What is the benefit of using a Mezzaluna Knife over a traditional knife

Question

These seem popular in many modern knife sets, and I have seen them used (somewhat clumsily) in Europe.

I have briefly tried some before, but couldn't see the benefit of it. But then again no one seemed to know how to use it correctly

Does anyone actually use these to good effect? If so, what is actually gained over a normal knife?

Which type (single or double blade) and size does this apply to?

Examples:

Asked by TFD

Answer

Advantages

• no hand needed to hold the food, therefore safer for children or those lacking knife skills
• quicker for those lacking knife skills
• no need for gloves when cutting foods that can irritate the skin, like chillies.

Disadvantages

• Awkward and dangerous to wash in between the blades for the double-blade version.
• Difficult to store safely
• A unitasker really only suited for chopping herbs and spices. The most common items chopped in many cuisines, onion and garlic, would require rough chopping first with a traditional knife, making it hardly worth it.
• Inhibits the development of valuable knife skills.

Answered by jontyc

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