Best Practices For Maintaining A Sharp Edge

After your knives have been sharpened, you may be wondering how do I keep that crisp shiny edge and make it last? Maintaining your knives takes a bit of effort, time and care. Starting at the core, it depends on YOU, though it may seem burdensome and even annoying at times the amount of love you give your knives will determine how long they can stay sharp. Even "cheap" knives need to be handled and cared for properly.

You read that right, even the "cheap" knives need love, I personally hate and often I am saddened to hear customers ask if their knives are worth sharpening or that they consider their knives cheap, we all have what we can afford and what works for us and thats what matters most. A $10.00 knife can cut as cleanly as a $200.00 knife when sharpened properly. One of the biggest differences is something called Edge retention, Edge retention is a blade edges ability to resist being dulled by mechanical, thermal or chemical influences. For example cutting food in a pinch on granite countertops, is a good way to dull your knife, The pointy teeth on some serrated knives and the hard steel of Japanese knives are more succeptable to dulling when used on the wrong surface.

Now lets get to the point, as we said above, cutting surfaces matter. By now you have heard not to cut on hard surfaces and im sure you have read some were that bamboo is as hard as oak, if not harder. While this is some what true bamboo goes through many processes to be made into a cutting board that softens the material. But there are some woods that are just plain better than others, for example we often recommend maple, beech and hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood boards. Maple is just about an industry standard, its a hardwood that is still forgiving to knives and slow to ware down. Beech wood is a great option since its surface is made of small pores, thus allowing it to be resistant to stains, discoloring and cut marks. Hinoki boards are well know for their strong antimicrobial properties, keeping bacteria and other micro critters down when properly cared for. Hinoki boards are also soft yet durable making them easy on the edges. All three of the woods are somewhat self healers and hold up quite well over time. That being said all boards need to be cared for. Now im not saying to run and toss out your bamboo board, they are still excellent cutting boards and tend to be more affordable. Notice we didnt mention plastic? yeah, avoid it, its probably the cheapest but worst option for your health and for your knife.

Storage, this is another area that is often overlooked. Storing your knives properly can help you keep those edges longer. A knife block, drawer organizer or magnetic knife rack are all excellent options. Storing your knives loosely in a drawer is not only bad for the knife but dangerous to you. You run the risk of cutting your self when reaching for a spoon and you also run the risk of chipping or dullling your edges. the edge of a knife is mechanically weak already because there isnt enough material behind the edge to back it up, when this vulnerable edge clangs into other objects it begins to deform. If you got your knives without a block dont fret, there are many great options for knife storage on the market, be sure to find the right one for your needs. Consider things like design, counter/drawer space and of course kitchen asthetics.

Technique, a big factor is the technique of the user. The way you use your knives has a significant impact on the blades edge retention. We often divide knives into two major catagories, Western and Japanese. Western knives are considered all European and the entirety of the Knives found in the Americas. Japanes knives are, well knives from Japan, Then of course you have hybrids and in betweens but that will be saved for another time. There is the argument of which is sharper, with a lot of chefs swearing by Japanese knives, you see them every were, those beautiful blades with their elaborate finishes and octogonal handles (called Wa handles) but this argument is rubish. It all depends on culture and not the knife it self, the Japanese are always slicing, were as western knives with their curved blades are designed for rocking. Try rock chopping with a gyuto and you'll find it not only difficult but you will also find the blade dulls much faster. The blade design and arm motion for Western knives and Japanese knives is completely different. Rocking vs push cutting, up, down, forward vs smooth rotating slicing motions. Western knives are made of softer steels were as Japanese knives are made of harder steels, the hard steel of Japanese knives helps them maintain higher angles and gives them better edge retention. Were as the softer steels of Western knives helps them take the abuse of chopping and allows them to maintain their often lower angles of 20-22 degrees. But both are equally sharp enough for their given tasks.

Chose your rod wisely, We all know what "sharpening" rods are, those long steels with their wood or plastic handles, sitting in our blocks or used by chefs to quickly sharpen a knife. There are three types of rods available for purchase those are, Steel, Ceramic and Diamond rods. The term sharpening rod is often used and this is wrong, a steel does not actually sharpen a knife. As we use our knife the edge begins to dull due to mechanical or chemical influence, the blade begins to deform over time from repeateded use. Typically the edge will roll towards our dominant hand, this is were your steel comes into play. The steel will realign the blade, basically rolling it back into place however the edge is still deformed and starts to become rounded. A steel has no abrasive properties and therefore it cannot sharpen a knife. Steels should never be used on Japanese knives, even if it came with your set, steels will chip and dull the hard metal of Japanese knives, going back to the loose storage of knives clanging around, this is the same as banging two hard metals together. A ceramic rod is perfect for both western and Japanese knives, it is slightly abrasive and can touch up an edge in between services. Though ceramic rods are fragile so care must be exercised. Your ceramic rod may darken over time, this is from metal swarf or particals being embeded in the ceramic. You can give it a careful scrub to remove some of the build up. Diamond rods work well but are contriversial, this because diamond rods are pretty abrasive and may remove to much material. Diamond rods will sharpen knives but can take a year or two off the life of your blades. So use these less often. We suggest purchasing a ceramic rod, its a good option that removes just enough material but wont ruin a blade. It is recommended to hone your knives after each use, this may seem tedious and it is but its necessary to keep the edges in top shape.

There many other factors, like handwashing your knives, a dishawasher is a harsh evironment for a knife and will damage any knife even if it is labled dishwasher safe. The amount of moisture combined with the heat and chemicals is a recipe for disaster. Scraping your cutting board, we have all done it and probably still do it from time to time. Scraping food off your cutting board is a sure way to dull any knife, we recommend investing in a bench scraper, a handy kitchen tool often used by bakers, its not only convenient to have around but will help you break the bad habit of dragging your knife across the board. a metal bench scraper with a woodhandle is a good investment. Dont try to cut through bone or frozen foods with a knife, this is not only dangerous to you but can badly damage your knife and of course dull it rather quickly. We have both seen and heard horror stories and accidents occuring from this misuse of a knife.

If you made it to this part, it means you truly care about your knives and dont want to see us that often, its ok no hard feelings. We are all for you having the sharpest edge and making it last as long as possible.

Put in the time and your knives will keep their edges until the next service is needed. You can always bring your knives in for a touch up service at half the cost of sharpening, this differs in that we use higher grit stones to brighten up the edge of your knife. This should be done when the performance of the knives starts to slow and your rod is no longer effective. We will polish up the edge and you can keep on slicing and chopping. If you would like to learn cutting techniques and how to properly use and care for your knives you can sign up for one our lessons here https://www.kiriginstone.com/services-7

Thank for taking the time to read this, if you found this peice helpful be sure to let us know and as always work sharper not harder.