bladeage's thread got me thinking about another right-left handedness topic I'm curious about... When you're eating food with a fork and knife, how do you go about doing it? From what I understand, it's customary in America to cut with your right, then switch hands and also use the fork with your right. In Europe, apparently it's customary to cut with your right and use your fork with your left hand. I myself am a right-handed guy who cuts his food with his left hand. Always have... that's just the way I learned. I actually have trouble cutting my food with my right if I try. I'm told this is very odd. How about everyone else?
If I eat something that needs cutting, I cut with the right hand and tend to then leave the fork in my left hand for eating. Otherwise, the fork is generally in the right hand.
I use chopsticks. When I eat steak....... fork in left hand... knife in right hand. And then I do the old switch-a-roo of the fork and knife. By the way I'm right handed. I thought most people that are right handed do what I do.
I'm a lefty, so I eat with my left, but I was raised to cut food with my right (My dad is Emily Post's second biggest follower (his mom's the first))
This is the "proper" etiquette. If I'm by myself, I may not do it that way. But in public (restaurant, eating with others), I do it the "proper" way.
I always found this slightly ridiculous myself, even knowing it's supposedly the norm. The switching just seems so unnecessary to me. It seems to make much more sense for people to train themselves such that one hand doesn't have to do everything.
Only in America (not England). But this is pretty antiquated. Leftys are not required to do this. I already cut with my right and eat with my left.
Setting the knife down & switching hands also causes you to eat more slowly. "Never chew with the knife in your hand" is what I was taught growing up. More US Americans should try this.
...but that greatly, GREATLY decreases my chances of being successful in my attempts to suddenly stab someone while in mid-chew. Unacceptable, I say.
I knife with right and fork with left. If it's a formal situation (banquets and such) I do it the "proper" way.
i'm right handed i cut with my left and eat with my right....I am having doubts though if I was naturally right handed or forced into being right handed I do a lot of things with my left hand (sports for one) i need to take one of those drawing tests.
I dont see a point to have to switch utensils for every bite. I cut with my left and eat with my right
Apparently there are more cut-with-the-left, fork-with-the-righters than I've been led to believe. Now I don't feel like such a freak... yay. Though I realize I should've added more options to the poll, where you can specify if you're right or left-handed. That would've made it more interesting.
