How to Properly Clean and Sharpen Kitchen Knives

How to Properly Clean and Sharpen Kitchen Knives

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Do you like cooking? Or, do you spend most of your time in the kitchen? Then, you must know that an important tool to help you in the kitchen is a simple kitchen knife.

Basically, you can collect several knives for different cooking purposes in the kitchen or you can just use one kind of knife for everything.

Let’s do some things. Here are 6 important things to do about using, cleaning, and shining kitchen knives. Check it out.

Read also: How to Cleaning and Sparkling Glass Stovetop in Minutes

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1. Keep the Knife shining

You can always store and clean your knife correctly. Before using it, you need to hone it with the rod to preserve its sharpness. Once a year, you can sharpen your knife using some kind of special stone.

If you don’t have this special stone, you can have your knife sharpened by a professional. To always keep your knife sharp, you have to know how to maintain, clean and store it.



Read also: Quick Simple Tips to Speed Clean Home in Few Minutes

2. Use the knife carefully

When you want to use your knife to chop some ingredients or vegetables, make sure to be careful not to cause any accidents.

  • First, always keep your knife sharp before using it since a dull knife can always slip when you cut.
  • When chopping the vegetables, always put your fingers curling. Maintain these curled fingers to steadily hold the vegetables.
  • Slice the vegetables away to keep your fingers safe from the cut in case the knife slips.
  • When you are chopping or mincing, make sure that the knife tip is always on board while you move it ups and downs.
  • Use a chopping board which has a rubber stand. If not, you can keep it steady on place by laying it on the damped towel.
  • Keep the knife away from your children.

3. Always Maintain the Good Condition of the Knife

It is possible that cleaning and taking care of the knife will maintain its current condition. It can also minimize the possibility of being damaged or dull. Then, what should you do?

Store your knife inside a wooden block. You can also keep it in the sheath. Never store your knife inside the kitchen drawer as it can be easily bumped around. It is also possible that you can accidentally hold its sharp tip.

Don’t leave your knife in your kitchen sink. It can make your knife rusty and damaged. It can also accidently cut someone’s fingers.

Wash your knife manually with your hands. The dishwasher’s temperature can make your knife dull or blunt. The bumping with other utensils inside the dishwasher can also happen and it can damage your knife.

Always use a wooden chopping board. It is the most delicate material suitable for your knife. Hard surfaced board can bring damage to it.




4. Always Check the Sharpness of Your Kitchen Knife

There is no possibility that the knife which is used regularly can be dull someday. To check if your knife has lost its sharpness, you can always try to do this test.

Pick one sheet of paper and fold it into two equally. Then, insert your knife inside the folded paper. Try to slice the edge outside.

When you find your knife can’t slice the paper cleanly, try to steeling it. Try one more time. If the result is still the same, you have to sharpen it.

Kitchen Knives Storage DIY Homemade

5. How to Carefully Use Sharpening Steel

One kind of sharpening steel that you can use to sharpen your knife is the rod made of metal. It uses to hone the knife edge to make it sharper. You can use it when you want to sharpen your dull knife.

Generally, it only sharpens your knife blade lightly. You can always sharpen your knife with the rod before you use it ever day.



  • Hold the rod handle in vertical position with its tip attached firmly on the even surface. Before starting to use it, make sure to keep the distance for about 15 degree between the rod and the knife blade. Keep the pressure between the rod and the blade lightly as well as the angle between them.
  • Hold your knife with another hand and position it in the opposite side of the rod base, near the rod’s handle with your knife blade pointing to you.
  • Move the blade of the knife up and down along the hone rod with the angle of 15 degree.

Do this movement to all knife’s sides for several times. You can stop if you think that your knife blade is already sharp and smooth.

6. How to Use the Whetstone for Knife

Once in a year, you need to sharpen your knife. You can use sharpen stone or whetstone. Don’t forget to check your knife manuals to correctly apply the sharpening methods.

  • Maintain the angle for sharpening your knife. You can find the suggestion on the manual. It is probably about 10 to 30 degrees.
  • Put the sharpening stone on a piece of towel. Don’t forget to lubricate the stone with special oil as to instructions written on the manual.
  • You can put any angle guide to always keep you knife on the correct angle. It is very difficult to maintain the angle if you don’t use any of it. You can leave it out if you already have a very good eye to maintain the angle as well as a firm hand to draw your knife.
  • Make sure that you have two kinds of grit on the stone, smooth and coarse sides.
  • Move the knife onto the course edge consistently from base to tip. Always maintain the angle.
  • Flip over the knife and do the same thing to its other side.
  • After that, use the smooth side of the stone to keep your knife edge smooth.

What becomes the issue is whether you always keep your knives in good conditions or not. It is so much better to only use one knife but it is always sharp and in excellent condition.

If you can take good care of your personal knife, you can always cook happily and easily every day. Cooking won’t become burdensome anymore.

How to Properly Clean and Sharpen Kitchen Knives. 6 Important things

Originally posted 2020-08-13 03:38:10.

I love learn and share with writing. In this blog I will help you get simple and easy home tips for better life. Explore home decoration, home cleaning, lighting, painting, organizing, cooking, repairing, and others.

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