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Kitchen knives are an essential kitchen tool not just to a chef but if you love a clean chopping and slicing then you are sure to find your knives vital, every kitchen knife is sure to need sharpening someday and it’s important to learn how to sharpen your kitchen knife without ruining the blade.
A good quality knife is worthless if it is dull, you did have to go through the hassle of force cutting butternut squash with a putty knife, the more you work the more the chances of the knife slipping and cutting your fingers or causing aches in your arm for the pressure of using it.
For you to enjoy your time in the kitchen with a great knife, it needs to be sharpened, sharpen and care for your kitchen knives allows a safer and faster cooking time.
It is crucial to keep your kitchen knives sharp so that they can cut through foods with less spillage, poorly cut foods would also not cook properly.
A sharp kitchen knife will produce food that is evenly cut and therefore you can be sure will cook at an even rate, in this article, you will discover ways to sharpen your kitchen knife and you can improve your cooking instantly with a sharp kitchen knife.
Can you over sharpen a knife?
You can’t change the steel of knife by sharpening too much which means you can’t over sharpen your knife, this could happen only if you are using power equipment or probably overheat the steel.
Proper maintenance and sharpening of your knife will keep it going for a very long time.
How To Sharpen Kitchen Knives
Kitchen knives need to be sharpened regularly to maximize their functionality, and effectiveness, you can easily use a sharp knife to cut through any ingredient in the kitchen and effectively reduce preparation time.
A knife is arguable the most expensive tool in the kitchen but it’s very essential to keep it sharp and you are wondering how you can get your kitchen knives sharp and make cooking more fun for you, we have rounded up simple ways you can sharpen your kitchen knife with ease.
1. Use Whetstones
The use of whetstones is a great way to sharpen your kitchen knife, there are lot’s whetstones online for you to buy, this can enable you to sharpen your kitchen knife at home with ease however using a whetstone isn’t comparable to using the machine or a knife sharpening tools can’t accommodate any kinds of knife with any level of defect or dullness but a whetstone can and below is how you can effectively use a whetstone to sharpen your kitchen knife.
You can also make use of other sharpening stones like oil stones and diamond stones.
- First, soak your stone in water for 10 minutes then next start sharpening the right side of the blade with the tip of the knife at the bottom of the whetstone and push the knife to the top away from you
- Apply pressure with two fingers on the blade while pushing the knife to the top away from your ensure those two fingers should be placed as close to the edge of the knife without touching the stone.
2. Using Electric Or Handheld Sharpeners
An electric sharpener is another way to get your kitchen knife sharpened, there are plenty of basic jazzed knife sharpeners out there but before getting one you should be aware that electric sharpeners use motorized abrasives that may chip away at your blade while sharpening while a stone is much gentle on your kitchen knife, you can, however, you this electric sharpener or a cheap knife but a sturdy quality knife might not be a good idea.
PRODUCT REVIEW
Smith’s 50185 Jiffy-Pro Handheld Sharpener
3. Ceramic Plate
If you do not own any knife sharpener or electric sharpener, the ceramic sharpener can come in quite handy, it is easy and works amazingly well, you can easily find a ceramic plate at home and the rough area on the back of your ceramic plate is a perfect surface for sharpening your knives, you shouldn’t be worried about breaking the plate but if this happens, you can simply have it stored away for use later, simply use the back and forth motion just like you would with a stone.
Try the rough area o the bottom of a coffee mug if you don’t have a plate.
4. Sharpening Steel
A sharpening steel is usually the nest sharpening method considered after a sharpening stone, it is a long skinny rod that that is used to hone or sharpen a knife that is fairly sharp to start, a sharpening rod is great for maintaining your kitchen knife but won’t work much on an already dull knife, it gives an extra edge to your kitchen knife and you can easily maintain the sharpness of your knife.
How to use sharpening steel: Hold the steel in one hand and have your knife in the other hand, apply pressure then make a sweeping motion across the steel and make sure you hone the entire blade from it’s base to the tip
How To Keep Your Kitchen Knife Sharp
You know how to sharpen your knife, now the important part is keeping it sharp as this is one of the ways you can maintain your kitchen knife for a long time, sharpening a knife takes time and effort so once you have worked hard at honing it then you need to keep it that way and below are basic steps to keep your knife sharp.
- Don’t store your knife with other kitchen tools, this can be lead to your knife getting blunt on time, you have to stop tossing your kitchen knife into the drawer with other kitchen tools and rather get a knife block or a magnetic knife strip and store your knife in it, it’s the best way to protect your knife blades.
- Dishwashing detergent is not a great option for washing your knife, it is hard on your knife which means you have to stop washing your knife in the dishwasher instead you can gently scrub your knife with dish soap and hot water, dry it completely with a towel and store safely.
- Using your kitchen knife to cut on a marble countertop or glass surface once or twice is fine and might not cause any damages but the constant use of it can sull your knife really quick hence it is best to have all your cutting done on a cutting board.
A sharp kitchen knife is not just efficient but it makes precise exacts cuts that give you an even cut which cooks more evenly and at the same rate, whether you are using a chef knife or paring knife, a sharp knife is safer whichever one you are using, it gives you control over your chopping or slicing and while a dull knife will slip, a sharp knife won’t, however knife sharpening of kitchen knife requires practice hence you can build your skill by watching instructional videos online on how it can be done effectively and efficiently.
Next read: The Best Cutting Boards For Wusthof Knives