All About Knife Care

Although I'm not completely sure on this, but I personally think that the first cooking implement created by man was the knife. Ages ago, knives were used by man to gather and hunt for food, and later on used to prepare food when fire was discovered. Several centuries later, the knife is still one of the most common and most used tools everywhere you can find a kitchen. The ubiquitous knife is used everywhere, from homes to restaurants to cruise ships.

But although we can all agree about the importance of this versatile tool, it's sad to see that very few people know how to properly handle and care for a knife. Perhaps it's because knives don't have manuals when we buy them.

One of the things that really annoy me is watching people use knives incorrectly. The problem is that nobody taught us how to do it properly when we were just kids. All we knew at that time was that knives were dangerous and better kept away from us kids. There may be no instruction manuals for knives, but I believe that people who use them regularly should at least take the effort to learn how to handle them correctly.

First, learn how to hold the knife properly. Basically, there are three ways to hold a knife, but it depends on the kind of knife and what is it going to be used for. For cutting against a board, a knife should be held with the thumb and forefinger gripping the blade. Grip the handle with your other three fingers. When cutting hanging meat, for example, the knife should be held like a dagger for proper leverage. When using a small knife to turn or peel, one or two fingers should grip the blade, with the othersthe rest around the handle.

Learn also how to care for your knives. A wooden board should be used for chopping and cutting. Plastic boards require more cleaning, and they are not quite as gentle on the edge of a knife as wooden boards. Get a board with the end-grain as a cutting surface, rather than side grain. The end-grain is the least abrasive surface to cut against, so your knife's edge will last a longer time.

Always store a knife in a way that protects the blade, such as a plastic sleeve or a paperboard. Clean the knife first after use, then dry before storing it away. Do not wash knives in a dishwasher, no matter how convenient it may seem. Always protect the knife's edge against other hard objects. To properly sharpen a knife, the best way is to use a knife sharpener with an abrasive, diamond surface. Of course, you can always use a whetstone, but it takes a lot of experience to be able to sharpen a knife to razor-like sharpness with it.

Azlan Irda is the co-founder of AfterKnife.com, which provides high-quality knives and supplies. Visit our website to get all the puma knives and supplies you need.

Azlan Irda is the co-founder of AfterKnife.com, which provides high-quality knives and supplies. Visit our website to get all the knives and supplies you need.

- Azlan Irda