We all are guilty of abusing our kitchen utensils.  We use butter knives and forks to pry open stubborn soup cans and our rolling pins to flatten cuts of meat and sometimes bugs.  I know I am guilty of being equally careless with my kitchen knives.  After owning two poor quality kitchen knife sets that did more damage than good, I decided to spend the money to get a quality set of knives that would last.  Imagine my surprise when the instructions of my new set clearly stated that I would still need to do some general maintenance to ensure my quality knife set would last. 

Here’s what I learned:

1. Do not use your kitchen knives on a hard surface.  When cutting vegetables or meat, you should always have a plastic mat or wooden cutting board underneath as the base for your work station. Your knives will dull quicker if it strikes a hard surface over and over again. 
2. NEVER use your knife to pry your way into a tuna can.  Knives are not chisels.
3. As cool as it is to see all of the Food Network personalities do it, it is best not to use the back or side of your knife to smash garlic or herbs.  This can loosen the handle making the knife less sturdy for future use and creates a safety risk in your kitchen.
4. Wash your knives with mild dish soap by hand and dry it with a cotton towel. Always dry your knives right away. Though stainless steel knives are far more resistant to rust, they are not rust proof. The more polished and smooth your kitchen knives are, the less likely they will be to rust.
5. If you are using a knife with a wooden handle, it is best not to soak the knife in water. This can cause the wood to swell and split.
6. Sharpen your knives every few years to ensure their longevity. If you have the skills and equipment to sharpen your own knives, great. Add “sharpen knives” to your spring cleaning to-do list next year. Sharpening your own knives will require a coarse, medium and fine cutting stones or you can purchase a power sharpener and save yourself some time (be warned though, using a power sharpener may void your warranty. Check before using).  If you are like most, you don’t have these things lying around.  There are a number of cutlery stores that provide sharpening services at a reasonable price.  Since you only need to conduct serious sharpening every couple of years, I recommend paying a professional to ensure they are properly honed.

I’ve followed the guidelines I was given for the last year and a half and I am pleased to report that I can still slice ripe tomatoes and carve prime rib with ease.  My knives still shine like the day they were brought home.  The care is simple and the on-going results are outstanding.  The word “maintenance” so often implies drudgery and additional work with little return. In relation to items like kitchen knives however, the return is incredible and, I’d say, dull and dangerous cutlery is the real pain.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 at 12:51 pm and is filed under Kitchen Knives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.