length of the knife, the correspondingly greater lever, which implies a greater load on the brush.
10. Laser sharpening - the best. In reality there is no such thing as a "laser sharpening". Sharpen knives on a milling machine, wherein the laser acts as a control sharpening angle.
11. To test and compare the quality of two different blades should strike their cutting edges. This experiment in any case can not be done - can damage the product, which is made from a less strong steel, that does not indicate poor quality knife. Products were, of which made knives, is selected depending on, for which it will be used.
There are a number of prejudices, associated with the storage and maintenance of kitchen knives. Consider the most common prejudices:
It is best to store knives in a wooden stand. Very popular are wooden coasters, storage blades which has some nuances, which adversely affect the durability of cutlery. Most often in such stands knives laid down blade. After washing, mostly kitchen appliances immediately placed on its usual place - in the stand cell, on the bottom and the walls of which accumulates the remaining water, and after some time they start to form harmful bacteria. Such supports do not meet hygiene standards, because how badly washed out, kitchen knives and after such storage, it is desirable to wash before next use of.
The most high-quality kitchen knives made of stainless surgical steel. Such a statement is no longer relevant. The broad scope of surgical stainless steel due to the high resistance of the material to corrosion, that provides high strength, ductility and a relatively long service life. of such steel blades retain shine throughout the application period, only occasionally require cleaning. As for corrosion resistance, it is not exceptional quality, and it occurs only in normal conditions, but with some reservations. In this respect, it surpasses by far Japanese steel, which has a higher quality, Soviet than surgical. Japanese kitchen knives at the forefront.
Kitchen knives do not require special care. This is another common misconceptions. That very often do not sharpen kitchen knives, should be adequately care for them: if the knife has a wooden handle, avoid prolonged contact with water; undesirably washed in hot water of high carbon steel product. Kitchen knives is recommended to wash separately from dirty dishes, therefore as food acids steel spoil. Cut should be on the chopping board of wood or plastic (glass blunts quickly and can damage the cutting edge). Keep knives must be separate from the rest of the dishes. Use kitchen knives exclusively for its intended purpose - they are intended for cutting, but not cutting bones and can opener.
Ignorance breeds vitality of ancient superstitions and adopt in our time, and lack of awareness provokes the emergence of modern misconceptions about the knives and all, related to them.
