Getting the most from your kitchen knives

Tip #1: Store your knives properly.

If you throw your kitchen knives into a drawer they can chip or dull, and you risk cutting yourself when you reach for them.

We recommend storing your fine kitchen cutlery in a wood block. A block is organized, safe and protects the blades.

Always hand-wash and carefully dry your blades before putting them away.

Tip #2: Know how (and how often) to use your sharpening steel.

Proper use of a "sharpening steel" (or "honing steel") realigns the "micro edge" of a kitchen knife. Pulling the blade gently across the rod at a shallow angle will realign this very fine edge.

As you'd expect, just how often you "steel" your knives will depend on how often you use them. Relatively soft German steels might benefit from honing after each use, while the harder steels used in Japanese kitchen knives may require attention only once a week or so.

Tip #3: Use the right cutting surface.

There's no faster way to dull a knife than to cut on the wrong surface.

Never cut on hard surfaces like glass, ceramic tile or plates, marble, granite countertops or acrylics -- those surfaces will dull or chip your blades.

Always cut on a surface that "gives" under your blade. (Check to see if the knife leaves a cut line in the material -- if so, you're using a proper surface.) We prefer cutting boards made of polypropylene or wood.