Which way round do you hold the knife and fork?

[Waxonwaxoff0]

And are you left or right handed?

Me and DS are both right handed, I hold my knife in my right hand and fork in my left - DS does the opposite.

Knife right. I keep telling my children to do this otherwise you can't cut properly. We are all right handed. You put pressure with your knife with your dominant hand. My husband uses his knife in the left, it annoys the hell out of me. And my point is proven because he doesn't cut properly he basically pulls the food away from the knife with his firm rather than sawing with the knife.

My kids prefer to use their fork in their right and basically avoid using their knife at all unless I hassle them. Think picking up a sausage on a firm and eating it like a lolly. Drives me mad. If I make them cut with their right they usually then put the knife down and put the fork in the right to eat.

On a fork not firm

@PontiusPilates totally agree with the grammar thing too. I get irritated by bad grammar too.

I'm left handed, as are my oldest and youngest. We all hold our forks in our left hand, knife in our right.

My twins are right handed, they both hold their forks in their left and their knives in their right.

They find it comfortable, they eat nicely, so I don't care. I didn't even notice till they were around 12 years old!

My mum would moan that I held my knife and fork wrong. It has never ever ever mattered in my life how I hold my cutlery. So as long my kids eat nicely I don't give a fuck which hand they hold their cutlery in, or even how they hold it.

The proper way (if you are right handed) exh is left handed but still holds his knife in his right hand

Left handed as are my brother and exhusband. We all hold knife in right and and fork in left - but our spoons in our left hand! Being presented with a fork and spoon for dessert is an issue.

My DP and I recently went for lunch in a 5 star hotel where our places were set with the knife on the left. We assumed it was a stylised brand thing so we left them where they were. The waiter came along and exclaimed "are you left handed?" Nope, one of their staff doesn't know how to set the table.

I'm mixed-handed (not fully ambidextrous) and hold the knife in my right. My nana who was also mixed-handed held the knife in her left.

DH - who is American - does the weird swap thing where he chops his food with his knife in his right hand, then ditches the knife and swaps the fork to the right, then swapping back when he needs the knife again. Seems like hard work to me, but it is an American thing apparently

Holding the knife like a pen is not good.

I'm right handed, knife in right hand. My 1st husband was right handed but knife in left hand. It used to do my head in because he couldn't 'cut' whatever he was eating, he ripped it apart and as a consequence put my teeth on edge by scraping the plate.

@Doyoumind

Fork left and knife right. Anything else and I am extremely judgey.

God you sound horrible.

I do it the ‘normal’ way. But I agree that this is some sort of classist judgement. I enjoy the thread though. This is the shit i come to MN for.

Left handed. Fork in left, knife in the right. It doesn't make any difference which is in which.

I could understand lefties holding their knife in their left hand.

I can't, when I went to friend's houses for a meal their parents would often put the cutlery the wrong way if they knew I was left handed,it always seemed odd as you do so many things in life the most convenient way. Changing gears in a car for example, all those right handed manual car drivers using their non dominant hand with no issues.

Fork left.

I’m left handed. Fork in left, knife in right. Spoon in left.
When I was at primary school many years ago, a fellow pupil held his knife and fork the other way and the headmaster would make him swap over. As soon as he’d gone, the pupil would change back.

Knife and spoon in right hand, fork in left - always (unless a cake fork - right hand or if eating fish with two forks in which case one in each hand obvs..) anything else is just wrong.

Always knife in RH, fork in left. DH and our young DC are the sand.

*same not sand

LH here; fork left, knife right. Husband and daughter both RH, same.
Spoon left for me, right for Husband and Daughter

@GertrudeKerfuffle

I'm mixed-handed (not fully ambidextrous) and hold the knife in my right. My nana who was also mixed-handed held the knife in her left.

DH - who is American - does the weird swap thing where he chops his food with his knife in his right hand, then ditches the knife and swaps the fork to the right, then swapping back when he needs the knife again. Seems like hard work to me, but it is an American thing apparently

None of my American family do this. However right-handed DS eats with fork in right hand and knife in left.

He also deals cards with his left hand, and I vaguely recall he plays hockey with a stick for a lefty. I guess he’s somewhat ambidextrous?

It’s not “table manners” it’s just twattery from people who need to get a life!

I am right handed and I use my fork in my right hand. It feels right to me and I’m not changing for my snobby in laws.
Come at me bro!

Can someone tell me why it's so bad and why it's bad table manners to eat with the fork in the right hand and knife in the left hand? Just because isn't an acceptable answer.

In was taught that it is fork in left hand and knife in right
Am right handed

I would never comment but I do get that nails on a blackboard feeling when I see people hold their knife like a pen.

It's not even about manners really, it's just a really affected way of eating (like sticking your little finger out whilst drinking tea) that makes no logistical sense.

You can't get proper purchase on your knife to cut food properly so I see people tearing up their food because they can't cut it.

I'm prepared to be flamed but it drives me nuts!

On the other side I completely understand why left handed people want to use their knife in their dominant hand and it doesn't bother me at all.

I also spent a lot of time in the US for work and it's a norm there to cut food then abandon the knife and eat the rest of the meal with the fork in the dominant hand.

I don't "get it" in the sense that it reminds me of cutting up food for toddlers and as an adult I don't want a plate full of "chopped" food - and for it to be going cold as it's "attacked", but it doesn't grate on me and I appreciate it's a cultural norm there and they probably think I'm odd as I hold my cutlery different the proper way

@duvetstealer

Can someone tell me why it's so bad and why it's bad table manners to eat with the fork in the right hand and knife in the left hand? Just because isn't an acceptable answer.

Because most people are right handed.

Thus it makes sense the knife is in your dominant hand to exert the most pressure when cutting.

It therefore became the "right" (pun intentional) way to eat.

In reality it makes sense for left handed people to reverse this.

There is however a base logic in using your strongest hand to wield the knife.