3 Fundamentals Of Knife Ownership

Spending money to buy your tools or knives is only half the story. The other and admittedly, more important part of the equation involves knowing the correct technique to use them or of course how to properly take care of them.

Today, we’ll share with some nifty tips on the proper usage and maintenance of your knives.

Holding the knife correctly

You must be wondering what’s so important about holding the knife in a specific manner, especially if the knife is razor sharp. Well, the correct knife holding technique is just as important as its sharpness. One, it will make your job a lot easier; knowing how to handle a blade can significantly cut your working time.

Secondly, when you don’t pay attention to the way you hold your knife, you expose yourself to the risk of injury and conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome if you work with knives for extended periods of time. Lastly, the correct holding technique also has its bearing on the knife’s life as an incorrect technique means that the blade makes contact with the food at awkward angels thus reducing its life.     

Dispending on your use, there are several ways to hold your blade:

• Grip the handle with all four fingers while your thumb is placed against the knife’s spine.

• Grip the handle with all four fingers while your thumb is placed against the knife’s side.

• Grip the handle with three fingers while the blade is held between your thumb and index finger on either side.

• Lastly, if you work with a boning knife, the correct way is to hold it in an overhand manner.

Keeping the knife sharp

There’s nothing worse than having to work with a dull knife! Not only it doubles your work, but you may also end up losing half a finger.

You can, of course, choose to take your knife to professional knife sharpener but that means you’ll have an added expense. You could also use mechanical knife sharpeners but again they can be expensive.

We recommend you put in a bit of time to learn how to sharpen yourself knife manually. All you need is a quality water-based sharpening stone, a knife and a few minutes of your time. Soak the stone for a bit in the water. Place the stone on a flat surface. Then hold your knife against the stone at roughly 20-25 degree angle and run it from its tip to bottom for a few passes on each side.        

Keeping your knives clean

You may be tempted to chuck your knives in the dishwasher but you’ll be doing your knives a big favor if you didn’t. A much better idea is to use lukewarm water and dishwashing fluid to clean your knives and wipe them dry with a clean cloth. Lastly, store them in a knife block.