Updated: Dec 28, 2019
Professional sharpener will ensure that no more metal than is necessary is removed during the sharpening process, prolonging your knife's life and silhouette. And the whetstones used in a professional setting are kept wet while they do their work, which prevents the blade from overheating
Updated: Jan 29, 2020
A good sharp knife is a cook’s best friend. It will help you to work with precision, and quickly. A dull knife conspires against you and slows you down.
And here is another reason for keeping that knife sharp: It makes your food taste better (and look better, too).
Fresh herbs will release more of their aromatic oils beneath a knife’s sharp blade. A tomato slice or wedge, instead of looking trod upon, will retain its luscious juices with elegance. Carefully hand-cut onions are easier to brown because they stay drier than onions that have been bludgeoned into slices. (A blunt instrument smashes cells, which causes moisture to accumulate, whereas a sharp blade glides through with ease.)
Steak tartare has superior texture and flavor if you use a sharp knife instead of a meat grinder. Instead of being sadly hacksawed, a roasted bird or loin of pork is a delight to carve. A good knife doesn’t have to be expensive (and an expensive knife is useless if it isn’t sharp). You really need only a few knives anyway: a paring knife, an all-purpose vegetable knife, a long so-called chef’s knife. A proper serrated bread knife helps enormously, and not just for bread. And though it is not a knife per se, a sharp swivel-type vegetable peeler is essential.
The knife I find most useful is a vegetable knife, with a blade about 2 inches wide and 7 to 8 inches long. I prefer a square-edged Japanese-style, but a European style with a pointed end is fine too. This type of knife does everything: slice, dice, chop, mince.
Updated: Jan 29, 2020
Just because you’re proud of the prowess of your kitchen knives, doesn’t mean you should feel obligated to do your own kitchen knife sharpening. Here are five reasons why it might be wiser (and easier) not to invest in a sharpening system, but send them out to a knife sharpening service:
1) You haven’t the interest or patience to master a new skill. Sharpening by its very nature takes some training. If you are not paying close attention to what you are doing, you can easily grind away more metal than you need to or, worse yet, completely ruin a perfectly good knife. Especially using a power sharpening system. There’s a learning curve. Respect the curve. No matter what all the DIY knife sharpening experts tell you, sharpening a knife, like any valuable skill, takes time and concentration to learn and get good at. 2) Your time is precious. Sharpening a kitchen knife can, in an ideal world, take only 10 minutes. That’s, of course, if it’s in pretty good shape to begin with. Otherwise, we’re talking more like 20 minutes or more. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Because, before all this, you’ve got to put in the hours learning how to, correctly, do it. And no matter what all the DIY knife sharpening experts tell you, sharpening a knife, like any valuable skill, takes time and concentration to learn and get good at. Even if you use a power sharpening system, depending on which brand/model you buy, it could take more time for you do it yourself.
3) Easy-peasy sharpening systems can be the least desirable sharpening solution. General rule-of-thumb—the easier the system, the worse it is for your knives. There are some exceptions to this rule, but fast, easy sharpening is not necessarily quality sharpening. Second general rule-of-thumb—the more inexpensive the sharpener, the worse it will probably be for your knives. Inexpensive sharpeners tend to grind off more metal than is necessary, thereby shortening the life of your knives. If you really really must sharpen your own, be prepared to pay $100 dollars and up for a decent system. 4) You don’t really enjoy sharpening. Life is short. Have you heard the saying, “back to the grindstone”? There’s a reason it means what it means. If you don’t enjoy grinding down metal in the first place, it’s only going to get more and more tedious, not less. 5) Quality knife sharpening services are plentiful and affordable. Take the next step and find a qualified sharpening service at Reviews of Professional Knife Sharpening Services. You’ll wonder why you waited so long! P.S. After you get your knives back from the sharpening service, you must hone them regularly if you want to keep them sharp.