Kitchen knife

Abstract

A kitchen knife of general utility comprising a wide blade and a handle, the blade having a substantially straight back, a straight edge adjacent the rear end, a smoothly curved edge from the straight edge to the point and a straight rear end substantially normal to the back and the straight edge, the handle being fitted on the back of the blade to straddle it in an area adjacent to the rear end, and the blade being provided with an elongated aperture adjacent to the handle, of a size to accommodate the fingers of the user, enabling the knife to be firmly grasped.

Description

This invention relates to a kitchen knife of general utility comprising a wide tapering blade and a handle straddling the back of the knife in its wider portion, the rear end of the knife being squared off and an elongated aperture, to receive the user's fingers, being provided adjacent the handle.

It is an object of the invention to provide a knife having excellent balance, the blade being designed for cutting through such foodstuffs as meat, bread, vegetables and fruits by a reciprocatory or "sawing" motion and also to be rocked, as on a cutting board or bowl, to slice or chop a food into small strips or pieces.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 represents an elevation of the knife

FIG. 2 represents a vertical section on the line II--II of FIG. 1, on a somewhat larger scale, and

FIG. 3 represents a detail elevation showing a modified form of tip end.

Referring to the drawing, the knife blade 11 is shown as having a straight back 12, a straight cutting edge portion 13 extending about one-third the length of the blade, adjacent to the rear end 14, and a smoothly curved cutting edge portion 15 extending from the straight portion to the tip end 16. The edge portion 13 lies parallel to the back 12 and spaced therefrom by a substantial distance, e.g., 3 inches. The rear end 14 and tip end 16 are substantially normal to the back 12 and edge portion 13 or may be angled about 5.degree. from normal. Instead of being squared off as at 16, the tip end may be a sharp point 17, as shown in FIG. 3.

In the wide blade area above the edge portion 13 there is formed an elongated aperture 18, shown as being centered above the center line of the blade and of a size to receive easily the fingers of the user, e.g. 31/2 by 1 inch.

A wooden handle 20 straddles the back of the blade above the aperture 18, the handle having a smoothly rounded top surface 21, rounded end portions 22, 23 projecting downwardly at the front and rear ends of the aperture and a gripping surface 24 which is smoothly rounded and forms a continuation of the upper edge 25 of the aperture, as clearly shown in FIG. 2. The handle is held rigidly on the blade by means of rivets 26.

When the blade edges 13, 15 are formed by a single bevel (at an angle of about 10.degree.) the knife is adaptable to the neat cutting of materials such as cheese as well as to other cutting procedures for which double bevel blades are normally used. A bevel at the angle mentioned facilitates sharpening without the possibility of damaging the handle. A double bevel could be provided if desired. The blade may suitably be stainless steel with a hardness of 50-55R. and the handle may be any customary hard wood or a durable plastic.

In use, the location of the handle on the back of the knife blade in line with the cutting edge improves the user's control of the blade and facilitates such operations as cutting, slicing and chopping. There is provided, also, a long blade (e.g. 15 inches) which is not further extended to an inconvenient length by having a handle on the end.

In view of the foregoing description it will be apparent that the invention is not limited to the specific details set forth therein for the purposes of illustration, and that various other modifications are equivalent for the stated and illustrated functions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A knife comprising an elongated blade having an upper edge and a lower cutting edge, a front portion and a widened rear portion, the cutting edge being substantially straight in said rear portion and curving convexly therefrom to said front portion, an opening in said blade in said rear portion between said upper edge and said substantially straight portion of said cutting edge and substantially directly over said straight portion, and a handle mounted to said blade above said opening, whereby a user may grasp said handle with fingers received through said opening.

2. A knife according to claim 1 wherein the cutting edge and upper edge are substantially parallel throughout at least a portion of said widened rear portion.

3. A knife according to claim 1 wherein said blade has a rear edge and said rear edge is substantially normal to the upper edge and adjacent cutting edge.

4. A knife according to claim 3 wherein the blade has a curved portion and a squared off front end lying substantially parallel to the rear edge.

5. A knife according to claim 1 wherein the handle straddles the upper edge of the blade and has a gripping portion terminating downwardly in register with upper edges of the opening.

6. A knife according to claim 5 wherein the handle has portions extending downwardly opposite the forward and rearward ends of the opening.

7. The knife of claim 1 further including a front edge defined on said blade and extending between said upper edge and said cutting edge.

8. The knife of claim 1 wherein said opening resides entirely within the edges of said blade.