Top 3 Ways To Make Your Knives Last Longer
If there’s an easy way to invite a kitchen nightmare or create a recipe for a hazardous disaster in your kitchen, it’s this: Working with a dull knife.
That’s right, not only does it pose a big risk because you’re way more likely to hurt yourself with a dull blade than a sharp one, it sucks an extra bit of your time and energy to get your slicing, dicing, chopping, and mincing done.
For something as essential as your kitchen knives, they need some love and care if you wish to get the most out of them in terms of both, performance and longevity. If that makes you wonder — “great, that adds another chore to my list”, here’s the good news for you: It doesn’t take a lot to keep your knives at their sharpest best.
With little tweaks in your kitchen habit, you can prolong the life of your chef knives and even make them last a lifetime. Here are three of the most important ones.
Wash and dry immediately after use
If you’re someone who leaves their knives hanging around in the sink for hours after use, you need to stop doing that right away. Keeping a knife in contact with water for long periods will not only damage the steel blade but also the handle if it’s made of wood.
It’s equally damaging to keep a knife unwashed for too long after use because the acid, organic substance, and chemicals from food can corrode its blade.
Also, avoid putting them in dishwashers. The harsh detergent can pit the steel of your knives, while the motion of a dishwasher can chip the blades.
The best way to clean your knives is by hand, using a mild soap and soft sponge. Avoid abrasives and hard scrubs.
As a general rule of thumb, make sure to wipe your knives dry right after they are washed.
Doing these two steps after every use will hardly take a minute or two but it will significantly extend the lifespan of your knives.
Store them properly
We often tend to stash our knives with cutlery. That’s a big no-no. To keep your knives in tip-top shape, store them in a separate drawer, away from the rest of your kitchen utensils.
But the best ways to store them are using a knife holder block (preferably made of wood) or a magnetic knife rack. However, you choose to store them, make sure they are safely out of the reach of children.
Always use a wooden chopping board
A wooden board is your knife’s best friend. It is sturdy and doesn’t damage the steel blades. You might not feel like pulling out your chopping board always, but remember every time your knife makes a contact with hard surfaces like marble, ceramic, or metal, it’s causing its sharp edge to dull quicker than you’d want.
Bonus tip: Use a honing steel
Honing steel or rod can help maintain an even sharpness along the blade of your knife. It’s different from a sharpening tool in that it chips off minute bits of steel to retain an even edge as opposed to grinding them. Watch this quick video to learn honing your knives the right way from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey.
Lastly, it’s a great idea to give your knives a professional tune-up at least once a year from knife maintenance experts like KnifeCare Australia to keep them looking and performing like new for years.
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