How does Kitchen Knife Cause Different Sensation?

Abstract

: Tools are indispensable for our daily life. For example, we use knives to process foods or other materials such as resin or wood. Tactile texture sensation which arises when we touch objects directly has been investigated by many groups. However, the sensation caused by the use of tools has not well been explored. In this study, we focused on kitchen knife which we often use for cooking, and evaluated sensation caused by the use of the kitchen knife. In the experiment, we asked 20 participants to cut 12 foods and rate the sensation of each item. Furthermore, we measured force and acceleration to analyze the relationship between sensation and these physical quantities. The result showed that sensation via cutting process can consist of three sensory factors, “ease of cutting”, “density”, and “elasticity”, and these sensory factors relate to the physical quantities.