Knife care?

[Raquelita]

My DH and I enjoy cooking, but we are *terrible* about taking care of our knives. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but every knife we own has rust spots on it from the dishwasher, and none have been sharpened in at least a year. Can our knives be saved? They're Emeril by Wustoff so not super-cheap but not the greatest either.

[Mama Mangia]

When stainless steel corrodes, it does not rust all over like non stainless steel but acquires small localized pits or holes.
The majority of spoons and forks are made from stainless steels that have such excellent corrosion resistance that they are virtually immune to pitting. For knives, however, the blade steel is selected to give a compromise between corrosion resistance and cutting properties. In order to achieve a lasting edge, a steel that is much harder but of lower corrosion resistance that spoon and fork steel is used.
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As soon as the dishwasher has completed its cycle, remove the knives and wipe them dry. It is particularly undesirable to leave them overnight in the damp atmosphere of a dishwasher.
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Observe the dishwasher manufacturer?s instructions concerning the type and quality of detergent used and the method of loading cutlery in the compartments provided.
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Water with a high salt content is particularly corrosive to stainless steel. Dishwashers are often fitted with water softeners that must be regenerated with salt. After adding salt, make certain that the machine is put through the program recommended by the supplier before washing knives in the machine.

[Raquelita]

Thank you so much! That is helpful. We can usually get the rust spots off with the scrubby side of a sponge so i will do that and then make sure to always promptly dry our knives.

[Mama Mangia]

You're welcomed - I hope it works for you!

[BagCSC]

I dont know if it is true or not, but I have heard many times that tomatoes and other "juicy" fruits and veggies are really hard on blades due to the acids found in them. I immediately wash off my good knifes after using them. I almost always give it a quick sharpening on my ceramic sharpener before using it also. Of course...I wash it off after sharpening and before using it. This ensure that the knife is a sharp as it can be each time I use it. It only takes about 5-7 passes on each side of the blade to keep it super sharp.

[Mama Mangia]

Acids do a job on blades and you are right to rinse immediately after use - I do the same.

It never hurts to sharpen your knives before or after each use (rinsing of course) and I find that the sharpeners they have on some electric can openers can also dull you knife depending on how you hold them!

Years ago we had a knife man who would come around with the cart and sharpen knives, scissors, etc. and after he died I remember my gram going outside to the concrete step and sharpening her knives on that! Worked for her!

I like my little hand-held sharpener - and by keeping up with your knife blades it's so much easier instead of waiting for them to really get dull.

[Twinmama]

Okay, here's a bit of an expansion on the original question. What about storage of the (good) knives when they're not in use? I got my husband a good Henckels knife for our anniversary (nothing says romance like a good knife ) and I hate just putting it in the drawer. I have evicted a lesser knife from the knife block and put the Henckels in there, but that only works for the time being (as I plan to get more good knives in the near future). Do I have to go buy a whole new knife block?

[Mrs. Chipotle]

Hmmm. Does your current knife block not have enough storage spaces? I would get a new one then. Mine has room for 8 or so knives, I think, plus kitchen scissors.

I think it was about $40 at Williams-Sonoma. Naturally, you can find knife blocks elsewhere but mine was a gift.

It's funny you mention romance and knives - I recall some story about how in certain cultures you don't give knives as wedding gifts for some superstitious reason, but now I can't recall what the reason is.

[alice.b.toklas]

My dad had a superstition about not giving knives away, and anytime he would give one to someone, would always ask for a penny. It had to do with giving a knife to a friend and if they cut themselves with it then it would cut the friendship. So he always sold them for a penny.

[aeiou]

I find that my two knives from Pampered Chef are my sharpest knives because they each come with their own storage sleeve that has a sharpener. The knives are sharpened every time I take them out and put them back in their storage sleeve. Unfortunately my other good knives are only sharpened occasionally because I never think to get the sharpener out more frequently.