Knives 101

Everything you need to know about knife care, sharpening, and maintenance

How We Sharpen Your Knives

We recently invested in some new equipment for the shop and made some tweaks to our sharpening process. Dash got a digital microscope for Christmas, and we couldn’t resist the urge to use it to analyze our results.

How to Keep Your Knives Sharp

There are some simple things you can do to keep your knives performing at their best and prolong the time between sharpening.

Assessing Sharpness

There are a variety of ways to judge the sharpness of a blade. Here we discuss some of the most common, as well as how we measure ourselves in the shop.

How to Store Your Knives

There are a variety of options for keeping your knives handy and protected. Here we look at the pros and cons of some of the most common methods.

Honing versus Sharpening

If you purchased your knives in a set, they likely came with a honing rod. Regular use of a honing rod will keep your knives sharp, but it won’t sharpen them. Confused? Read on…

Western vs. Japanese Knives

Japanese knives and Western knives are both popular options among culinary professionals and home cooks, but they exhibit distinct variations in terms of design, functionality, and cost.

Types of Kitchen Knives

A guide to the most common knives found in a kitchen.

Types of Steel

Without a degree in metallurgy, the different types of steel used to make kitchen knives can feel overwhelming for the average consumer. Here we attempt to cut through some of the confusion with a high level overview of your options for blade material when choosing a knife.

Anatomy of a Kitchen Knife

When discussing knives, it is useful to align around some basic terminology.