Keeping Kitchen Knives Sharpened
- 13 years ago
Keeping Kitchen Knives Sharpened - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats.
One of the most important tools in your kitchen is a sharp knife. If you do not have anything else, a sharp knife will get you through any task. So, you want to make sure that you keep them nice and sharp. Now, a good way to do that is, first of all, do not keep them in a drawer. If you have to keep your knives in a drawer, always make sure that you get knives with a cover, that way their blade stays nice and protected. When a knife sits in a drawer it will bang against other things and will lose it is sharpness. So, make sure that you keep it nice and sharp.
I, personally, have a magnetic strip on my wall and I keep my knives on the magnetic strip. It is very strong. They stay out of the way, and they are nicely displayed, so I can easily grab what I need when I need it. Now, a nice sharp knife, you can definitely also have a plastic cover that you can buy at any cooking supply store. It has a little notch at the bottom here, and you just slide the knife right into it. This will keep your knife nice and protected.
I also think a knife block is a great way to keep your knives, or they make flat knife blocks that slide into a drawer. So, you can keep your knives separated and sharp. If you keep your knives keep your knives in a drawer they can move around and become dull. You can also reach into the drawer not knowing a knife is there, and cut yourself. So, it is very dangerous.
Another important part about keeping your knives sharp, do not put them in the sink. Also a safety hazard because you can reach into the sink and grab a sharp knife without knowing it. When you have a dirty knife, clean it and dry it and put it away right away. Or, put it on the counter next to the sink so that it stays nice and separate and it is safe and out of the way. This will keep your knives sharp at all times.
Another part of keeping your knives nice and sharp is using this. It is called a steel or a honer. Mine is quite big, but you can have a smaller one, and they often come with your knife set. So, definitely get it. Now, this does not actually keep your knives sharp, but what it does is realign the metal. When you sharpen your knives you actually scrape away the metal to create a new blade, to create a new wedge and a new sharpness. With the steel, you take the existing metal and you realign it so it is straight and it works really well.
You want to make sure that you use your steel before or after every job, and that will keep your knife in tip top shape. Now, it is easy to use a steel. When you are first starting out, you can put this steel tip side down and take your knife. You want to draw it along the edge of the steel and at about a 20 degree angle. Very slowly, moving from the bottom to the top, just like this. Now again, this will realign the blade, and it will be easier to cut. As you get better, you can tip the steel upside down, like this, and do the same action from this angle. It might seem scary at first, but they always come with a little finger guard and if you work at the top of the steel, you will not be so close to your hand. So, always make sure that you hone your knives, and you can also get them professionally sharpened.
Now, you can sharpen your knives at home with an electric sharpener, or some knives, like this one, come with a little sharpener that looks like this. Now, you can see inside the sharpener there are two stone wheels that are set at an angle and this angle is specifically for American or German made knives. If you have a Japanese style knife, like this, the angle of the blade is actually different, and you want to take that to a professional who can sharpen Japanese knives.
That is very important, because if you try to sharpen your own Japanese knife on a sharpener that is set for a German or American made knife, you will ruin it. So, make sure that you know what you are doing. Now, you can see these little wheels are at an angle, but what I am going to do is draw my knife straight through them. They are designed for the proper angle on this knife, and just a few passes will sharpen my knife and keep it in tip top shape. This convenient little item sits in my drawer and my knife is always good to go.
So, you always want to keep your knives super sharp. They are one of your most important tools in the kitchen. When you have dull knives the work becomes difficult, and you just do not like it as much. So, when you can cut easily, things go a lot faster, you are a lot more efficient, and you have a much more fun time. A couple places for you to get your knives sharpened are a local knife sharpener. There is one at my farmer’s market who comes with a wheel, and he does a perfect job on everything. But, something you may not have thought of, is who else needs to keep things sharp? Your hairdresser, those scissors can get dull. They use sharpeners to sharpen all their scissors. So, ask your hairdresser where she gets her scissors sharpened, and they will surely be able to sharpen your knives, as well. That is an excellent tip.
Now, the final thing I want to talk about is this little guy. He is our carving fork. It is something you do not always think about having, but it is an important part of carving a large roast on Thanksgiving, or at the holidays, or anytime of the year, really. So, you want to make sure that these two prongs stay nice and sharp. They can really hurt you. A great way to do that is just with a regular wine cork. Just go ahead and stick it right on top of the fork, and it will stay sharp, ready just in time for Thanksgiving. Those are my tips on how to keep a knife nice and sharp. They are the most important tools in your kitchen, so do not neglect it.
One of the most important tools in your kitchen is a sharp knife. If you do not have anything else, a sharp knife will get you through any task. So, you want to make sure that you keep them nice and sharp. Now, a good way to do that is, first of all, do not keep them in a drawer. If you have to keep your knives in a drawer, always make sure that you get knives with a cover, that way their blade stays nice and protected. When a knife sits in a drawer it will bang against other things and will lose it is sharpness. So, make sure that you keep it nice and sharp.
I, personally, have a magnetic strip on my wall and I keep my knives on the magnetic strip. It is very strong. They stay out of the way, and they are nicely displayed, so I can easily grab what I need when I need it. Now, a nice sharp knife, you can definitely also have a plastic cover that you can buy at any cooking supply store. It has a little notch at the bottom here, and you just slide the knife right into it. This will keep your knife nice and protected.
I also think a knife block is a great way to keep your knives, or they make flat knife blocks that slide into a drawer. So, you can keep your knives separated and sharp. If you keep your knives keep your knives in a drawer they can move around and become dull. You can also reach into the drawer not knowing a knife is there, and cut yourself. So, it is very dangerous.
Another important part about keeping your knives sharp, do not put them in the sink. Also a safety hazard because you can reach into the sink and grab a sharp knife without knowing it. When you have a dirty knife, clean it and dry it and put it away right away. Or, put it on the counter next to the sink so that it stays nice and separate and it is safe and out of the way. This will keep your knives sharp at all times.
Another part of keeping your knives nice and sharp is using this. It is called a steel or a honer. Mine is quite big, but you can have a smaller one, and they often come with your knife set. So, definitely get it. Now, this does not actually keep your knives sharp, but what it does is realign the metal. When you sharpen your knives you actually scrape away the metal to create a new blade, to create a new wedge and a new sharpness. With the steel, you take the existing metal and you realign it so it is straight and it works really well.
You want to make sure that you use your steel before or after every job, and that will keep your knife in tip top shape. Now, it is easy to use a steel. When you are first starting out, you can put this steel tip side down and take your knife. You want to draw it along the edge of the steel and at about a 20 degree angle. Very slowly, moving from the bottom to the top, just like this. Now again, this will realign the blade, and it will be easier to cut. As you get better, you can tip the steel upside down, like this, and do the same action from this angle. It might seem scary at first, but they always come with a little finger guard and if you work at the top of the steel, you will not be so close to your hand. So, always make sure that you hone your knives, and you can also get them professionally sharpened.
Now, you can sharpen your knives at home with an electric sharpener, or some knives, like this one, come with a little sharpener that looks like this. Now, you can see inside the sharpener there are two stone wheels that are set at an angle and this angle is specifically for American or German made knives. If you have a Japanese style knife, like this, the angle of the blade is actually different, and you want to take that to a professional who can sharpen Japanese knives.
That is very important, because if you try to sharpen your own Japanese knife on a sharpener that is set for a German or American made knife, you will ruin it. So, make sure that you know what you are doing. Now, you can see these little wheels are at an angle, but what I am going to do is draw my knife straight through them. They are designed for the proper angle on this knife, and just a few passes will sharpen my knife and keep it in tip top shape. This convenient little item sits in my drawer and my knife is always good to go.
So, you always want to keep your knives super sharp. They are one of your most important tools in the kitchen. When you have dull knives the work becomes difficult, and you just do not like it as much. So, when you can cut easily, things go a lot faster, you are a lot more efficient, and you have a much more fun time. A couple places for you to get your knives sharpened are a local knife sharpener. There is one at my farmer’s market who comes with a wheel, and he does a perfect job on everything. But, something you may not have thought of, is who else needs to keep things sharp? Your hairdresser, those scissors can get dull. They use sharpeners to sharpen all their scissors. So, ask your hairdresser where she gets her scissors sharpened, and they will surely be able to sharpen your knives, as well. That is an excellent tip.
Now, the final thing I want to talk about is this little guy. He is our carving fork. It is something you do not always think about having, but it is an important part of carving a large roast on Thanksgiving, or at the holidays, or anytime of the year, really. So, you want to make sure that these two prongs stay nice and sharp. They can really hurt you. A great way to do that is just with a regular wine cork. Just go ahead and stick it right on top of the fork, and it will stay sharp, ready just in time for Thanksgiving. Those are my tips on how to keep a knife nice and sharp. They are the most important tools in your kitchen, so do not neglect it.