Unfortunately I'm alone here and I’ve got only 2 hands, so it's difficult to take a photo because I need both hands to open the beast... So, I typed “opening oysters” on Google and then “images” but there’s not a single photo of somebody opening them the way I do! They all aim their knife to their hand holding the oyster, which is dangerous because if the knife slips sideways, its tip goes straight in the holding hand…
Most use a towel, which is not only unnecessary but also an hassle.
I think Van does it the same way than I, but I’m not sure.
First, put the animal on a plate, with the tip (hinge) pointing at you and the domed half-shell down — the flat half-shell up. Now you just hold the oyster inclined at about 45° by its hinge side with 3 fingers of your left hand, in the way that the thrust of your knife will react on the plate, not on your left hand. With your oyster knife in the right hand, you insert it at the jointure between the half shells, at about the middle of the oyster length. The tip of the knife should be facing the adductor muscle of the animal (with an angle that aims it away of your left hand), so by thrusting it inside and then varying its angle, you cut that muscle. Now, you can twist the knife to use it as a lever to force the thing open. Ok ?
For very large ones, it could be difficult to find the jointure between the half shells and to push the knife inside. In such a case, I make a flat spot by banging with the back of a bigger knife, so that I’ll be able to insert the oyster knife on that tiny white flat.
