Kitchen Knives -- Now Here's a Controversial Subject!

Eupher

Eupher

U.S. Army, Retired
Location
Arkansas
In a past life, I was a professional cook -- not a chef, just a cook. I still cook today, but not every day and not with any sort of unbridled passion (vis a vis Gordon Ramsey).

So I gotsta know -- what kind of kitchen knives do you have?

How do you take care of them? Dishwasher? Junk drawer or some other "convenient" spot? PLEASE tell me you clean them after use, dry them, and put them in a knife block.

For the record, I am supremely fussy, picky, and anal about my knives. I have knives of various lengths and flavors that I bought 40 years ago and still use today. These are from Zwilling (not Wüsthof - there's a difference) and other quality manufacturers. I have tried using various methods in sharpening up to and including using a professional, but I usually use my own device that clamps the knife blade so I can get a specific angle.

I'm so fussy that my caution to anyone who is using my kitchen that first, don't even think of putting any of my knives in the dishwasher. I will kill you if you do that. Clean the knife, dry it, and put it away in the knife block. None of that junk drawer crap. Second, don't even think of using my kitchen if I'm in it. You are in my way.

So, how about you? :devilish:
 

After each use, I clean the knife, dry it, polish it, and put it away in its assigned place.
I NEVER soak knives. First, it is dangerous, someone, including me, may plunge their hands into the suds and cut themselves. Second, soaking is not good for the blades or most handles.
I always use a toothbrush on areas between handles and blades.
I have a preferred knife for every job.
After each use, I scrub my cutting block with hot suds, rinse, dry, polish, then spray with a weak bleach solution.
I ❤️ my knives, almost as much as I ❤️ my brood.
 
gruntlabor said:
After each use, I clean the knife, dry it, polish it, and put it away in its assigned place.
I NEVER soak knives. First, it is dangerous, someone, including me, may plunge their hands into the suds and cut themselves. Second, soaking is not good for the blades or most handles.
I always use a toothbrush on areas between handles and blades.
I have a preferred knife for every job.
After each use, I scrub my cutting block with hot suds, rinse, dry, polish, then spray with a weak bleach solution.
I ❤️ my knives, almost as much as I ❤️ my brood.
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I learned from the finest. Thank you, sir!
 
Here is my knife for chopping produce. Holds an edge fairly good and I resharpen with a countertop electric sharpener every 6 mo or so. I don’t like a knife that is overly sharp since it always results in me cutting myself so my countertop sharpener is good for me. I can cut tomatoes easy enough. My son got this for me for Christmas or some other holiday - it probably was about $30.

IMG_2155.jpeg
 
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I don't have super expensive knives.. but all my knives are washed up immediately after use, and put back into their blade protectors, and kept in a drawer. I don't have counter space for a knife block
2322408
 
My nephew is a professional chef. He recommended Mercer knives as a reasonably inexpensive but good, all-purpose, durable knife. They cost $35-ish for an 8" chef's knife. I've had it and their 5" utility knife for nearly 10 years and sharpen them with a standard sharpening steel, as necessary.

Since we don't eat meat, these knives are more than sufficient for our needs.

I don't like knife blocks - have these inserts in a kitchen drawer instead:
Untitled.jpg
 
We have a Wusthof Dreizack set that we bought at least 25 years ago. The set has 7 knives, a scissors, and a sharpening "rod", mounted in a wooden block. We hand wash/dry them after each use. If they don't cut easily, we give the edge 3 or 4 stokes on the rod, and they are back to an easy cut. These knives will probably last a lifetime.
 
I have a filet knife(this one) that I intended to use when I went fishing with my neighbor. I didn't realize until I received it that it was going to take up too much real estate in my tackle box. I use it in the kitchen, just about every day I'm preparing something that needs cutting, and this knife does the job nicely. I could put it in the dishwasher, but I just hand wash it. Don't have a good place to put it, so it just goes between the coffee maker and the wall, on the kitchen counter.

PXL_20240919_205943201.MP.jpg
 
I have three knives, a paring knife, slicing knife, and chef’s knife that I bought years ago from the Martha Stewart collection at Kmart.

I hand wash and dry them, sharpen as needed with an electric Chef’s Choice sharpener that I paid a few bucks for at the local Goodwill.

It works for me.
 
Eupher said:
In a past life, I was a professional cook -- not a chef, just a cook. I still cook today, but not every day and not with any sort of unbridled passion (vis a vis Gordon Ramsey).

So I gotsta know -- what kind of kitchen knives do you have?

How do you take care of them? Dishwasher? Junk drawer or some other "convenient" spot? PLEASE tell me you clean them after use, dry them, and put them in a knife block.
Click to expand...
One Chef’s knife, Bread knife, paring knife, and four steak knives. They all go into a knife block, and all are cleaned by hand after use - never in a dishwasher.
 
I use Henckels knives because they were on sale. I carefully place them in the dishwasher after each use. They've held up well over the years. I sharpen them every few months on a sharpening stone.
 
Husband ordered a Henkels Knife set when we in Germany. The set had a boning, parer, large chef, small chef, serrated, small carver & large carver knives along with a honing steel. I couldn't figure out why he wanted it so bad until I started to use it. We've had them since the 90s & I wouldn't want to use anything else. Later we added another parer & a set of steak knives.

Always washed & dried by hand & stored in our drawers in a block like this.
th-1573931906.jpg
 
StarSong said:
My nephew is a professional chef. He recommended Mercer knives as a reasonably inexpensive but good, all-purpose, durable knife. They cost $35-ish for an 8" chef's knife. I've had it and their 5" utility knife for nearly 10 years and sharpen them with a standard sharpening steel, as necessary.

Since we don't eat meat, these knives are more than sufficient for our needs.

I don't like knife blocks - have these inserts in a kitchen drawer instead:
View attachment 368533
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Very snazzy drawer! I like that too! If I may, please let me offer a comment about "sharpening". A steel does not sharpen a knife blade. It trues the edge. The only way to sharpen a blade is to use any number of actual sharpening devices (whetstone, grinder, etc.) to remove a small bit of metal, ideally at a specific angle so you get a consistent "V" shape. All knives need to be sharpened from time to time -- most chefs teach their students to use the steel just before every use.
 
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I only have a few, but I have this! It is super cool 😎
 

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Eupher said:
Very snazzy drawer! I like that too! If I may, please let me offer a comment about "sharpening". A steel does not sharpen a knife blade. It trues the blade. The only way to sharpen a blade is to use any number of actual sharpening devices (whetstone, grinder, etc.) to remove a small bit of metal, ideally at a specific angle so you get a consistent "V" shape. All knives need to be sharpened from time to time -- most chefs teach their students to use the steel just before every use.
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My nephew didn't school me on sharpening - probably thought I was old enough to know. Which I apparently am not. :eek:

All is not lost, I'll see him next week and can get his advice on a sharpening device, unless you can recommend something. Preferably from Amazon, so I can get exactly what you suggest. I'm always happy to learn from an expert!
 
StarSong said:
My nephew didn't school me on sharpening - probably thought I was old enough to know. Which I apparently am not. :eek:

All is not lost, I'll see him next week and can get his advice on a sharpening device, unless you can recommend something. Preferably from Amazon, so I can get exactly what you suggest. I'm always happy to learn from an expert!
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Believe me, I'm no expert - I've just been doing this a long time! Let me correct myself -- the steel trues the edge, not the blade. If you were to magnify your knife's edge, you'd see a sort of "lip" that curves over and needs to be straightened. The steel will do that.

There are all kinds of knife sharpeners on Amazon, but the problem with most of them is they don't position the blade so it's at a specific angle - 15, 17, or 20 degrees, depending on the knife's construction. As a result, you pull the knife through the sharpener and your hand can't help but wobble around.

I recently bought one like this, and I've used it a few times. Still getting used to it, but this will get the job done:

https://www.amazon.com/Sharpener-Sharpeners-Inclination-Sharpening-Thanksgiving/dp/B0D1KFD867/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2D4NZFJYU9M8Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.gmx-DlSa4uYMQ_yreO0ZJowUoE2AkkqjZ5Pu9XiW4Iyf-wqI0yeg_VFA173HgphcW5QT-9oDDddfahKdAU7s-O9bSmRRaraSuHlsh6uZrjuwjYmiqp5B6JKPVeOGMwNPHFxkBeyBu9IhvqlCqQVaCWmPtwg-4KYiEEFgKyWTZ_hj2WbuxxWST50vC7BCSQE-_En6zfLxPRvDwfnPkaMtYygD0NwhhhfCzcoggidY34-16DYnGrrospPHeQRBhK31M-vlLhlUV6Wp8-dbRp9phJ43cGdpcxJ0fjekt5L2SIg.ule4bQq_3N53dnWr08Na5JK9_paaXN6DPnx5iagrhNw&dib_tag=se&keywords=knife+sharpener&qid=1726798767&sprefix=knife+sharpener,aps,166&sr=8-10&th=1
 

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