Guides
How to look after a good kitchen knife
The short answer: hand wash and dry a good knife straight after use, never put it in the dishwasher, store it in a block or on a magnetic strip rather than loose in a drawer, cut on wood or plastic, hone it weekly and sharpen it on a whetstone two or three times a year. Do that and a well-made knife will outlast you.
Wash by hand, dry straight away
Rinse the blade under warm water as soon as you have finished with it, especially after acidic food such as lemons, tomatoes or onions.
Wash with a soft sponge and a little washing-up liquid, wiping from spine to edge so the edge points away from your fingers.
Dry it with a tea towel immediately, including the bolster and where the handle meets the blade.
Put it away dry. Never leave it to soak in the sink, where it is hidden, knocks against other things and sits wet.
Why never the dishwasher
A dishwasher is hard on knives in three ways. The blade rattles against cutlery and racks, which chips and dulls a fine edge. Long periods of heat and moisture, with strong detergent, can mark even stainless steel. And wooden handles dry out, shrink and crack. A knife takes thirty seconds to wash by hand. That is the cheapest maintenance there is.
Store it so the edge touches nothing
| Storage | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Knife block | Good: each blade in its own slot. Slide the knife in on its spine, not its edge. |
| Magnetic strip | Good: knives visible and apart. Place and lift the knife spine first, so the edge does not snap onto the metal. |
| Drawer insert or blade guard | Fine, if every knife has its own place. |
| Loose in a drawer | Bad: edges chip against each other and hands go in blind. |
Cut on wood or plastic
Glass, stone, slate, marble and ceramic boards blunt any edge within a few cuts. Wood is the kindest surface; end grain wood, where the fibres stand upright, is kinder still because the edge slips between them. Plastic is fine too. Avoid scraping food across the board with the edge: turn the knife over and use the spine. More in wood or plastic chopping board and end grain or edge grain.
Hone weekly, sharpen two or three times a year
Honing straightens an edge that has rolled; a few strokes a side on a ceramic rod, weekly or before a big cook. Sharpening on a whetstone grinds a fresh edge when honing no longer brings it back. For a home kitchen that is usually two or three times a year. The details are in do I need a honing steel? and how often should you sharpen a kitchen knife?
Use it for what it is for
A hard, thin blade is made for cutting food, not for prising lids, cracking frozen food or chopping through bone. Twisting a hard edge sideways is the commonest way to chip it. Keep a cheaper, tougher knife for those jobs.
The Season tools for this
The Season S4 Knife Block (£38) keeps each blade apart. The Teak End Grain Chopping Board (£70 to £120, from 35 x 25cm up to 46 x 36cm) gives the edge an end grain surface, with a juice channel on one side and a plain face on the other. For maintenance, the Ceramic Honing Steel (£25) and the Season Whetstone with Bamboo Base (£35, 1000 and 6000 grit) cover honing and sharpening. Look after it this way and the S4 Chef's Knife (£100), with its 61 HRC core and rosewood handle, is a knife for life: it carries a lifetime guarantee and is hand wash only.
Questions people ask
Will a dishwasher really damage a stainless knife? It dulls the edge and can mark the steel. Wooden handles suffer most.
Should I oil a wooden knife handle? An occasional wipe of food-safe oil on a dry handle keeps the wood from drying out. The same oil works on wooden boards.
Are magnetic strips bad for knives? No, if you place and lift the knife spine first.
Can a chipped knife be fixed? Small chips can be ground out on a whetstone, starting on a coarse grit. Deep chips are a job for a professional sharpener.
Cook it with
Cook like it matters.
From the cooks at Season, a London cookshop since 2005.