1. Cut on the Right Surfaces
The surfaces that you choose to use for cutting directly affect the condition of your knives and how long they maintain their sharpness. You should avoid hard or metal surfaces, such as stainless steel, granite, corian, and glass.
Instead, it’s recommended you cut on a softer surface such as wood (NOT recommended for meat), basic plastic boards, or a polypropylene board. Polypropylene boards are the top-recommended choice as they’re both soft AND anti-bacterial material, making them both safe for your knife’s edge and very sanitary. Keep these factors in mind when choosing your preferred cutting surface.
Added benefits would be a juice groove around the board to keep the mess contained and either a rubberized bottom or rubber pegs on the corners to keep the cutting board from moving when in use.
2. Use Proper Sharpening Technique and Tools
For most people, using a honing steel can be tricky. Oftentimes, if you haven’t been taught or trained on how to do it properly, it can lead to doing more harm than good for your knives. This is the main reason Cutco designed a basic, easy to use, carbide steel sharpener.
It is extremely effective at re-sharpening the knife if the blade has become completely dull (about 15-20 strokes will re-sharpen it from this state), and it’s also great for maintaining a sharp edge when used regularly (about 5-10 strokes every 6 months or so, depending on use).
3. Store Your Knives Properly
A common mistake some knife owners make is tossing all of their knives into a drawer with other kitchen utensils. Your knives should have a dedicated storage spot all to themselves. You can dedicate a whole drawer just to your knives using protective knife sheaths or trays.
Commercial kitchens may use a magnetic board so that their knives are available for quick access. However, magnetic boards are not recommended for homes with small children or pets. The best option (especially for a whole set of knives) is using a wooden knife block to store them.
4. Proper Knife Usage
In order to keep your knives sharp, it is also important to avoid using them as a pry bar, hammer, screwdriver or any other tool. Knives should only be used for their intended purpose… cutting!
You can check out what jobs each Cutco knife is used for here.