Getting a Grip

After watching a video that was recommended to me in my feed back that showed OXO coming up with a concept for a peeler that was designed to be comfortable for someone suffering from arthritis, I was inspired to create a handle that would be perfect for children and allow them to feel confident when using a knife. During the video there is a scene with many handle interactions mostly made from industrial foam and I have taken this Idea and developed multiple handle prototypes in a similar way in order to test them with children and see what is the most preferable design.

One of my favourite concepts for the handles is one that guides the users hand into the position that is not common with every day users but is a position that many professional chefs adopt when chopping. This position changes where the weight is applied on the knife and as a lack of strength often hinders a child's experience when chopping hard produce like apples or carrots it may be interesting to see if this handle would increase productivity and enjoyment.

A second iteration that I am considering developing further involves a see-saw-like addition to a handle that would allow the user to keep their hand stationary and simply tilt the handle in a rocking motion to chop. This concept would reduce unnecessary movement of the knife and the child would become familiar with the limited range of movement.

Along with the adaptation of the handle I am investigating the knife blade further and I am still interested in developing a form of guard over the blade that would only reveal the blade when consciously using the knife. Although I haven't explored this very far yet I would like to come up with a way that the blade is covered automatically when the knife is not in use in order to reduce accident in scenarios such as dropping the knife or moving around the kitchen holding it in an unsafe manner.

For my mark one prototype will show my selection of handles (including the ones described above) that will be ready to test with my users, CAD drawings of concepts and hand drawn concepts. I will also have a concept for a coping board that could work in harmony with the knife I am developing.