A small indent or notch near the blade of a knife, located where the blade meets the handle, designed to improve grip and control.
From uncertain origin; possibly from Scandinavian or Germanic sources. The term became common in knife-making terminology in the 20th century.
Knife makers discovered that the choil—this tiny notch—fundamentally changed how humans could grip and control blades, representing an ergonomic principle that had existed for centuries but was unnamed until modern cutlery design.
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