Knife With Ergonomic Handle

Abstract

A kitchen knife featuring a secure handle formed by an angled slot located above the cutting edge receiving the fingers of a user and a grip located above said slot and attached to the blade piece, the angling of the grip and slot eliminating any twisting of the user's wrist and having an ergonomic effect in executing cutting, chopping or a slicing motion with the knife.

Claims

1. A knife comprising a planar metal blade piece having a sharpened cutting edge extending along a substantially complete length of said blade from a front end tip to a rear end; said blade piece having an upper contour extending from above said cutting edge, said front end to said rear end said upper contour forming a protuberance adjacent said rear end of said blade piece having an elongated opening formed therein extending at an upwardly inclined angle towards the front end and sized to receive the fingers of a user's hand; a grip attached to said protuberance and extending along and above said elongated opening able to be gripped by a user's hand with the fingers encircling said grips and entering said upwardly angled elongated opening said grip and opening together comprising a handle.

2. The knife according to claim 1 wherein said upwardly extending angle is approximately 45 plus or minus 5.

3. The knife according to claim 1 wherein said upwardly inclined angle of said elongated opening causes a user's wrist to be substantially normal to said elongated opening to so that a user's wrist is normally straight with respect to said handle when said knife is being used on a cutting surface 30 to 36 high.

4. The knife according to claim 1 wherein said cutting edge is shallowly convexly curved from said front end to said rear end of said cutting edge.

5. The knife according to claim 4 wherein said curvature of said cutting edge is formed by an approximately 15 inches radius.

6. The knife according to claim 1 wherein said protuberance also has a second elongated opening parallel to said elongated opening receiving a user's fingers, said grip molded into said second elongated opening to thereby be securely attached to said blade piece.

7. The knife according to claim 1 wherein said cutting edge is hollow ground.

8. The knife according to claim 1 wherein said upper contour has a forward portion which extends roughly parallel to said cutting edge lying below said forward portion past a center of sad knife and thereafter curving steeply upwards to partially form said protuberance together with an upper contour portion adjacent to said rear end of said piece.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a knife according to the invention on a cutting surface shown with the hand of a user grasping the handle thereof.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a rear portion of the knife shown in FIG. 1 depicting a second slot formed in the knife blade piece to create a secure mounting of a molded grip, the second slot shown hidden lines in FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a view of the section 3-3 taken in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology will be employed for the sake of clarity and a particular embodiment described in accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it is to be understood that the same is not intended to be limiting and should not be so construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and variations within the scope of the appended claims.

[0025] Referring to the drawings, and particularly FIG. 1, the knife 10 according to the present invention is comprised of a generally planar cutting blade piece 12, made of a knife grade stainless steel, preferably 440 series or equal of a thickness so as to be sufficiently stiff to avoid bending thickness having been found to be sufficient.

[0026] A sharpened cutting edge 14 extends completely across the bottom of the blade piece 12 from the front end 16 to the rear end 18.

[0027] The cutting edge 14 is preferably hollow ground and curved to facilitate effective chopping of vegetables, etc. by a rocking action. A cutting edge radius of 15 inches has been found to function well.

[0028] The blade piece 12 also has an upper contour 20 extending from the front end 16 to the rear end 18.

[0029] The upper contour 20 defines a protuberance 22 adjacent the rear end 18 of the blade piece 12. The upper contour protuberance 22 is formed by steeply a rising segment 20A at the rear end reaching a peak which then rounds over and extends down and blends into front portion 20B of the upper contour 20 which extends approximately parallel to the cutting edge 14.

[0030] An elongated slot 24 is formed within the protuberance 22 angled in an upward direction, approximately 45 from the cutting surface in direction towards the front end of the blade piece 12.

[0031] The slot 24 is sized to accommodate insertion of the fingers of one hand of the user.

[0032] A second slot 26 is formed in the blade piece at an angle to be substantially parallel and aligned with the first slot 24 is to anchor a molded plastic/rubber grip 28 just above the slot 24.

[0033] The upward angle of the slot 24 is approximately 45 plus or minus 5 so that for a work surface height in the range of 30 to 36 inches the wrist of the user is straight and not twisted when cutting with the knife 10 to reduce strain and thereby to be ergonomical.

[0034] The angle of the grip 28 and slot 24 will be about 45-55 to afford stability and control over the blade piece 12 when slicing, chopping, etc.

[0035] The grip 28 and angled slot 24 form a handle 30.

[0036] The unitary construction of the handle 30 integral with the blade piece 12 provides a secure nonslip hold on the blade piece 12 which provides very good control over the slicing, cutting, or chopping motion of the blade piece 12.

[0037] Another advantage is comprised by the knife 10 is the increased length of the cutting edge with the grip located above the cutting edge 14 to enable good cutting pressure to be applied by the user when slicing or chopping with the knife 10.