Kitchen Knife Care

BASIC KITCHEN KNIFE CARE FOR HOME AND PROFESSIONAL CHEFS

                              
                                    Written and copyrighted  by

                                                                    Michael Moses Lishinsky July 2008

I am not sure if you have ever seen someone hone one of those straight razors? ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjzMJ3Ny-eE ) . There are many videos on the web on how to hone, but all have to do with honing a razor. It really is the same deal for kitchen knives. Using honing stones for most people is just to much, to complicated. So, I will go over some other  typical honing techniques for those that live by the creedo that says ‘the simpler the better’ or la minimalista .
    First will be the butcher type steel, then some about using stones,  how to use one of those double headed units with opposing carbide heads ( that is what I use in the kitchen ), an electric unit and a few other ideas that are unusual . Choose one and go at it.
    I would avoid the butchers steel all together. They are a sort of  free hand style technique fraught with many pitfalls . One is that they are very hard to learn to use properly. If you go to far, you can easily roll the edge right off.  Also, most older steels have lost their longitudinal ridges, and therefore will not hone anymore.  If you refuse and do use one, rub it on the knife and not the other way around. Most people copy the butcher and flap the knife around against the stationary butcher and as a result, ruin their edges right away. I would place the knife on a phone book with the edge hanging over one side, and sharpen that way . This will expose only the edge and you can firmly hold the knife blade down . This is a good technique for many of the honing techniques I will mention here. ( However ** - I suggest the phone book idea and swiping with the stone or steel for safety’s sake. If this is just to backwards for you , then certainly do it the opposite way. Make sure the stone is secure and go at it. )
     Place the steel as flat as possible on the bottom of the edge and work to the tip only. Going both ways makes it just to complicated for a beginner. Later on you can go up AND down – but for now keep it simple. 5-10  swipes on one side and then flip it over. COUNT STROKES !!! Swipe, start again. The angle here is crucial. Hold the steel to flat and you do not touch the edge. If you hold it to steep, you may rub your edge right off. Like I said, this is not easy and the only way to get good at it is to do it and then check the edge – or have someone watch and guide you. Do not try to copy a butchers technique because butchers knives are very abused and need constant professional help – believe me I know !
     If you want to try a stone, as a beginner just go to the hardware store and buy a cheapo unit with coarse on one side and fine on the other. Never use oil on your stone , but only water. Use the phone book technique ( you can put a paper towel under it if you like ) . Start off on the fine side and for beginners, swipe once from the back to the front. 5 swipes per side works good or up to 10. Again, keep the angle just right to get the stone to do its thing.  If the fine side does not work , go to the coarse side and then go back to the fine side,  plucking that edge to check if your making progress. Wipe knife off and rinse stone, and maybe try cutting a tomato and see how the edge feels. After a few tries at this, you should find some success. After some success, you can go back and forth with the stone . Always wash with soap and scrub the stone carefully with hot water to remove debris from the pores or else it will become dull. Same thing if you have a stone that has become dull.  . Boil out debris with hot water, if necessary, to clean-  or just buy a new stone.
     Carbide is very very hard and is used in many applications for cutting wood and steel . In the last 10 years, it has been adapted for honing. I use the Smith’s Jiff-V-Sharp sharpener. It costs less than $10 and I have had mine for 10 years. It has opposing carbide pieces in the head. One draws it over the edge 2-3 times. It is not as clean and smooth as a honing stone, but it certainly does the job. Simple and quick. $10 on Amazon ( no I do not sell them. )

I have never used one but have heard over and over that the Chef’s Choice 3 slot electric sharpener works well. I like the 3 slot idea as it can take your knife edge down gradually in 3 steps. But remember, stones get clogged and dull, and this system is sealed so when the stones get clogged…

    If you have a porcelain ( white )  cup or plate – there is usually some raw fired clay around the bottom edge. This makes a great honer as porcelain is very abrasive and very fine.  Use the phone book technique. Again, the angle the knife is sharpened is key.

     Lastly, for professionals chefs and restaurant owners ,  I  found this place at http://edgemasteroforegon.com who sell sharpening systems. This system sort of mimics the way I make and sharpen knives.  In a large restaurant operation this unit will pay for itself in no time, and should work great . Just start out slowly, with your worst knives. Have one person master the technique and it will be their job to sharpen the knives. Just make sure to protect eyes, run a fan across the machine to blow away dust and wear gloves . There are other systems easier to master, but cost 4 times as much , for example Tormek. Those rubber garden gloves work well. Work lightly which means press gently . If you blue black a section of your blade, you have just removed the heat treatment from that section and it will never hold an edge in that area again. There are ways to re-do it , but this is not the place to talk about it.  

   So sharpen, dip to cool in water and repeat. Cost is around $200 and is comparable to an expensive automated home closed system using grinding wheels . Belts for these machines are an extra cost. Use 240 grit to re-grind an edge and then go to 400. For anyone who could use this and hesitates, don’t. This system is not hard to learn and as I said, over time it will produce sharp knives.

        The web has lots of videos showing different techniques ( such as Knife Sharpeing 101 ) shown here - Google video at http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=knife+sharpening&hl=en&sitesearch=#  , which can even please the most anal of us. Again, I will mention that sharpening and honing is only as good as the steel in the knife and how well it was heat treated and your technique.

      The surface of carbon steel kitchen knives are maintained the same way as cast iron pots and pans. The ideal tool for this process is the scrubbie sponge. Generally, green on one side and yellow on the other. The green part , when in good condition, is abrasive enough to scout any old rust or keck off of anything ( one can find green side like pads at the hardware store and work great ! )  So if you find an old knife or pan you want, and it has spots, grab it . Old knives have carbon steel that is unavailable today and almost always hold great edges cast iron are still the best cookware around !

    One can clean a knife ( or pan ) wet or dry . Just rub the green section lengthwise on the blade being aware not to rub the edge ( or else.) I always lay the knife flat on a surface and scrubs away. Pans will take a little longer but will always come clean. If they are coated with old grease, heat them up and once the grease keck liquefies, wipe it out. Then do the same with soap .

    Once it is clean, one can warm up a pan or knife on a flame until the water evaporates and then oil with any veggie oil you like. Let cool and wipe dry. Soap will usually cut the oil finish and affect a cast iron pan way more than a carbon steel kitchen knife. I rarely use soap in my cast iron, but regularly soap up my kitchen knives and have rarely dried them. If the surface bothers me , I scour them. In the old days one used sand or salt to do the same job with a rag. One can also put seasoned oil in a cast iron pan or pot and bake at 200 degrees for up to 45 minutes. Then let cool and wipe out . One need not ever obsess about the surface of the carbon steel knife, just enjoy that bright edge .

    If you have always used a certain system to hone/sharpen , and your knife is cutting like an axe, try a different system because your system is not working .

Aproveche’