Suggestions for Knife/Scissors Care: abuse the edge, lose the edge

 

Remember that any time a sharp edge is pressed against a hard surface it will get duller.

Knives naturally get dull through use (even the ones whose hawkers claim they don’t). This can’t be helped. But your knives will stay sharp longer if you just don’t do a few simple things.

So......

 

A sharp edge cannot contend with anything you don’t really intend to cut.

• Don’t store your sharp knives in drawers with other utensils. The sharpened edges bang against everything else in there. Stick ‘em in knife blocks, hang ‘em on magnetic bars, or lay them on the counter top. If the spoon drawer is your only option (like me), just protect the blades with sleeves or sheaths.
• Don’t wash cutting knives in the dishwasher. The force of the water jets causes the utensils to rattle and the edges to impact other hard surfaces. Ergo, edge-o dull-o.
• Don’t use glass, metal or ceramic cutting boards. Soft white polyethylene plastic boards (available for a pittance at Walmart) and wooden cutting boards are much better. Even a chunk of plywood or shelving lumber treated with mineral oil is a great alternative.
• Don’t use them to cut on dinner plates, etc. Steak knives are an exception, since they don’t need to be sharp enough to slice tomatoes.
• AND! … you can extend the life of a sharpened edge by occasionally using a “steel” on it between sharpenings. Ask me about steels or check out a You Tube video. A “steel” re-aligns the cutting edge of the knife (lifts it upright), usually without much real sharpening effect, making an already-sharpened edge once again functional.

 

Scissors:

The same cautions apply to scissors, sorta. I’ve no idea whether the old “don’t cut paper with your sewing scissors” advice is wise. I cut paper AND cloth with my own scissors, and find no reduction in functionality no matter which material I’m cutting. But DO NOT TRY TO CUT ANYTHING HARDER THAN PAPER, CLOTH, or HAIR with scissors. (You can do duct tape as long as you’re willing to de-goo afterward.) Some shears are, of course, designed specially to cut harder materials – sheet metal, wire, chickens, etc.

DO NOT TRY TO PRY, LOOSEN, or GRIP anything with them. These actions can cause damage to the inside surfaces of the blades. If the inside (shearing/mating) edges of the scissors are nicked, dented, or deformed, the scissors often can no longer be rescued or sharpened.

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