Knife assembly for cutting a food product

Abstract

A knife blade and knife blade assembly are disclosed for cutting food products into sticks or slices without causing surface cracking. The knife blade has a cutting portion defining a cutting edge and is mounted in the knife assembly such that a tension force is exerted on the knife blade in the plane of the cutting edge. The cutting edge of the knife blade is not sharp, but is generally flat and extends between parallel sides of the knife blade. The individual knife blades are formed of stainless steel and are electro-polished to remove any surface defects or sharp edges which may produce stress concentrations. This enables a significant tension force to be applied to the knife blade without diminishing its useful life. The electro-polishing process may also round off the corners of the juncture between the flat cutting edge and the parallel knife blade sides.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.