Guide to Sharpening, Honing & Caring for your Kitchen Knives

Guide to Sharpening

Choosing the best knife for yourself is the first step towards becoming that amazing chef you have always aspired to be. After getting your personalized knife it is very important to take care of it i.e. give proper attention. You need to make sure that you resharpen it after timely intervals. This will increase the durability of the knife.  We are going to provide you with knife care tips starting from sharpening to cleaning to storage to travelling. The care tips may vary from knife to knife. There are a lot of perks of using a sharp knife. For instance, the knife really works as smooth as butter.

Sharpening knives

Now, the question that would arise in your mind is how many times should you sharpen the knife. Well, the answer to it depends upon your knife’s blade, styling and most importantly the number of times you use it. If you are a frequent user then you need to sharpen your knife after short intervals of time. Ultimately, you can just go by feel. if using your knife goes from an easy, pleasurable task to an arduous chore, then it’s time to get back your edge.

Regular honing

Honing the knife regularly helps maintaining the straightness of the blade. Start by holding your honing steel tip down against a cutting board. Then place the heel (back) of your blade’s edge against the steel at a 10-15 degree angle at the top of the rod. Sweep the blade down the rod towards you, maintaining a steady pressure and consistent angle throughout. At the end of each stroke, the tip of your knife should be just above the cutting board. If it helps, imagine you’re slicing through a thick cut of meat and apply the same type of pressure. Repeat this process 5-8 times on both sides of your blade (equal amounts each side), reducing pressure as you go to ensure both sides remain even.

Even if you have bought the most expensive knife in the market you need to make sure that you take care of it as well. The second you are done using it you need to wash it by hands or clean it dry. This will help in maintaining it’s lustre. Although, knife blocks are usually an ideal way of storing eBay kitchen knives but the perfect way is magnetic strip.  Attach your knife spine-first to the strip and slowly roll the rest of the blade on when you’re finished using it. You should even use blade guards and knife slath. An edge grain cutting board protects the knife in the best way possible. Knives should never be put in the dish washer because these are not every day items. The knives need to be protected and handled with special care.

Sharpening of knives

With the passage of time, even the best of your knives can get dull, lose their lustre and durability. Sharpening the knives is a tough job. If you are not confident about performing the task on your own then we will advice you to let a professional take over the task. There are many services which provide you with perfectly sharp eBay kitchen knives that you can keep on using for a lot of days.  You will even notice that by following the above steps your knife will retain high elasticity. Sharpening the knife usually requires diamond coated or ceramic sharpening steel. Over here, the speed at which you sharpen the knife does not matter but what matters is the technique you are using. he consistency of pressure, smoothness of your motion, angle of the blade and number of times you sharpen each side are a few factors which play a very important role.

Use of steel

Honing steel is a great tool for sharpening the knife till the knife is knew but once the knife gets old it is very necessary to use diamond coated or ceramic sharpening steel. With time, the knife gets old and demands more care. The immediate consequence of using a good sharpening steel is longer life of the knife. So be careful when choosing the sharpening steel. 

Why use stone?

Talking about the stone on which the knife is sharpened, it should be lubricated properly before use. Make sure to put the stone on a moist towel which is further kept on  a flat surface. This will help in increasing efficiency. You should always start with the coarse side as it is the easiest was to give the knife its shape back. If you follow the correct steps then you will notice that your knife is going to be as good as new.  After sharpening the knife on the coarse side flip it to the other side and make sure to perform 6 to 7 strokes on each side. Make sure to focus on those areas where you see dents. Repeating the strokes consistently will help you gain a very smooth surface. After sharpening each side, put it to test and make sure you use the knife gently. After finishing the process completely put it to use again. Putting it to use will help you make sure that the knife has gained its sharpness. You can cut the vegetables or even your arm to test!

Sharpening the knife on a serrated stone is not a very good idea. We do not prefer the use of steel and stone. However, we can provide you with some products which will help you sharpen the eBay kitchen knives.  You can use a specialised serrated knife tool for  this purpose. 

Lastly, we would suggest you that taking precautions is always better than looking for cures. We highly believe that your investment is a matter of great significance. Hence, we recommend you to follow the above mentioned tips carefully.

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