PART 2 – Three things you should do with your knife!

If you enjoy cooking like I do, you know that preparing a meal can be a real joy if you have a good solid knife in your hand. From cutting bread, to slicing unions, to trimming meat, a sharp knife can mean the difference between easy food preparation and something that looks like it came out of a horror movie. Chefs take pride in their knife sets, maybe more than any other tool they have. So, after seeing yet another cooking show where the chefs make everything look effortless, you ran out and purchased a brand new, and expensive, stainless steel knife set.

Buying the knife is just a first step!

Buying the knife was the easy part. Now, what do you need to keep in mind when trying to care for and maintain for your investment? To help you keep your knifes in the best condition possible for as long as possible, here is a checklist with six key points to keep your knifes sharp for years to come. We will cover the first three points in this blog and the final three in the next blog.

Cutting, chopping, slicing with good knife is a joy in the kitchen.

Checklist for maintaining a good knife

1. Keep your knife sharp!

To cut, chop, slice and dice you want a knife that makes the job almost effortless. Only a sharp knife will do! There are many options available to sharpen knives. You can sharpen the knife on a knife sharpening system or using honing steel. You don’t need an industrial sharping system like the one shown below, but if you want to keep your knives sharp you need to spend the time either sharpening them yourself on a regular basis or taking them to a professional who can sharpen them for you.

Sharpening and maintaining the blade for your knife.

2. Always use a cutting board!

If you want to keep your knives sharp, make it a habit to always use a cutting board. Don’t cut anything directly on kitchen countertops, or other hard surfaces that might chip or dull the knife blade. It’s also a good idea to use the boards in order to keep your countertops from getting scratched or damaged.

3. Invest in a good cutting board!

Speaking of cutting boards, it might be cheaper to use flexible plastic boards rather than wood boards, but wood boards are considered the best cutting surface for the kitchen. The best cutting boards are made of wood or thick polyethylene. Why wood? Well, wood is the gentlest on knife blades. So invest either in a wide wooden board or one with thick polyethylene phenolic resin that has all the great qualities of a wooden board and is also dishwasher-safe to boot! Buy several large boards and use them religiously.

In our next segment we will finish off our checklist with tips on cleaning and storing your knives. Now, back to the kitchen! While waiting for our last three tips, how about taking a look at the wide variety of knives we have available at Lavky.com!