Hollow grinding removes steel behind the edge, leaving a concave face. Two things follow: the edge is thinner and so bites more easily, and the relieved area breaks the suction that makes wet protein stick to a flat blade. On repetitive trimming that is the difference between a clean pass and a stopped one.
Four and a half inches is deliberately short. It is the length for boning quail and poultry thighs, trimming silverskin, working around a shoulder blade, or any cut where you need the tip within an inch or two of your fingers and want the blade to stop where you stop.
Dexter-Russell has made cutlery in Southbridge, Massachusetts since 1818 and is the oldest cutlery manufacturer in the United States. The Sani-Safe line is its NSF-certified foodservice range, built around a textured polypropylene handle moulded to the tang so there is no seam for food to lodge in.
