Why a fork in the left hand?

[eleanswers]

Why is the norm for a right handed person to hold their dining fork in their left hand? It doesn't make sense when this is the tool that does the most precision work & also rises to and from the mouth. I'm right handed but stab myself all over my face when I try to use my fork in my left hand. And I will add that a spoon that does similar work to the fork yet is held in the right hand of right handed person, so why not the fork too? Who decided it was 'proper' to have a fork in the left hand. Which is more comfortable to you. I'd like to hear some views. Thanks.

[Llamatron]

Use of the knife requires force and a certain amount of care therefore if you're right handed then the right hand is best.

[bensmum]

I think it's a matter of choice now. I'm right handed but I always use my knife in my left hand and fork in the right.

[wizard69]

have to agree eleanswers. I'v never understood how right handed people use the fork in the left hand, I find it impossible to eat that way

[rabbitygirl]

My husband is right handed but was taught how to use a knife and fork as a child by his left handed Dad. So he uses the tools the wrong way round - or does he?

[jno]

I'm with Llamatron. Knives are tricky and even dangerous; use them with the hand you have the best control over.

[joko]

i would say a knife does more 'precision work' than a fork.

a fork will usually just sit there being filled by the knife. the knife has to position ans secure food onto the fork. the fork then just goes tothe mpouth.

if you eat something without a knife, just fork, you will invariably use your right hand, as it has to act as both

[chakka35]

I agree that the knife does the most important work.

Also, centuries ago the only implement was a knife, used both for cutting and for transfer to the mouth. This would naturally be held in the right hand (by a r-h person). As a newcomer, the fork, equally naturally, took up station in the unoccupied hand.

[Thunderbird+]

I'm a left handed person and was brought up to use the fork in my left hand and obviously I've got used to that but it does sometimes feel unatural and I do occaisionslly pick them up the other way round.
When I look at the way a right hand drive car is layed out I often think it was designed for left handed people, as most of the controls, gears etc are on the left.
I think a lot of it though was borne out of superstition rather than table manners, the devil apparently is always depicted as left handed, so it made sence in the dim and distant past to convert to the fork in the left hand to avoid being accused of witch craft and end up being burnt at the stake.

Driving on the left, I'am told, all go's back to the days when it was advantagous to carry your sword in the right hand, (as most people are right handed) when walking down a road, the idea being that you could better defend yourself if you should meet the enemy coming the other way.
Sorry for going off at a tangent, thats another thing lefties tend to do.

[nuoyg]

Call me a wild child but I am right handed and use my left hand for my fork.

[eleanswers]

Thanks for your views. I conclude people are comfortable with which ever way they chose.
Thank you chakka, your answer give a logical explanation to my question.
Thunderbird I have to disagree with the driving theory. Being right handed it's important to me to have my better hand on the wheel at all times. I've struggled in a left handed vehicle. My left handed boyfriend, changes gear with his good hand & the car goes all over the road. Again I think it comes down to individuality.
Thanks again it's always bothered me, but no more.

[snug]

With half apologies to cuddy wifters, the others who can't use a knife & fork properly can only be called "cack handed".
As has been said; knives were used before forks, so forks filled the unused hand. Logic really AND of course good manners.

[missrandom]

depends if you are cutting, then yes i hold my fork in my left hand. if i am "scooping" (lol!), then i hold it in my right!!

[eleanswers]

snug, you may be mistaken for snob. Good manners!! I ask you, what kind of person would judge another on manners for the hand in which a fork is held? Good manners, good grief!

[THECORBYLOON]

I'm right-handed (r-h) and use ma right hand for ma fork. I've noticed that most r-h folk wear a watch on their left wrist but I have it on ma right. I also stir ma tea ant-clockwise while most r-h folk do it the opposite way.

[joko]

eleanswers - thunderbird is correct in the driving issue - though it stems from before cars were invented.

it is from the days of dirt roads and people travelling on foot or horse or cart etc.
it was considered safest to travel past strangers with your right hand side nearest to the strangers in order to protect yourself if necessary - draw your sword, pull a dagger etc.
it has simply stuck as the side we ride on, and thats why we still ride on the left.

[chakka35]

Another reason why we all drove on the left is because a gentleman wore his sword on the left and therefore mounted his horse on the left-hand side so that the sword didn't get in the way. If he then wanted to go the way the horse was pointing it made sense to stay on the left rather than cross the road.

It was Napoleon who messed things up by decreeing - purely to show who was boss - that all the countries he'd conquered should thenceforth drive on the right. We were not conquered, so still - proudly - drive on the left.

If cars had just been invented and we had to make a choice from scratch then we would undoubtedly opt for right-hand-drive cars, driving on the left. This is because by far the most important action in driving is steering, which you must pay attention to every second. So a right-handed person should steer with his right hand, using the left for subsidiary things like gear-changing, etc.

[brionon]

You Can buy left-handed Forks.

[brionon]

Would you believe -'Right-Handed '?

[eleanswers]

I agree Thunderbird was correct in his answer. What I disagreed with was his notion that right handed cars were designed for left handed people as all the controls are on the left.
I disagree; using your good hand to steer the vehicle is surely more important than reaching for the gear stick. My left handed boyfriend can't steer with his right hand and scares me to death everytime he goes to change gear with his good left hand.
Thanks all for your input.

[snug]

Snob I am most certainly not. But, there are certain standards which make us a civilised people. Once those standards get lost we descend into chaos. Good manners, etiquette, sense of dress make decent people & society. Along with that comes respect for ones self and others, which is sadly lacking today. It is the small things like being able to use a knife and fork correctly, giving up ones seat for a lady or elderly person, holding a door open for someone etc etc etc.
Or, perhaps you don't mind being barged out of the way, or someone queue jumping, or smoking over your dinner etc etc etc.
It is the way I was brought up by (hard) working class Grandparents. It makes me somewhat Victorian in my ways but respectful to others no matter what their station in life.