It’s a good indication that you need to sharpen your knives when you dirty 5 of them in one sitting trying to cut a single tomato! There is an easy fix for the frustration that results from this though, and it only costs 5 bucks! I picked this knife sharpener up at Walmart and it works wonders.
Once you’ve revived your knives, you will want to get in the habit of using your sharpening steel. I didn’t even know what this thing was until I watched a Julia Child episode a few years ago and she demonstrated how to use it. My knives were dull back then and I remember pulling the sharpening steel out and working it for an enitre hour, not seeing much improvement. Why? Because a sharpening steel is used to maintain not restore! And I haven’t used the thing since. But now that my knives are sharp, I am going to keep them that way!
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This post came at the perfect time! We haven’t sharpened any of our knives for 3 years and I’ve had enough! Great post. I always thought that the sharpening steel WAS how to sharpen a knife as well. :)
Great tip!
I have the same exact knife set, lol.
The Mr. is obsessed with sharpening them before he uses them. But he tends to forget the cleaning step after (GROSS) so all I think about it eating microscopic metal shavings.
Thanks for the reminder – I need to do this!!
Having a dad who is a professional sharpener, and a boyfriend who sharpens knives for a hobby, I kinda cringe at these sharpening gadgets. They eat the steel away like WOAH! I know for most people this is the best thing they can do, but it not the best solution and doesn’t last because there’s no finishing buffing either. Just use carefully! And not too often. Hone your knife more instead!
And that’s not a sharpening steel rod, it’s a HONING steel rod. Because like you say it’s to maintain a sharp knife. Even better is a ceramic rod, finishes the edge to the molecule close.
An other great way to keep your knives sharp longer is to use newspaper! Preferably a page with lots of ink. You place the knife on the newspaper at a 15 degree angle and pull it in the direction opposite blade (not at a diagonal like with the rods but straight- perpendicular to the newspaper). Do each side 20 times. It will make sure the microscopic edge of the blade is not bending one side more than the other, and ultimately make the knife cut better.
PS I’m making the round of your blog (if you couldn’t tell from me spamming commenting you- hope you don’t mind!), you got great stuff! New follower, too!