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How to Take Care of Your Knives – Tips from a Pro

September 5, 2011 By Lisa Rose 17 Comments

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Professional Knife Sharpening

A few weeks ago, I had my knives professionally sharpened – in my driveway. Gary, from Gary’s Knife Sharpening Service, sharpens knives at various Los Angeles farmer’s markets. Lucky for me, he also does house calls.

My knives are the most used tools in my kitchen. Most of my food preparation involves peeling, chopping, cutting, and slicing whole food ingredients like vegetables, fruits, and meats.

Though I have a favorite tool to keep my knives sharp, I do like having them professionally sharpened once a year or so. Sharp knives make food prep much faster and smoother.

Gary shared with me his top knife care tips over the grinding buzz of steel on stone. He set up a makeshift workspace in my driveway using a folding table and a generator for his sharpening wheel. Then he started the two step process for each knife,  sharpening – breaking metal and reshaping, and honing – aligning the edge.

And in complete defiance to big city living – we were in my driveway after all – he also shared his life story and his overnight transition to becoming a professional knife sharpener after a vivid daydream from his childhood.

         Gary's Knife Sharpening Service Checking my Knives   Gary, Professional Knife Sharpener, Giving Tips

Gary impressed me with his commitment to service and honesty (he’ll blatantly tell you not to spend $3 sharpening a $.99 knife).

You can also learn a lot from a knife sharpener with no previous knowledge in the field who used life experience and passion to spend his days doing something he enjoys.

Gary’s Tips for Taking Care of Your Knives

1. Use Wooden Cutting Boards

A wood surface is more forgiving than plastic on your knife’s edge. And maple is a better option than bamboo – it’s a softer surface. And always use a cutting board! Your marble counter is your knife’s worst enemy.

2. Avoid Cutting Frozen Items

Gary suggests keeping a cheap knife around for that, the frozen surface will dull out your knives quickly.

3.  Avoid the Dishwasher

Hand washing is best. The heat and drying cycles of your dishwasher can wear out the knife’s handles and the movement and vibration can cause the edges to hit against the basket and other objects dulling your knives.

4.  Store Correctly

If you’re using a knife block, store the knives with the sharp side up. Gary recommends magnet knife racks that you mount on the wall. I like keeping my knives in drawers and use a wooden drawer knife tray.

5. Use the Right Knife for the Job

I hope you’re not chopping vegetables with a pairing knife – your knife’s edge will dull before you’re done. And what are you using on those Amazon.com boxes?

My three most used knives are: a chef’s knife – for chopping vegetables, a paring knife –  for peeling fruits, and a serrated knife – for slicing bread and tomatoes. The chef’s knife is the one you want to spend the most you can afford on, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend your vacation money on a good knife. If you’re taking care of them they will last you a lifetime.

6. The Honing Steel is Your Best Friend

Gary recommends steeling your knife’s edge before and after each use. He has a video tutorial on his website.

A steel is a honing tool, not a sharpening tool, it aligns the knife’s edge. The honing rod will keep your knife from going dull, but it cannot make a dull knife sharp.

The steel is the best tool to maintain your knife’s edge, but to sharpen it you need a knife sharpener.

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Filed Under: kitchen tip Tagged With: Kitchen Knives

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Comments

  1. Nossi @ The Kosher Gastronome says

    September 5, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    Thanks for the tips…I love my magnetic knife holder, and I actually once saw an interesting article from Robert Wolke saying the magnet actually dulls the knives (some sort of magnetic forces mumbo-jumbo) but it was very negligible, and for me it’s really easy and convenient

    Reply
  2. Elisha Gechter says

    September 21, 2011 at 5:45 pm

    I just had our knives sharpened the other week (mailed them away to NC) and they recommended plastic cutting boards over wooden!

    Reply
    • lisa says

      September 22, 2011 at 10:09 am

      How interesting! I’ve never heard that before.

      Reply
  3. Yosefa says

    September 25, 2011 at 10:23 am

    Great post! Alton Brown (Good Eats) also has a guy who comes to sharpen his knives (according to his show, at least.) I linked to your post at the end of my post “Knives: Choice, Care, Storage, PLUS Product Recommendations” http://nonrecipe.blogspot.com/2011/08/knives-choice-care-storage-plus-product.html I’m also following you know in all the usual places. Looking forward to reading more!

    Reply
    • lisa says

      September 25, 2011 at 8:46 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Maxy says

    November 9, 2011 at 2:33 am

    Very good tips for taking care of knife…. We should always take help of professional knife sharpening services for good result……

    Reply
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    February 26, 2015 at 10:05 pm

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  6. Eric Burns says

    June 16, 2016 at 3:20 am

    Nice article. and hope someone could answer my question.
    I usually use Tuf Glide for my pocket knife. Does it have any bad affect to the knife after a while?

    Reply
    • Tony Chen says

      January 31, 2020 at 2:12 pm

      Hello Eric, for sure you can use Tuf Glide. But it’s more of a protectant oil that helps prevent the knife from rusting quickly. Give it an hour before it will dry.
      Tony Chen recently posted..Yanagiba Sharpening: Everything You Need to Know

      Reply
  7. Eve says

    June 12, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    Great post Lisa. This list covers everything and is right to the point. Honing for me is hugely underrated, and people take it way too lightly! Oiling knives is another important step as far as maintenance is concerned, in my opinion. Cheers!

    Reply
  8. Jame says

    January 6, 2018 at 8:37 pm

    Good article sharing and tips for sharpening the knives.

    Reply
  9. EL Mehdi says

    July 16, 2018 at 4:46 am

    Wish I found this article a long time ago, I have been replacing my paring knives many times because I used to chop my vegetables with them.
    Thanks for sharing this helpful article with us

    Reply
  10. imran farhat says

    February 29, 2020 at 12:18 am

    very good informative article for knife user who are not aware about using it .
    imran farhat recently posted..Everything You Need to Know about Quibi

    Reply
  11. David Staven says

    March 16, 2020 at 3:43 am

    thank you for very good informative article about knife user who are not aware about using it.

    Reply
  12. Fawad says

    May 10, 2020 at 3:30 am

    Hi
    Sharpening the knife the right way is always an issue, specially with the non professional home cooks like me. 🙂
    Thanks for the tips, am sure these will help.
    Fawad recently posted..Top 7 Best Chef Knife Under 200 For Pro Chefs & Home Cooks!

    Reply
  13. james mousa says

    June 23, 2020 at 4:06 pm

    Thank you for sharing this knife caring guide. It’s really important to keep save the knife and knife blades so that It can work for a longer time. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Take Care of Your Knives – Tips from a Pro | Paleo Digest says:
    September 5, 2011 at 3:15 pm

    […] to Take Care of Your Knives – Tips from a Pro Real Food Digest / Posted on: September 05, 2011Real Food Digest – A few weeks ago, I had my knives professionally sharpened – in my driveway. Gary, […]

    Reply

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Lisa Rose is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner passionate about real food and sustainable living.
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