Keeping your knives from dulling will depend on many different factors. Many chefs will say that the most dangerous kitchen tool in a kitchen is going to be a dull blade or knife. When you use a dull knife, you run the risk of the knife working improperly and possibly ruining the food you are trying to cut or even worse, cutting or hurting yourself in the process.

It is very important to keep your blades and knives sharp in the kitchen at all times. This will protect yourself from the knives and also keep the knives in good working condition as well as keep them in good shape so they will last longer than they should. You should exercise proper care for your knives on a daily basis especially if you are using them constantly.

You should also make sure to sharpen them on a regular basis to ensure they stay sharp and cut through anything you intend them to. In this article we will go over some tips and tricks to help you keep your knives in a good quality standing and keep them from dulling or losing their edge.

Proper care for your knives

Caring for your knives is very important to make sure they last forever. There is no need to either keep buying knives because you decided to not take care of your knives or let your current knives decrease in value or functionality.

Washing and cleaning your knives

The most important rule of caring for your knife is to make sure that after you are done with the knife, you clean it properly, thoroughly and the right way. No matter the type of knife, they should never be placed in the dishwasher, even if they say that they can be ran in the dishwasher. Cleaning your knives in the dishwasher will cause the handles to crack and break as well as dull the blade. It will also cause the blade to lose its edge and become dull over time.

Knives should always be washed by hand with warm water and soap. You can use a sponge or a non-abrasive scrubber to clean them, just don’t use steel wool or anything that may damage the blade when washing them.

Using your knives correctly

When using your knives, make sure that you are using them in the correct way or that you are using the right knife for the job. If you don’t follow these parameters, it could compromise the integrity of the blade.

Cutting on the right surfaces

When you use your knives to cut anything, it is important to use the right surface. Make sure to always use a cutting board when cutting anything with your knives. Make sure to use the right cutting board as well. Some plastic and synthetic cutting boards are color coded to ensure you cut the right product on the right cutting board. For instance: red boards are for raw meat, green boards are for vegetables and blue boards are for cutting fish and shellfish. Try to avoid using glass cutting boards for they will damage the knife and ruin the edge of the blade every time.

Be sure to use the right knife for the job

There are many different types of knives in many styles and there is a reason for that. Not all knives are created equal and you must use the right knife for the right job. You wouldn’t use a boning knife to cut vegetables and potatoes because they are meant to be used to filet fish and de-bone chickens. While some knives may be able to handle some other types of jobs, that doesn’t mean that they should be used in that way. Using them for other purposes will in turn ruin the edge of the blade or further damage the knife.

Sharpening and honing your knives

When your knives lose their edge and become dull, they will need to be sharpened to ensure they work every time and will keep you safe while they are in use. There are plenty of different methods and devices to help you sharpen your blade’s edge, just make sure to use them properly.

Honing rods or sharpening steel

This kitchen tool looks like a dowel rod with a handle at the end and is used to fine tune or hone the edge of the blade. They come in most knife sets or tin the knife block. This tool should be used to fine sharpen the chef knife every time before using it to ensure the edge of the blade is sharp and ready to be used.

Whetstone

A whetstone or a sharpening stone is the most common and oldest method of sharpening your knives. They are used to actually sharpen the edge of the knife and make it sharp once again. They come in many different grits of roughness or softness. The larger the grit will be rougher if the blade is very dull and needs to be worked out. If the grit is smoother, it is used to hone the edge of the blade once it has been sharpened.

Electric and manual knife sharpeners

These types of sharpeners are used to also sharpen and hone the edge of the knife but are not really used by chefs. They are used more commonly by knife sharpening companies and home cooks. The electric knife sharpeners are intended for sharpening dozens of knives daily and can change the size of the grit just like a belt sander. Manual sharpeners are a small tool that the knife passes through to sharpen or hone the edge of the knife. They are very inexpensive but are not as accurate as many other methods of sharpening knives.

Storing your knives properly and safely

After using your knives, it is important that they be stored away properly. If they are placed in a drawer with many other objects or in some other way, it will in turn damage the blade and the knife. Make sure to use a proper storing device for your blades when not in use.

Magnetic knife holder

Using a magnetic knife holder to store your knives is one of the best ways to keep them safe and stored properly. They are usually attached to the wall where knives can be placed against them and will stay in place until they are to be used again. It keeps the knives stored properly and makes it very easy for the cook or chef to access them when they need to use them.

Knife sheath and knife blocks

These types of storing devices will usually come with the knife when you purchase them or a set of knives. Sheaths are used to store a single blade safely and keep it safe from any other elements that may harm the blade like water, rust or corrosion. Knife blocks are used to store whole set of knives or a few knives at one time. They usually come with the set when you purchase them but you can buy them separately and most knife blocks will fit all sizes and shapes of knives. They keep them stored properly and safely away from children. Some have other features that lock the blades in place once set in or have a cover to keep out unwanted moisture and dust.

Conclusion
The most important thing to take away from this article is to take care of your knives. Knives can be rather expensive so it is important you take good care of them so they last forever. It is also important to make sure that they keep their edge sharp. This will help you to do your job better and efficiently while also keeping you safe in the long run.