Little Too Sharp Cartoon

Watch Those Fingers

I had the idea after sharpening some knives and thinking I needed to do this more often. Some chef friends of mine have told me they sharpen their knives every day or at least every other day. Yes, they use their knives more in a day than we may in a week, but still, when was the last time you sharpened your knives or even used a steel on them?

I sharpened all my knives until they were dangerous. I had to warn my wife and kids to be careful with all my knives. I get so excited about new gadgets that I wanted to sharpen my butter knives but thought better of it. My favorite knife sharpener now is an inexpensive model sold by Ozitech called the Ozitech Pro Knife Sharpener. It's portable, works great, doesn't take up a lot of valuable space in your kitchen, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I find I can go weeks without sharpening them. Then, I realize how much extra work I’m doing dicing a carrot or chopping an onion, and I get to work on sharpening that blade. I’m not talking about just running it over a steel to clean it up a little. I mean, get out your stone or Chef’s Choice and hone that blade.

You may think it is easier to cut yourself with a sharp knife (well, actually, it can be if you don’t know the knives were just sharpened—just ask my wife), but in reality, it is easier to cut yourself with a dull knife.

Why? You have to work so much more complicated and use more force to cut through something, and there is more of a chance to slip and cut yourself. Chef Ricco told me many times that with a sharp knife, you let the knife do all the work. You don’t have to press hard on it, so it will be a shallow cut even if you slip and cut yourself. On the other hand, if you are pushing down hard on a dull knife and you slip, the cut will be bad.

Be Careful

Like most kitchen utensils, knives can be dangerous. So when handling them, be careful and pay attention to what you are doing. If you are using really sharp knives, be extra careful to watch what you’re doing and let the knife do the work.