Sharp knives are essential in any kitchen whether it is for professionals or for home cooks. They are an integral part of the food preparation and cooking process.
Despite being a common household item, not everyone is aware that you need to keep your knives sharp to make it last a lifetime.
Whether you’re considering buying a professional set of knives or you already own one, here are our top 10 reasons to keep your knives sharp.
Why you need to keep your knives sharp?
Sharp knives improve performance
The single-biggest benefit of sharpening your knives is that you improve their performance now and over time. A finely-honed blade will cut through meat, vegetables - you name it.
If you want to get thin cuts or you enjoy fileting your own fish, the quality of your blade will really come to the fore.
If it is lacking, it is going to make your job harder, the end result much uglier, and everyone involved slightly frustrated. Keep your knives sharp and work beautifully and effortlessly.
Sharp knives are safer to use
Sharp knives not only makes your work easier, it makes it a lot safer. Most injuries with knives occur because the blade is dull and worn out. This means that cutting things is tougher and, often, to compensate you will apply more pressure.
An increase in pressure on a knife while cutting on uneven surfaces is a recipe for a disaster.
When you have your knife sharpened and properly cared for, you can slice through meat with ease as well as other things.
Depending on the purpose for which the knife was made, keeping it sharp will also result in cleaner cuts.
That means you have a prettier output as a result. If you’re a professional chef, or even just a home cook that cares about the presentation of their food, this means more than you might think.
After all, the appearance of the food often, unfairly, subliminally cues people into the quality of the ingredients and the skill of the chef behind the dish. They’ll be able to tell if you use a dull knife that mangles the food, and you don’t want that.
Related post: Why using a sharp knife is important
Quality knives are an investment
Buying a fancy set of knives is not a cheap proposition. Why would you let it go to waste through lack of care?
Often, we think about things in terms of how much it would cost to replace it, but this disposable approach to knives is perhaps misplaced.
Quality knives are intended to last for a lifetime and throwing them away would be a waste.
It would also be a waste to buy them without planning on caring for them on a regular basis. That includes cleaning and sharpening, depending on how often you use them.
Sharpening your knife yourself is not hard
It’s not a difficult task and, once you get the hang of it, it’ll take no time at all. You will need to buy the proper tools and equipment but, after that, you’re all set.
Like we said earlier, this is an investment and somewhat of a commitment.
The serious knife owner is always set apart from someone else by how his knives are cared for and what he uses to do that.
You don’t have to break the bank but you do have to buy some specialized equipment and learn a few new skills to keep your knives working at their best.
We understand that not everyone has the time to sharpen knives though. Perhaps, you are always on the go and do not have the luxury to spend an hour or two sharpening knives.
This is the reason why we started FixKnife. Our goal is to provide a Professional Mail-in Knife Sharpening Service. You get pristine knives at the comfort of your home.
They are always ready to use
Maintaining sharp knives means that they are ready to use when you need them.
There’s nothing worse than finding out your knives are too dull for the job when the moment comes.
You can avoid that lapse in care by sharpening them on a regular basis and by applying regular care to your knives over the course of the year.
Also, don’t forget to store them properly and away from the elements.
Makes Knives Last Longer
You’ve gotten the impression by now that sharpening your knives is good for their overall condition.
But did you know how they last longer with proper care? When you fail to sharpen your knives properly, they dull and part of this process might mean that certain parts along the edge become softer or indented.
This can grow over time and impact the core integrity of your knife.
When this happens, small cracks and fissures appear in the metal that makes it structurally weaker and also makes it harder to sharpen the knife properly in the future.
This is because your knife now has a weak spot. The broken knife tip or knife edge chips could end up being the ruin of your entire instrument.
To avoid this, you need to maintain an even edge on your knife at all times and this occurs through regular sharpening and care.
If you notice that your knives have broken tips or edge chips, try our mail in Broken Knife Tip Repair or Knife Edge Chip Repair and get them back to their tip-top shape.
Professional-Grade Cooking
We’ve outlined how sharp knives can improve your fileting and cutting meat, among other things.
But there are also other types of cutting that you might not consider unless you’re a professional chef.
Whether you are or you want to become one or you just want something quality hitting the table every evening, the quality of your knives often determines how easy your task is when it comes to julienning carrots or quartering potatoes.
The recipe calls for vegetables of even and equal size, and this isn’t going to happen with some hacksaw that you never care for and pull out once in a while.
Whether you need paper-thin cuts or you just need a knife that gets the job done the first time, all of this can be determined by how well you care for your knives.
Sharp knives help with Fileting
Maybe you enjoy fishing on the weekends, or maybe you buy sashimi-grade tuna from the local market. Whatever you enjoy, you need a proper knife to take care of that fish.
Again, sharpness matters here, especially when it comes to filleting larger fish.
The best sushi chefs in the world often spend tons of money on their knives and you better believe that they take care of them.
Helps with Barbecuing and Prepping Meats
Perhaps you are a hunter or you enjoy barbecuing. Having sharp knives not only means that you can get the most out of your animal but also that you can divvy up the meat into a way that makes it easier to barbecue or cure.
Separates Those Who Are Serious from Those That Are Just Cooking
If you’re serious about cooking, hunting, fishing, or any other task that could use a knife, then you have to be as equally dedicated to the care and maintenance of your blade.
When you decide it is time to get serious about cooking is the time you decide to get a real set of knives to help you out with that task.
Whether you plan on cooking a lot or you just want to take it up as a part-time hobby, you owe it to yourself to own a quality pair of knives AND you must take care of them on a regular basis.
As with all things in life, regular care and maintenance of high-quality knives make sure they last as long as you need them to do so.
Final Thoughts
When you are shopping for knives, be sure to check out reviews that discuss the ease of sharpening them and caring for them.
You want to avoid lower-quality blades that invoke the disposable qualities we talked about above.
That means you might have to spend a little bit more than you intended initially, but it will be worth it over the long run.
Low-quality knives are often resistant to sharpening, but the best knives welcome it and require it.
You owe it to yourself to get nothing less than the best and you owe it to those knives to regularly care for them and sharpen them.