# How do you use your knife and fork? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924 "2017-04-06T21:08:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/21 "2017-04-07T14:49:00Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Strength is a non factor IMO. > The logic is, once you speared the meat, your left hand isn’t doing anything, you just have to keep it stationary. While your right hand (or dominant hand) is the one that has to handle the back and forth motion. > > To me, it’s more sensible to let your dominant hand handle the more “dangerous” of the two tools being used. Yes, I agree the European method is the most sensible. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/22 "2017-04-07T14:51:29Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Well I’d give myself away when it came to dessert; I’ve never felt comfortable with a spoon in my right hand. And I’m always picking up someone else’s wine glass. And starting sentences with a conjunction. Hee. My parents did teach us manners (and grammar) but there were some things I realize they missed. Apparently you are supposed to swallow the food in your mouth before taking a sip of beverage. Who knew?! We were obligated to eat some things we didn’t like as kids and a generous sip of milk helped it go down better. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/23 "2017-04-07T14:55:16Z")
Hell, I didn’t even know there WAS an American way until I read it here years ago. Now, it’s impossible to unnotice! ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/24 "2017-04-07T15:01:51Z")
At the request of the OP, the “European” poll option has been modified to reflect its description as presented in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/25 "2017-04-07T15:25:12Z")
Out of habit I use the American way, however at home/work I use chopsticks for most meals. ---
**Author:** ![SacFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@SacFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SacFly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/26 "2017-04-07T16:33:16Z")
I answered European, but I switch sometimes if it’s something that can’t be stabbed. Trying to balance green peas on a fork with my left hand would be very awkward. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/27 "2017-04-07T16:40:53Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I don’t think “sensible” is the right word. > > Pretty sure it takes more dexterity to use a knife than a fork. And I’m pretty sure Europeans came to that same conclusion. Which is the reason they eat the way that they do. I agree, and that’s what I said in the other thread. Knife requires more dexterity (at least for me) and therefore it’s most natural for me to use it in my dominant hand (right). Other way around feels as unnatural as trying to write left-handed. (Yes, the motion of sawing with my left hand feels horribly awkward and inept.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/28 "2017-04-07T16:45:49Z")
Right-hander here. I voted European Method, because that’s what I normally do, but like many others have said, if no knife is required, I generally grab the fork with my right hand. I don’t recall being taught one way or another, just did what seemed natural. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/29 "2017-04-07T17:02:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I was never “taught” any “method.” Which seems strange to me, as my mother did care about manners, etc. I must have learned like a caveman or something, but it seems that the European method is closest to what I do. I _never_ notice how people eat (knife- and fork-wise) , but threads like this make me wonder if I’m being judged by others. Yes this. I was not taught one way was better. I eat how it feels comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/30 "2017-04-07T17:11:36Z")
The sensible way, of course. I am very right handed and it requires more attention to hold things steady in place with my left hand than to just move it backwards and forwards while holding my right hand still. If only using a knife, for example in slicing sandwiches, then I slice right handed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/31 "2017-04-07T19:33:55Z")
Was taught “American” but switched to “Sensible” in my teens. Not switching hands saves a bit of time that can be spent elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/32 "2017-04-07T21:00:54Z")
Observation especially for American diners: I’m noticing that there may be a correlation between which “style” you used, and how you learned it. I’m developing a hypothesis that young children who are carefully taught their table manners by mommy and daddy will be taught the conventional style for their location (European or American). But kiddies who are left to their own devices to figure out how to manage knife and fork will tend to discover the sensible and efficient method, which is to NOT keep juggling the fork back and forth, which is basically the Euro way. (Setting aside any question of _which_ hand hold each utensil.) So: My hypothesis is that Americans who are taught table manners by their parents will mostly use the American style, whereas Americans who aren’t taught will tend to discover either the European or “sensible” method. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/33 "2017-04-07T21:31:10Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > So: My hypothesis is that Americans who are taught table manners by their parents will mostly use the American style, whereas Americans who aren’t taught will tend to discover either the European or “sensible” method. You may be right; but I provided an explanation, back in Post #6, of why I might have naturally gravitated to doing it the “American” way. I don’t remember whether I was taught to do it this way by my parents or not. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/34 "2017-04-07T21:39:56Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > the sensible and efficient method, which is to NOT keep juggling the fork back and forth One other issue that I don’t think I’ve seen brought up yet in this thread: Do you cut the entire piece of meat (or stack of pancakes, or whatever) into bite-size pieces all at once, or do you cut off a bite and eat that bite before cutting another? If you’re really aiming for efficiency, the former method would appear to be superior, with no juggling back and forth required even if you use the same hand for cutting with your knife and eating with your fork. But I have been told that this is Bad Manners, plus it makes your meat cool off and dry out faster. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/35 "2017-04-07T23:25:44Z")
Along those lines I have a friend who has an odd way of eating. Every time I’ve had a meal with him at a restaurant it seems like he is eating but very little actually goes into his mouth. What he is mostly doing is ripping up his food into tiny pieces and scattering it evenly across his plate. At the end it looks like a hamster has shredded his food like old paper to line its cage. Very odd. I pointed it out to him once and his only response was a sheepish “I guess I shouldn’t do that.” I somewhat suspect he does it as a kind of portion control. He manages to stay quite thin. But it definitely looks odd. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/36 "2017-04-08T01:09:07Z")
My daughter does something strange with her food that I noticed, thought it odd, yet I gradually, subconsciously acquired the behavior. Spoilered for those with food related triggers. She consumes gradually decreasing sized pieces of her dessert, which makes it last longer. And although I recognized one day that I was doing the same damn thing, it’s impossible to stop. It just happens. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/37 "2017-04-08T02:15:03Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Spoilered for those with food related triggers. What? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924/38 "2017-04-08T10:41:41Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What? 😃 State dependent humor. Seemed funny last night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-use-your-knife-and-fork/783924.md?page=1)