Honing Tips
- If you have a honing rod or a sharpening steel etc, learn how to use it & use it often. Honing your knife is not sharpening. It’s actually just keeping the edge strong and straight. When you use your knife, the edge rolls over unevenly along the length of the cutting edge, making it not cut cleanly. Honing the knife aligns and strengthens the cutting edge, and keeps the ‘sharp part’ pointed down at the chopping board, rather than rolled over- not making contact with the food
- You should be honing your knife at least every couple of days. This will keep its edge at its best and extend the time needed in between sharpening
- Watch a great video on preferred cutting surfaces, general tips and my favourite and easiest way to hone your knives HERE
- Read more about how to properly use a honing rod here
- Here and here are some other useful pointers on Youtube
- If you don’t own a honing rod, buy an affordable and reputable ceramic one here. To see other edge-maintenance products I recommend, head over to my Amazon store
General Tips:
- Dishwashers & fine cutlery don’t mix! When possible, hand wash / dry your cutlery only, using mild soap and warm water. The heat, chemicals and humidity generated in dishwashers will dull your knives quickly, will rust the steel & ruin your handles
- If possible, always use your kitchen cutlery on a wooden or plastic chopping board, and keep away from glass boards, metal countertops and other hard objects, as there’s no quicker way to dull your freshly sharpened knives. See a handy video on what really dulls knives here
- If using your knife to scrape food from the chopping surface, flip the knife over and use the spine instead of scraping with the knife edge
- Always slice with your knife perpendicular to the chopping board, rather than at an angle, as this will minimize edge rolling and keep the edge strong
- Use the right knife for the right task. Know what work your knife is best suited to, and don’t go outside those tasks. I.e. If your knife is meant for sushi, don’t use it to chop through a chicken bone
- Ensure you hone often, use the right knife for the right job, hand wash them, and store them appropriately between use. Knives will not stay sharp forever, whether serrated or straight & if you enjoy cooking, it’s a good idea to have them serviced when your honing rod seems like it has stopped doing it’s job quite as well as it did
- Be good to your knives and they will be good to you. Have them professionally sharpened at least once a year, and they will last you a lifetime of pleasure to prepare fine nutritious meals for you and your loved ones
