I'm not completely sure, but I believe that the first cooking implement created by man was the knife. Ever since the beginning of the Stone Age, man used knives to hunt and gather their food, and later on used to prepare food when fire was discovered. Several centuries later, the knife is still one of the most common and most used tools everywhere you can find a kitchen. Everywhere you go, from homes to cafes and restaurants, you will find all sorts of knives being used for almost every food preparation and cooking task.

However, even if we know that the knife is a very important piece of equipment, it's sad to see that very few people know how to properly handle and care for a knife. Perhaps it's because knives don't have manuals when we buy them.

One of my pet peeves is watching people handle knives incorrectly. But then, no one showed us how to use knives properly whe we were little. All we knew at that time was that knives were dangerous and better kept away from us kids. There may be no instruction manuals for knives, but I believe that people who use them regularly should at least take the effort to learn how to handle them correctly.

You have to learn how to correctly hold a knife. Basically, there are three ways to hold a knife, depending on the knife and what is being cut. For cutting against a board, the knife should usually be held with the blade between thumb and forefinger. Grip the handle with your other three fingers. When cutting hanging meat, hold the knife in a dagger-like fashion for proper leverage. And when turning or peeling with a small knife, it should be held with one or two fingers gripping the blade, with the othersthe rest around the handle.

There are also several ways to properly care for your knives. Use a wooden board for chopping and cutting. Plastic boards are not as gentle on the edge of the knife as wooden boards. It's also better to use one where the cutting surface is end grain, rather than side grain. End-grain surfaces are the smoothest, least abrasive surface to cut against, and side-grains will chip off eventually.

When storing knives after use, it's better to use paperboards or plastic sleeves. Clean a knife after using it, then dry and store. Never wash knives in a dishwasher, no matter how convenient it may seem. Always protect the knife's edge against other hard objects. To properly sharpen a knife, the best way is to use a knife sharpener with an abrasive, diamond surface. Of course, you can always use a whetstone, but it takes a lot of experience to be able to sharpen a knife to razor-like sharpness with it.

Azlan Irda is the co-founder of AfterKnife.com, which provides high-quality knives and supplies. Visit our website to get all the pocket knives and supplies you need.