1/20/2025 at 7:09:51 PM
OMG, it's just a 'sheepsfoot' blade shape (as TFA mentions, but doesn't emphasize enough, IMO). That's the kind of thing you would have seen in hardware store knife displays, or scouting manuals, when I was a kid. It IS a good shape for cutting hand-held fruit. Or for cutting round-ish objects NEAR the EDGE of a hard surface (like a cutting board). But it is a bad shape for cutting meat or hard vegetables on a plate. You want a decently curved blade for that latter use. Both for ergonomics, and to keep your fingers & wrist ABOVE the surface of the plate or raised rim. This is not rocket surgery...As mentioned in TFA: "Beyond form, there is function: Both Rich and Blease say their French knives keep their edge longer than other table knives, meaning they require far less frequent sharpening. Rich says he has replaced a few sets of steak knives, while his Lannier knives have been in action since 2018."
That's it. It's a cost-saving play by the restaurant (sharpening is time-consuming if your staff does it manually; and increasingly expensive if you out-source it to a sharpening service).
The stuff about the 'form', and the artisanal knife production is mostly PR for the restaurant.
Though I've heard of that knife-maker; and positive things about them. And the Thiers region is historically a major area for edged tools.
==== FWIW: I'm not a Chef; but I have a nephew who is; and I discuss restaurant knives and sharpening with him. But, more usefully, I'm a woodworker, and I have whole books just on sharpening, and tools from Thiers. Again, this is not rocket surgery, but hopefully one or two readers will be today's "lucky 10,000"!
==== ETA: grammar fix.
by hn_ltl-ftc