Your London knife sharping experts have just polished them to perfection, and those blades can split hair. Now, how to look after them at their best? Sort of like keeping that new car smelling fresh but not asphyxiating everyone with air fresheners! It is all about maintenance and touching up. First things first, let’s talk storage. Ever notice how buttering toast with a spoon just doesn’t cut it? That clumsiness creeps in when your knife’s edge gets dinged from careless storage. Tossing your knives into a drawer without proper blade guard is like throwing your good suit in the dryer. Avoid culinary equivalents of a traffic jam with a magnetic strip or knife block.
Each one would be cuddling those shining blades with relish.
Speaking of style, have you ever seen a professional chef use his or her knife and think to yourself, “I wonder if their knives do that all day?” They don’t. It is all about maintenance. Every now and then-meaning a couple of times a month-give your blade some love with a honing rod. Like a massage for metal, realigning the edge without shaving off the metal sharpening would entail, it keeps them in top condition in between sharpening appointments.
OK, let’s talk cleaning. Hand wash the beauties-skip the dishwasher. Dishwashers might make the knives corrode, or even worse, grow dull. Dull knives are as good as chocolate teapots. Use only a smidge of gentle soap and warm water-give the knife the la carte service it so rightly deserves. Ever hear the expression “more haste, less speed”? Throwing your knives into reckless tasks such as opening cans or scraping icy windshields is a surefire way to send them back to sharpening limbo. Keep them cutting only foodstuff-and not frozen goods, either. Save your icy adventures for ice picks, not your freshly honed knives.
