1.  Keep kitchen knives for kitchen use!  It’s easy to grab a knife to use as a hammer, to pry things open, or use as a hammering instrument.  Many times these projects will bend the tip of your knife or damage them in some other way.  Set aside one or two knives that you can use for these purposes to make sure your other knives stay in the best condition.

2.  Although many knives are considered dishwasher safe, a dishwasher’s harsher chemicals and food debris flying around will all cause knives to lose there sharp edge much quicker than a gentle hand washing.  Its better for the longevity of the blade if you hand wash them in warm soapy water using regular dish washing detergent.  Dry them and store them right away after washing them.

3.  If you have wood handled knives, they need extra consideration.  Make sure you don’t soak wood handles in water as this will cause them to swell.  Wash them and dry them right away, and occasionally put a light coating of lemon oil or wood polish on them to keep the wood from drying out and becoming brittle.

4.  Store your knives in a wood butcher block, or at least separately from other utensils.  Keeping the blades free from getting bumped or banged around by other kitchen utensils will keep them sharper and from getting scratched up.

5.  Sharpen knives every two to three years, or more often for heavy use.  You don’t want to over-sharpen as small parts of metal are removed from your blade every time you sharpen.  You do want to keep them sharp though, as a matter of safety and ease of use.  There are many types of sharpeners and many techniques that can be used.  We will cover sharpening information in future articles.

These five tips should help your knives remain useful tools for you to use for many years to come!  If you have any tips and tricks you personally use, leave a comment and we’ll send you a discount for your next purchase of kitchen knives at eBladeStore.com.