Ergodrive Electric Knife

For this project, I focused on redesigning a classic electric knife with a process oriented around the ways in which people prepare food, more specifically the way people cut their meat. In the kitchen environment, speed and efficiency are crucial to the success of the meal. If the cooking and preparing process is not precisely executed, sub par food will result. To further complicate the issue, limited countertop space must be considered. In order to design a universal product, I took care to consider the extremes of users – both those cooking in kitchens with virtually no countertop space as well as those with seemingly boundless flat top. In either case the product should satisfy the consumer both when in use as well as when static. The electric knife, which consists of the body and interchangeable blades as well as a power cord, is intended to simply speed up the process of cutting meat or other items. The main functional goals of the knife are to allow for the enjoyment of the food before it gets cold or overcooked, and to add to the aesthetic experience of the food by making cleaner cuts.

To begin, I analyzed the user group for this particular device. After studying the price bracket for the electric knife, the user group has been narrowed down to upper middle class families who take pride in their cooking and will surrender to the persuasion that there is a tool out there that will help their cooking in every way possible. In this case, the traditional sleek, forged, blade knife has been replaced by a bulky, comparatively behemoth electric cutting device. Upon studying the current electric knife model, I noticed that it was unwieldy due to its incorrect center of balance and awkward handle. In addition, its appearance was bland and lacked any design cues associated with a knife or food preparation device. After turning it on, a whole new set of problems was revealed. To begin with, when running, the knife was obnoxiously loud, a characteristic entirely inappropriate for the busy kitchen setting. In addition, compared to the feeling one gets when using a standard knife, the electric knife felt out of control and almost dangerous. Furthermore, the function of the knife while cutting uncovered a fascinating problem. The way in which the base of the knife was designed makes cutting all the way through the food item extremely difficult, as it hits the cutting surface before the blades. Finally, the knife’s attitude while static is one of outdated lackluster, but while running, it becomes a roaring beast that would intimidate the most confident of chefs. The goal of this redesign was to address as many of the aforementioned issues as possible by providing appropriate design remedies for those issues.

The new design can be used in 3 different ways for maximum flexibility. Each grip was ergonomically designed for maximum comfort and safety in mind. Its large handle reduces vibrations and the detachable knife unit allows for easy cleaning. Lastly, the Ergodrive’s charge base doubles as a detachable handle.

This process was a multifaceted one, consisting of exploded view drawings, model-making, orthographic drawings, and a final presentation to a small board of consumer electronics professionals. Throughout this process, knowledge of the user group, human interface, angles and proportions, and the aesthetics of scale relationships aided in the redesign of the electric knife into a desirable modern cutting tool.