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The most mundane tasks may seem daunting to someone with a physical condition that limits their ability to move cohesively. Cutting and chopping food in preparation for a meal is no different. Yet, no adjustments have been made to kitchen chef’s knives in order to best aid a person who may have tendinitis, arthritis, or carpal tunnel syndrome affecting their wrists, fingers, palms, knuckles, or joints. The simple task of chopping some fruit may come with extreme pain in someone’s hand who has a disability or varying immobility.
When looking at the way a person may hold a kitchen knife, support of blade is brought by the thumb or the pointer finger—which help leverage the blade and therefore assist in the mechanics of cutting. The fulcrum becomes the finger supporting the blade. However, when having difficulty performing this task, the blade may become a dangerous object considering it may slip or fall due to unstable support. While chopping an onion may seem intuitive to someone without hand immobility or conditions, this task is probably more of a risk than a safe activity. The supporting mechanism becomes a painful movement rather than a helping appliance. This adjustable knife tool is a way to enhance and create an extension of the human arm and hand while offering more support through the act of cooking.
Seeing how using a kitchen knife requires much effort between the joints and the muscles, people who face difficulties of immobility may see stress in using an object meant for efficiency and ergonomics. This is no longer a supportive nor a durable option for people with stress in their hands. To alleviate any form of unnecessary pressure or tension, a knife that is supported by the tops of the fingers is a possible solution for this posed problem. Rather than relying on muscle support, the knife is resting between two fingers and allows for easy cutting abilities. On the top is a sphere piece that is extremely top-heavy and weighs down the fingers. This helps put pressure on the knife as opposed to the actual hand. This bit is wedged in between two fingers and has a sloping feature so that it is ergonomic for multiple finger widths and heights. The back of the blade is curved to provide a safe solution for the hand. Below the finger is an edge that best supports the pointer—this reduces the risk of the finger sliding down and instead holds the weight of the finger and enables a more engaging act of cutting something. For the best cut, the blade can be angled so that the pressure of the hand is easier to control, similar to the effect of a traditional knife form.
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