How do you care for your kitchen knives?

Whetstone + steel. Do NOT put in dishwasher.

R1 can I handwash them with dish soap?

Drop them off at a store to be professionally sharpened and cleaned. I’m too lazy to do it myself.

R1 aha, glad you responded. I remember seeing the same "do not put in the dishwasher" advice a long time ago on one of these threads and forgot to ask, why? So, what does a dishwasher do to your knife blades that ruins them?

The dishwasher heats the knife up, r4, causing it to lose its edge.

I use one of these sharpeners by Spyderco. It is easy to use, and works great.

The dishwasher is a land of heat and harsh chemicals that can dull the blade, weaken the metal, and destroy the handle

Thank you, R5!

This topic belongs on the UNDERWHELM me thread.

R8 Could be triggering.

Never put knives in the dishwasher, hand wash and dry promptly.

Never use plastic, stone or plastic cutting boards or surfaces, this will dull your knives very quickly.

Do not store knives in those in-drawer organizers, they dull the knife blade.

Only use wood cutting boards but avoid certain hardwoods that can dull the edge like bamboo and acacia wood. Mahogany or cherry is just the right balance of hardness for most knives.

If your knives are Japanese, use soft wood cutting boards only like Hinoki wood and sharpen with a wet stone or a knife shop. Williams Sonoma offers this service.

Avoid using manual sharpeners on Japanese knives, personally I don’t care for them even with my good German knives.

Someone should start a thread-

How do you care for your SEX TOYS?

Just reading r10 exhausts me. I throw mine out and go get new cheap ones. It's not worth hassle to sharpen them and to risk cutting myself.

R12= Roxane Gay

If you are using a whtstone you sharpen wby passing the blade on approx 15-20 degree angle over stone in one motion. You do NOT rub the stone on the blade in a circular motion.

R10

Thank you. That was great information. I've known about the dishwasher issue, but had not really thought about all the rest.

Jeffery dahmer used a grinding wheel , or was that ed gein

Glad to read this information. I was told 17 years ago by my girlfriend’s stepmother “don’t put sharp knives in the dishwasher,” after I had done it, and I was so embarrassed I didn’t even think to ask her to explain why.

I wish people would just instinctively add the explanation when they tell others not to do something. Yes, I know I could just ask, but it seems like anyone giving advice to another person would want to just offer it unprompted. Imagine being a teacher and just expecting your students to do rote memorization all the time, nothing else, no explanation, no actual learning or understanding.

Sorry for the rant, but this is something that’s bothered me for years and I’m very grateful for the posters here who explained more about the care and keeping of sharp knives than anyone else I’ve ever encountered.

I do a few things:

- hand wash

- hang on a magnet tools strip instead of butcher block (have been told removing and putting in isn't good)

- when wiping things to the side, I flip and use the non sharp side

- get them professionally sharpened once a year. I don't use them a lot and one year the knife sharpener said I didn't need it

- I have one if those so-called knife sharpener. My understanding is it's not truly sharpening but it definitely keeps them sharp. They cost around $20

The heat in a dishwasher has absolutely no effect of the sharpness of knives. (A simple google search will verify this) The problem with a dishwasher is that the heavy spray of water and the vibration for nearly an hour run time can cause the knife to hit against other things and chip or damage the blade. So don't put them in the dishwasher for the right reason. That said, don't buy stainless steel knives...they're cheap crap...only buy carbon steel blades, which will hold their sharpness.

We have very good knives, and I take them to a professional knife sharpener once a year. $4 per knife. Well worth the money.

Carbon steel knives keep their edge pretty well and don't need a lot of sharpening, unless you need them ultra sharp for, I don't know, making radish rosettes or something.

R15 You are welcome, I damaged a few knives over the years because I did not know better. R19 explains why you should not put knives in the dishwasher, this is also the reason why you should avoid those in drawer bamboo knife holders, the vibration and movement causes the blades edge to bump into hard surfaces and this leaves to dulling of the blade.

The heat from the dishwasher only affects the handles and rivets over time. A well made handle from material like micarta will hold up well. Wood handles should be dried quickly.

I replaced most of my knives this year, some were over 20 years old and had endured my beginners abuse. In the early years they were put in the dishwasher and drawers and thrown around in the sink. If you don’t have a knife block you can use individual knife guards to place in the drawer. In my experience Wusthof knives held up best.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a good cutting board, I used bamboo for years thinking it was good only to learn how quickly it dulled good knives. I use cherry wood for my German knives since they maintain their edge well and for my Japanese knives I use hinoki which you can buy from shun or Amazon.

Life’s too short not to put knives in the dishwasher even good ones. Put them in the right part of the dishwasher and they won’t knock against other cutlery. Put them through a good quality ceramic knife sharpener regularly and store them in a knife block.

I use this "rollsharp" device. It's pretty cheap. I remove the plastic guide thing, though, when I use it.

I also use a soft (synthetic) cutting board.

Use the back (non-sharp) portion of knife for scraping stuff off the cutting board.

Dishwashers: I always thought the hot water, etc., was bad for the wooden handles, not necessary bad for the metal. But vibrating and knocking around is not good for the knife edge, I'm sure.

Buy a honing steel (not a diamond steel!) preferably manufactured by the same brand as your knife or a company of similar quality. Hone your knives about 5-10 strokes each side before using.

Always wash immediately after use. This can often just be wiping down with a wet rag and drying. Acid from foods, especially onions and garlic, can rust the metal over time.

DO NOT CUT ON METAL. This will instantly kill your blade. Don't cut directly on the table either, or a hard plastic cutting mat. Cutting boards should be made of acrylic and have a slight give when pressed with a blade.

Knives get dull when the razor edge begins to curl under do to being pressed against a flat surface. Regular honing slows that process down. Eventually micro chips will break off of the edge and you'll need to sharpen with a whetstone.

Btw OP, hinoki is Japanese cypress. So the cutting board should be made of cypress.

[quote]How do you care for your kitchen knives?

I try not to break the tips on bone.

Slash, don't stick.