Thoughts on Kitchen Knives

I've wasted a lot of money on cheap kitchen knives and sharpeners. Let's just start with that. I bought a couple of those sets that come in a wood block over the years. Nice looking, nice idea, but total waste of money, in my opinion. They're cheaply built, don't hold an edge, they rust, I've had handles fall off, and that big ol' block takes up space on the counter. Plus, I really don't use all those different types of knives. I've also gotten those ceramic knives, but I found out they can't be sharpened with the tools I have and they do eventually lose their edge.

Those block-type knife sets also come with sharpeners. And they may have been great sharpeners - but since the knives didn't hold an edge, I really don't know. I've also bought sharpening stones, sharpening bits for my Dremel tool, a couple of those sharpeners you just run your knife through, had an electric can opener with a knife sharpener in the back, etc. Never had much luck with any of them.

I'm pretty happy with the knives I have right now, though. I use a total of four. Actually, I mostly use three, and the other only for bread. I have an American made straight-edged utility knife I use for a paring knife, a santoku chef's knife that's Spanish made I use for almost everything, an American made 6-inch serrated knife, a Spanish-made serrated bread knife I use only for that purpose. You'll notice none are made in China. I try to stay away from Chinese steel.

I've learned I have the best luck buying knives singly. And I don't spend less than $30 per knife. You could probably get some good deals at yard sales or thrift stores, but you'd really have to know your knives and I don't. So, I go to kitchen stores and look for American made, then, if American stuff is not offered, I look for the best knife of the style I need that's not Chinese.

Then there's sharpening. Of all the sharpeners I've ever had, this is the best:

Yep. It's a ceramic coffee cup. Most of the time there's no glaze on the bottom edge of coffee cups. I hold my knife at an 18-20-ish degree angle to the cup and draw the knife toward me several times on each side. The oldest boy was horrified when he saw me do this at his house. He said, "You know, we have sharpeners here". You know I love you son and wouldn't think less of you if you didn't have sharpeners, but I do prefer the cup! It comes with a comfortable handle and serves a dual purpose (love those twofers!). And it works. For straight-edged knives.

The serrated knives are different, though. I've had the all-purpose serrated knife for about 12 years and it's still sharp. If it gets to the point that it must be sharpened because it's almost unusable, I figure I can sharpen it like I do the chainsaw blade. Can't be much different, right? And what will I have to lose?  I'll let you know, if and when.