Keeping A Good Edge

Whilst keeping away form the edge is of vital importance, in one respect it's important to keep a good edge. I'm talking about knives (did you like that, I thought it was quite clever).

Some of my Knives

I'm a bit of knife anorak. I have been for years. when Michelle and I were whittling down our possessions, I absolutely refused to give up my kitchen knives. So I cowered maniacally in a corner of the caravan, holding on to them saying "mine, mine, mine" and threatening to cut myself if they were taken from me. I actually did accidentally nick myself, which caused me great distress, but I got my own way.

Prior to being poor, I spent a shit load of money on kitchen knives. I have knives by Global, Whustof, Swibo and my absolute favourite, Dick. German manufacturer F Dick make outstanding kitchen knives. I'm not sure if their popularity is down to their outstanding quality or the kitchen banter that they enable. "Chef, can I use your 8" Dick?" "No, I only have a 12" Dick, but you're welcome to that."

Good knives do help to make food preparation a pleasure, but those of us who are on low incomes can't afford to go out and spend a lot of money on something like a Dick, just willy nilly. In saying that, a quick scour of ebay can often reveal some second hand bargains. There are also some ranges of knives that whilst not examples of hand-crafted excellence, are indeed very good knives with decent European steel blades. Swibo offer an excellent range at a very good price as do F Dick, with their Pro-Dynamic range. 

Whatever you have or whatever you can afford, maintenance is vital. That not only means steeling your knives on a regular basis, but also refurbishing their edges occasionally. Now, there's a veritable feast of knife sharpening devices on the market for not much money. There's a common thread between them. They all fuck knives up!

If you have good knives and don't know how to sharpen them, just don't. You could always do what I used to do before I was poor. I used to spend at least fifty bucks every three months on getting my knives professionally sharpened. In reassessing our financial position, it became apparent that somebody had to learn how to sharpen knives. Seeing as Michelle is genuinely scared of knives and Jess is a teenager who can't operate independently of the internet, it looked like muggins was going to get the gig.

I know a lot of people who claim to be able to sharpen with a flat stone. Their knives are invariably shit. I've known experienced chefs and butchers who literally butcher thousands of dollars worth of knives. 

Fixed-angle sharpening

Unless you have the money to invest in a serious wheel, stone sharpening is the way to go. However, unless you're confident of holding a perfect angle stroke after stroke, don't take a blade to a stone. Use a stone that you take to the blade. By this I mean get yourself a fixed angle sharpening system. A rig that holds the knife while you pass a hone over the edge at the exact same angle every time. They range in price from between 40 and $100 and are abundant on ebay. 

My personal recommendation is the Lansky system. They're in the upper price bracket,

Opinel pocket knife on a Lansky System

starting at around $80, but they're arguably the best. Lansky systems are made in the USA using the absolute highest quality stones. After purchasing a kit, it's very easy to replace worn out hones or purchase new additions individually. Such additions might include a sapphire hone for high carbon blades or a leather strop for finishing and polishing.

There's a big difference between honing with a steel (steeling) and re-edging a blade. I steel my knives every time I use them as a force of habit. Every time they come off the rack, I quickly run them over the steel. There's a bit of a knack to steeling a knife well. I'm not going to bore you with that. I'll leave it up to you to be bored by any one of thousands of You Tube videos on the subject. 

A French made Fischer steel

Steels range in price from $15 - $500!!! F Dick are the most popular, starting at around $70. I have an old French made Fischer. They're not so easy to find, but you can find vintage models on ebay for as low as $20. Victorinox make a budget steel that you can pick up for around $15. A not so good steel won't do your knives any harm, it'll just make you work harder. It's recommended that some knives are honed with a ceramic steel. A number of Japanese manufacturers, in particular Global push this angle. I love Global knives, but could never bring myself to fork out (ha) a hundred bucks on a separate steel for them. I have had all of my Global knives for over 20 years and they have always been honed with a carbon steel. They are in perfect condition. 

A knife's edge needs to hold it's shape. There are a number of different edge shapes such as compound bevel, convex edge, chisel edge and v-type. The vast majority of kitchen knives have a v-type edge or a compound bevel, which it a variation on it. Whatever the shape of the edge, it will wear down over time, through use. That's when a fixed angle system becomes extremely useful. Like anything, they take a little getting used to using, but like most things, there's plenty of instructional stuff on You Tube. If you are using a Lansky system, you'll find a lot of information specific to it. 

It probably sound like a hell of a lot of effort combined with a moderate expense, but once you realise the difference between a well maintained knife and a neglected one, you'll probably start to get more enjoyment out of food preparation. Maintenance will give expensive knives the life they deserve and will make cheap nasty knives bearable. The main difference between good knives and poor quality knives is that you'll have to spend more time maintaining the dodgy ones. 

Don't fucking cut yourself.