You’re Using Your Chef’s Knife Wrong. Here’s How

This story is component of Household Recommendations, CNET’s selection of simple tips for finding the most out of your dwelling, inside and out.

The chef’s knife is one particular of the kitchen area resources a property chef works by using most. What most people really don’t know is how straightforward it is to ruin a kitchen area knife. If you have some wonderful blades you want to have for several years, there are a few great behavior to get into — and some to crack — to keep that knife sharp and strong for many years. 

Storing your blade improperly and cutting on rough surfaces are noticeable approaches to ding and boring a chef’s knife, but there are a lot more unassuming techniques that will problems the edge. One particular illustration: Scraping your knife sideways and with pressure in opposition to a chopping board to clear off the block will do hurt to your preferred Wüsthof or Shun. I’m as responsible of it as the next residence cook dinner, and it’s the a single negative knife behavior I’m searching to split in 2023. 

If you are wanting for a fantastic new knife, we have examined to obtain the greatest chef’s knives for 2023. If you have acquired one particular you appreciate, down below is a listing of kitchen knife no-nos to keep away from that will destroy your knife in no time. These are the prime seven strategies you may be ruining your kitchen area knives and how to become a greater blade owner in 2023.

Seven habits that will destroy a kitchen area knife

1. Scraping your knife sideways on the board

Knives ended up definitely only produced to cut in two directions, again and forth and not aspect to facet, so consider not to use your fantastic knives in a scraping fashion. It may possibly be intuition to transfer and obtain all that chopped food stuff on the board with the blade of the knife but it will problems the edge above time. If you are not able to crack the practice absolutely, at the very least consider and do it gently and with no a lot downward pressure. 

2. Reducing on nearly anything but wooden or plastic 

There are boards and blocks made from all sorts of elements but many of them are not knife-pleasant. Stone or marble boards and glass surfaces need to be reserved for serving foodstuff, not making ready it (at the very least not with a knife) considering that they will boring your blade more rapidly than just about everything else.

Bamboo and plastic are technically the softest (and most inexpensive!) materials you may locate reducing boards manufactured from, and hence will be the gentlest on your blades. Most wood slicing boards, even so, should really have enough give to not hurt your blade. 

3. Storing your knives free in a drawer 

This is likely the major mistake folks make with their kitchen area knives. I have seen it much more times than I can depend and it hurts me each and every time. Permitting your knives clink all around in a drawer with other knives and metal instruments will dull or chip them around time. I get that you could not want to hold a clumsy block on the counter, but there are some pretty modern solutions these times like this and this. You can also buy an in-drawer wooden knife racks or sheath your knives with plastic situations. The coolest option might be to shop the knives on 1 of these magnetic knife racks ($24 on Wayfair) and present off your shiny blades to evening meal attendees.

4. Letting knives sit in the sink or putting them in the dishwasher

For several factors, your knives really should in no way go in the dishwasher. It’ll possible hurt the handles, and the blades ought to in no way be uncovered to drinking water for that extensive. Speaking of which, never ever enable a knife sit wet in the sink or anyplace else for that make any difference. That signifies no soaking, at any time, and when you’ve got concluded washing it by hand, dry it straight away or the steel will turn out to be vulnerable to rust and corrosion.

5. Reducing nonfood items or making use of your knife as a normal tool

Good knives may perhaps feel like a multipurpose software but they really should only be employed for meals prep. Check out not to reduce any nonfood items like plastic, cardboard or other packaging. And never even believe about utilizing your knife as a screwdriver or lever to pry open up a thing that’s caught.

6. Using a metallic scrubber or tough sponge

It shouldn’t occur as a shock that using metal or an additional tough product to cleanse your knife blade could lead to significant difficulties. As a substitute, use sizzling water and a gentle sponge or cloth. Your knives should really never ever be so filthy that those people usually are not adequate to get them cleanse. 

7. Oversharpening a knife will also destroy the blade

There arrives a level at which a knife blade are not able to be sharpened anymore, and if you continue on to pound it on a steel or whetstone, you are going to only be shaving off the blade itself and shortening the knife’s lifetime span. Here is a guidebook to sharpening your kitchen area knives.

Extra approaches to amount up your kitchen area video game