Superb Tips To Help You Sharpen Your Knives
Getting straight to the point may be the proper way to take on conversation, but it’s not the ideal way to sharpen a kitchen knife. Knives are invaluable tools around the kitchen and other areas of the home, but if they aren’t sharp, they are useless – and dangerous.
Whether or not you buy costly knives or cheap knives, all of them get dull with use. You can have your knives serviced by a professional, or you can learn how to sharpen your knives by yourself. A word of caution: learning to sharpen your knives takes time and practice; do not start by trying to sharpen your best knives on your own as you could damage the blades.
Even though your knives might seem sharp, a practical test can let you know whether or not your knives require to be sharpened. Slice a ripe tomato – if you can slice the tomato easily, you are knife is sharp; if the tomato squishes down and is hard to slice, then it is time to add your knife to the ‘to-be-sharpened’ drawer.
Knife blades are basically tiny saws, complete with teeth. With use, these teeth get worn, bent or twisted. Knives made from harder metal do not get dull as frequently as those made of soft metal, but when they do get dull, they are more hard to sharpen. It is necessary to find a substance harder than what your knife is made of to sharpen that knife. Metal sharpeners known as steels are sometimes used by professionals like butchers, but for most people who own stainless steel knives, a ceramic sharpener might be a better choice.
Using a Ceramic Sharpener to Sharpen Your Knives:
• Start by placing the heel of your knife blade at the tip of the sharpener after which sliding the entire length of the blade down the sharpener. Keep the pressure and angle constant; you should feel the abrasion between the cutting edge and the sharpener.
• Plan your stroke to ensure that you will finish with the point of the knife’s blade near the base of the ceramic sharpener. Repeat this move on the other side of the sharpener to sharpen the other side of your knife.
Steel Sharpeners:
• If you choose to use a steel sharpener rather than a ceramic one, start with the heel of the blade at the base of the sharpener (rather than at the tip as with the ceramic sharpener) and work your hands away from each other whilst maintaining the contact between the knife blade and the sharpener at an angle of 25 degrees.
Depending on how frequently you use your knives, they’ll require periodic grinding to create a new cutting edge. If you have a sanding wheel or a large grinder with stones of varying coarseness, you can carve a new edge on your knives, but if you lack this equipment, skill or confidence, it might be a good idea to have a professional handle the grinding as it could damage your knives and possibly your fingers.