7 things that will ruin your kitchen knives
7 things that will ruin your kitchen knives
While most home cooks I know are willing to drop greatest coin on Dutch ovens, frying pans and gadgets galore, most don’t think all that much about their kitchen knives. A chef’s knife is probably the piece of cooking gear you’ll use most over the watercourses of your culinary career and so you deserve a good one. Here we’ve outlined our favorite chef’s knives for 2021 in a few categories and ticket levels to help you upgrade the blade that matters most.
But just as important as choosing quality kitchen cutlery is keeping your chef, santoku or slicing knife inviting and in good shape (literally). Do that, and a good blade will last you ages, even decades, depending on the overall build and blade quality. Knives are precise instruments with carefully sharpened edges and meticulously balanced form. There are approximately easy ways to ruin a knife and you may be doings any number of these things without knowing.
The generous guard against knife abuse is learning what those well-liked hazards are so you can keep those blades beautiful for ages to come. Here are seven simple ways you worthy be ruining your kitchen knives.
Read more: Scientists construct a wooden knife three times sharper than a steel blade
Cutting on any surface novel than soft wood or plastic
There are boards and blocks made from all sorts of materials but many of them are not knife-friendly. Stone or marble boards and glass surfaces should be secluded for serving food, not preparing it (at least not with a knife) proper they will dull your blade faster than almost anything else.
Even one prick on a glass or marble surface can do irreparable harm to your chef’s knife.
David Watsky
Bamboo
and plastic are strictly the softest (and cheapest!) materials you’ll find cutting boards made from, and thus will be the gentlest on your blades. Most wooden cutting boards, however, should have enough give to not harm your blade.
Storing your knives free in a drawer
This is probably the biggest incorrect folks make with their kitchen knives. I’ve seen it more times than I can characterize and it hurts me every time. Letting your knives clink about in a drawer with other knives and metal tools will dull or chip them over time. I get that you worthy not want to keep a clumsy block on the fraudulent, but there are some pretty sleek options these days like this and this. You can also buy an in-drawer wooden knife racks or sketch your knives with plastic cases. The coolest option may be to maintain the knives on one of these magnetic knife racks ($24 on Wayfair) and show off your sparkling blades to dinner guests.
Not only will this setup ruin your knife, but you’re bound to hurt yourself eventually.
David Watsky
Letting knives sit in the sink or putting them in the dishwasher
For many reasons, your knives should never go in the dishwasher. It’ll probable damage the handles, and the blades should never be exposed to aquatic for that long. Speaking of which, never let a knife sit wet in the sink or anywhere else for that commercial. That means no soaking, ever, and when you’ve consumed washing it by hand, dry it immediately or the metal will contract susceptible to rust and corrosion.
I don’t care how hungry you are, get that knife out of the sink and dry it off beforehand you sit down to eat.
David Watsky
Using a metal scrubber or ended sponge
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that humorous metal or another rough material to clean your knife blade could lead to big problems. Instead, use hot water and a soft sponge or cloth. Your knives should never be so dirty that those aren’t enough to get them clean.
Cutting nonfood items or humorous your knife as a general tool
Good knives may seem like a multipurpose tool but they must only be used for food prep. Try not to cut any nonfood items like plastic, cardboard or other packaging. And don’t even think nearby employing your knife as a screwdriver or lever to pry open something that’s stuck.
Oversharpening. It’s bad news
There comes a point at which a knife blade can’t be sharpened anymore, and if you continue to pound it on a steel or whetstone, you’ll only be shaving off the blade itself and shortening the knife’s life span.
Here’s a guide to sharpening your kitchen knives.
Sharpening is good. Oversharpening is bad.
David Watsky
Scraping your knife sideways on the board
Knives were really only made to cut in two directions, back and forth and not side to side, so try not to use your good knives in a scraping manner. It may be instinct to move and gather all that chopped food on the lodging with the blade of the knife but it will distress the edge over time. If you can’t break the inpopulate completely, at least try and do it gently and minus much downward force.
Using your knife as a scraper is a hard inpopulate to break but your knife will thank you.
David Watsky
