Sharpen your knife with a wet sharpening stone, keeping an even 20° angle throughout the swing (for a chef's knife). After sharpening a knife, wipe the blade off to remove any metal particles.
All knives dull with use. Face it if we keep smashing you on a counter you will lose some of your edge. But there are ways to slow down the action. Use the right cutting board. Do not bang the blade against pots bowls, counters or anything else to remove something. And do not cut string, paper and tin cans with your knife. Remember you have spent a lot of money on the knife and a lot more on the food, make it work for you by using care and attention.
It is not a good idea to put knives in the dishwasher. There is a tendency to just throw them letting the blades strike each other and other utensils. This dulls the blades. You or someone else can get cut if the knives are not removed with care. The handles are not designed for the temperatures of a dishwasher. The wooden handles, even those impregnated with resins of one sort or another, will split and eventually disintegrate. It is possible some of the manufacturers will replace the knives if that should happen, but who wants to spend their time running to the post office and explaining why you are sending knives. The plastic handled knives are allegedly dishwasher safe, but you still have the problems with banging the cutting edge and dulling the knife. Is it really so heard to take a clean soapy sponge and wipe the blade, a quick rinse and dry with a clean perfectly ironed tea towel? Ok, a paper towel might be easier.
Hold the sharpening steel vertically firmly in your hand. Hold the knife firmly by the handle. The tip of the blade should point upward. Move the blade from the bolster (or back wide part of knife) to the point. Hold the knife at an angle of about 20 degrees with a slight pressure over the steel. Move the arm but not the wrist. Hold the sharpening steel at arms length in front of you. The blade is drawn at an angle of approximately 20 degrees against the steel. The sharpening is done perfectly after 10 - 20 strokes of the knife over the steel. After using the steel for many strokes, test the sharpness of the knife with a pice of plain paper. The knife should easily cut thin ribbons. The best knives are made of a high quality steel alloy and come razor sharp from the factory. These knives hold an edge for a long time. If a knife is used constantly it will soon have a dull edge. A knife can only maintain perfect cutting qualities by the regular use of a sharpening steel.
The cutting quality of a knife is determined by the cutting angle of the blade. A minimum of pressure to cut is required when the angle is very small.
There are vegetable knives and meat knives for smooth cuts, which have an angle of 40-45 degrees, and boning knives with an angle of 55 degrees.
A boning knife has the necessary flexibility and the edge that is not damaged while separating meat from the bone.
The knife manufacturer obtains the cutting angle. After normal use, sharpening is required. A fine edge is formed on the edge, which makes the blade cut well. When the knife is used, the hardness of the material being cut, the contact of blade and the cutting surface all wear off this edge.
This is the moment when a sharpening steel is needed. With a few strokes, the sharpening steel restores the edge or if necessary raises a new one. It is not necessary to send the knife to the grinder. Every experienced Chef and Butcher knows that perfect cutting qualities of blades depend on the regular use of a sharpening steel. Practice makes perfect. Beginners should try slowly, without fear of injury, using smooth strokes (practice makes perfect sense).
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Keep the knives sharp longer
How to use a Sharpening Steel
