Kit Knife Basics

kitchen
knife
basics
learning to care for
your kitchen knives
KITCHENKNIFEGURU.COM
LEGAL NOTES & DISCLOSURE
All materials herein are copyrighted by Nate Ouderkirk (aka KitchenKnifeGuru) with all
rights reserved worldwide. Unauthorized copying, modification, redistribution, or derivative works are prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2012 Nate Ouderkirk
KNIFE EDGES
1
The Sharpening Cycle of a Kitchen Knife / 4
Knife Edge Basics / 11
PRO SHARPENERS
3
Why a Knife Sharpening Service? / 114
Finding a Sharpening Service / 19
Reviews of Quality Knife Sharpening Services / 27
HONES/STEELS
6
Whats a Honing Steel? / 39
How to Hone (or Steel) Your Kitchen Knife / 47
CUTTING BOARDS
8
Cutting Boards Complete / 57
KNIVES
9
How to Buy a Great Chef Knife / 73
10
Quality Chef KnivesSix Recommendations / 84
PART ONE
KNIFE EDGES
Knife-Edge Basics
. . .or Whats Going On in that Mysterious 1/4 Inch
A KITCHEN KNIFE
is deceptive. Its simple, yet powerful. And the actual cutting edge, the
source of its power, is barely visible to the human eye. Maybe thats why its so easy to take
it for granted. But resist
that urge. Because just a
modicum of knowledge
can help you learn the
best way to maintain
your kitchen knives and
keep them sharp.
Cutting edge of Shun chef knife
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Edge Styles
Every knife has an edge style, a way the blade has been ground to make it sharp. The most
common, of course, is a V-edge which looks like it soundstwo slanting sides that go
straight to the cutting edge. The great majority of kitchen knives have this type of edge. Or
a variation on it called a compound bevel (or double bevel)a large V with a much smaller
V on top of it at the very end. The second V is so small that, unless you happen to have the
eyesight of an eagle, you would never see it.
BEVEL
The term bevel is commonly used for any surface on the blade that has been
ground to form the edge. The primary bevel is the largest (and most visible) and can
vary greatly in depthfrom a 32nd of an inch to 3/8ths or larger. Go to the kitchen and
look closely at the blade of your chefs knife. Youll notice near the edge of the blade
theres an area where it angles more steeplythats the primary bevel.
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V-Edge
Compound Bevel
Convex Edge
Hollow Edge
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Compound Bevel 2
Chisel Edge
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Along with the standard V, other common edge styles are convex, hollow, chisel, and serrated (see illustration on previous page):
Convex is a particularily sophisticated edge that looks a bit like the cross-section of
an airplane wing. Two long arcs curve toward each other and intersect at the edge. Its
sharp, but stronger than a traditional V. Its trickier to sharpen and often, after multiple sharpenings, tends to be transformed into a traditional V.
Hollow edges are common for hunting knives and such as well as inexpensive
butcher knives, but rare for quality kitchen knives. The shape of the curves that
create the edge curve in the opposite direction as convex.
Chisel edges are mainly found on traditional Japanese knives, especially sushi knives,
and are wickedly sharp. Theyre ground on one side only while the other is left flat
(more or less) which gives them a very small total edge angle. Yikes. (I explain more
about angles shortly.)
Serrated edges most people are aware of, and are most common in bread knives.
(Also tomato knives, as well as steak knives.) Like chisel-edges, they are ground on
one side only, which also makes them quite sharp. They hold their sharpness incredibly well because the actual cutting edge is hidden inside each mini-arch, protected by
the pointy outer edge of the blade. Unfortunately, they are time-consuming to
sharpen and many professional sharpeners will not bother. Theyre also problematic
to hone. Some sharpening experts advise simply buying a new one when your old serrated gets too dull.
Recap: The odds are, your kitchen knife has a traditional V-edge which will make
maintaining it a pretty straightforward affair. But if it does not have this standard kind of
edge, then you need to be aware it will need some special attention when being
sharpened and honed.
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Whats Your Angle?

When you hear a kitchen knife pro say a knife has a 15-degree edge, they are not talking
about the overall cutting edge of the knife, they are talking about only one side. To
measure this anglelogically called the edge angleyou must draw an imaginary line
through the center of the blade and measure from there to the outer side of the primary
bevel. (See illustration.)
The complete cutting angle of the knife (which is
Included angle 44
rarely referred to and is composed of the sum of both

edge angles) is called the included angle. Since most knife
blades are ground symmetrically, in most cases, the
included angle for a knife is simply twice the edge angle.
Edge
angle
22
Simple, huh?
Knives manufactured in the Western/ German tradition (e.g. Henckels and Wusthof and crew) are typically ground with a 20 to 22 degree edge angle. Which
means that the actual knife (the included angle) is
cutting with 4044 degree wedge. Doesnt seem that
Included and edge angles
sharp, does it? It isnt. Its designed to be just sharp

enough, yet take a ton of abuse. It can nick a bone and not chip, or saw its way through
frozen pork tenderloin (something it should never be used to cut through in the first place)
and still not crack or break. Its a warhorse.
Japanese knives (and Japanese hybrids) are factory ground with edges from 10 to 15
degrees. Which adds up to included angles of 20 to 30 degreesthe smallest of these
creating a wedge half the size of the typical Western knife. Whoa. No wonder Japanese
knives are all the ragethey make everything you slice feel like butter. But beware,
theres no free lunch. Try abusing a Japanese knife and you will pay for it with chips and
cracks galore!
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STEELS A BIG DEAL
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Theres another major difference between Western and
Japanese knivesand thats the steel theyre made from. Western knives are generally made from a softer, yet tougher steel, Japanese from a harder, yet brittler.
Before we leave this discussion on angles, let me repeat that not all knives are created
with two symmetrical edge angles. There are some notable exceptionsthe biggest being
the whole family of chisel-edged traditional Japanese knives which are beveled on one side
only. One of the reasons theyre designed this way is to take advantage of the geometry.
Think about it. Instead of adding up two 15 degree angles to get an included angle of 30
degrees, their second angle is perpendicular (or 0 degrees), thus making the included angle
(the total wedge of the knife) a screaming 15 degrees! Thats almost three times the sharpitude of your typical German knife. Thats scary sharp.
The Final FrontierUnder the Microscope

The cutting edge of your favorite chefs knife may seem to be a smooth ridge of metal, but its
not. If you looked at it through a microscope, you would see it was made up of very tinyand
very jagged and uneventeeth. Sort of like an ultra-fine roughed-up saw blade. Depending
on the quality of the steel the knife was hewed from, as well as the fit and finish of its latest
sharpening, these teeth might almost disappear (under the microscope). On top of this,
because the metal has been ground to such a fine wedge, these teeth would be extremely thin.
Why is this helpful to know? Because it should alert you to how delicate, and susceptible to corrosion, a knife blade really is. Its not like a spoon or fork or some other totally
polished kitchen implement. Its got a raw, unfinished componentthe edgethats continually being exposed to the elements. Exposed to hard surfaces, to acidic fruit juices, to
water and air ripe for oxidation (i.e. rust), to all kinds of stuff it needs to be protected from.
Thats why its so important not to let it bang around in a drawer or soak in a pot or lie
unwashed in a puddle of pineapple juice.
On the next page are two photos taken with an SEM (scanning electron microscope)
of a knife blade ground at two different gritsthe first significantly courser than the
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second. The first is at a magnification of 600x, the second 800x. Notice how rough and
unfinished-looking the knife edges are in these photos. How thin and delicate.
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Take a tour of the kitchen knives you own. Can you correctly identify what kind of
edges they all have? How are you currently storing them? Are you protecting them from
getting damaged and dulled? Now that you know a little bit more about the nature of your
kitchen knives edges, hopefully it will inspire you to do your best to care for them. The
better you protect and maintain your knives, the less youll have to sharpen them and the
longer theyll last.
(Photo credits: Both electron microscope photos are from an academic paper titled Experiments on
Knife Sharpening published in 2004 by John D. Verhoven, a professor at Iowa State University.)
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The Sharpening Cycle

of a Kitchen Knife
NO MATTER HOW
much moola you paid for your favorite cooks knife and no matter how
incredibly well you treat it, it is still, someday, going to get dull. Theres no avoiding it.
Pure physics. Fine cutting edges, after continual use, must wear down. Super-tempered
steel, while very hard and very tough, is not eternal. So dont bemoan, or live in denial, but
learn what you can do.
Honing will prolong the sharpness of your kitchen knife and

avoid having to sharpen it more than necessary.
And what you can do, with a little bit of effort and dedication, is to learn how to hone.
Honing will prolong the sharpness of your kitchen knife and avoid having to sharpen it any
more than absolutely necessary. Which is what you want, because, ironically enough, sharpening itself is an act of destruction. Every time you sharpen, some of the metal on the blade
is ground off, never to be seen again. So, the less you sharpen, the longer you maintain your
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knifes pristine condition. Thus, the only way to sharpen less, and still enjoy a sharp knife, is
to hone regularly.
WHAT IS HONING?
Honing (or steeling) is a nondestructive technique that simply
pushes the microscopic-sized teeth that make up the edge of a knife back into alignment. Through use (and misuse), the teeth get folded over, this way and that, which
makes the knife duller. But its not truly dullit just needs to be honed.
The illustration below helps explain more about the relationship between honing and
sharpening by taking you through one sharpening cycle.
40
60
A sharp edge.
After more use, the edge

wears down, curls over,
and feels dull again.
Through use, the edge

folds over and feels dull.
After honing with a steel,

the edge is sharp again,
but at a wider angle.
80
40
Another honing cleans

up the edge, but leaves it
at an even wider angle.
The edge finally needs

to be reground, or sharpened,
back to its original shape/angle.
Honing and sharpening, though not the same, complement each other. Doing both
will allow you to keep your kitchen knives maximum sharp, with minimum wear.
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PART TWO
PRO SHARPENING
Why a Knife
Sharpening Service?
WHAT DO YOU
do when youre dying for sharp kitchen knives, but you dont have the time
(or desire) to sharpen them yourself? Whenbetween trimming the azaleas, chauffeuring
your kid to soccer, picking up salmon for dinner on the way home from workplying a
chefs knife that actually slides through carrots instead of prying them open, seems like a
hopeless fantasy.
Do you buy some kind of fast-andeasy electric knife sharpener?
Do you throw up your hands saying

I cant deal with this! and simply
buy a new knife?
Do you sadly and reluctantly just

give up and learn to live with dull
knives?
A commercial sharpening stone
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Or do you find a qualified pro to do it for you?
Funny enough, Im guessing the last answer is probably the least chosen, yet the most
viable way to go. And even though using a professional sharpening service may seem like an
expensive or cumbersome solution, when you factor in the lifespan of your knives, the cost
of having to buy new ones, and the hassle of perpetually putting up with dull-cutting
blades, it may be cheaper and simpler than you think.
Pro Quality
For some reason a lot us who are used to trusting professionals to help us with all sorts of
other household dutiesi.e. mowing our lawns, cleaning our carpets, troubleshooting our
personal computersdont consider using a professional knife-sharpening service. Why
is that?
(Possible reasonsgarnered from my own personal experience.)
1)
We dont know they exist.
2)
We dont know how to locate one.
3)
We worry that even if we do locate one, theyll cost too much.
4)
Were afraid a sub-standard outfit might ruin our beloved knives.
5)
We cant afford the time to deal with any of the above, OR, even if we could
manage to spare the time, we deeply doubt itll be worth it.
Answers to the five reasons above:

NUMBER ONEtheyre
he-re. Some home gourmets may not even realize these pro-
fessional sharpening services exist for consumers, and that, along with professional chefs,
they service consumer cooks as well. Its a big knife-sharpening world out there. Dont
shirk an invaluable resource.
NUMBER TWOwhere?
Thanks to the internet, assembling a short list of possible can-
didates for any given service is not the big hairy deal it used to be. Just google that puppy.
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Try knife sharpening services and youll see an endless scroll fill your screen. And if
youre willing to mail your knives somewhereand theres no reason you shouldnt
youll have a long list to choose from, a variety of approaches, and some high-end candidates. Which brings us to. . .
NUMBER THREEhow
much? As much as it might sound like a luxury, sending your
knives to be sharpened somewhere, depending on the service, could cost less than 6 dollars
per knife. For example: a 4-inch paring knife could run $57, while a standard 8-inch chef
knife $610. Most services charge by size range, such as $6 for blades 7 to 10 inches long,
but some figure their rates more exactly by the inch. Either way, considering youre getting
professional treatment, theyre pretty darn affordable.
A package of two 8-inch chef knives and two 4-inch paring

knives, including shipping, could run as little a $33.
Of course, if youre not dropping them off yourself or using a highly-trained team of
super-charged carrier pigeonsyoull have to pay for shipping. But if you deploy the good
old USPS (as long as its still in business) and not something pricey like FedEx overnight,
it wont add up to as much as you might think. Plus, the more knives you send in one package, the more you can spread out the shipping coststhus, youd be smart to do at least
three or four blades at a time.
So, for example, a package of two 8-inch chef knives and two 4-inch paring knives,
including shipping, could run as little a $33. Total. (Barely the price of a movie date and
a drink and some popcorn.) Does that sound like too much? Think of what youre gettingthe kind of scintillating sharpitude a professional chef has in their hands every single day. Which could last to a year or more before needing to be resharpened. (That is if
you hone regularly.)
If that still sounds like too much to pay, then maybe you should consider buying your
own sharpening system and learning how to do it yourself. But, along with the startup cost
of investing in a quality DIY system ($120 and up), it will cost you time (depending on the
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systema serious chunk of it) to master and maintain the skill of sharpening. Especially at
the beginning.
NUMBER FOURavoiding ruination. How do you know any of the services youve looked
up on the web are any good? How do you know they wont chew up your kitchen knives
instead of bringing them back to their original factory sharpitude? This is a really good
question and a really important oneso much so that I cover it more in depth elsewhere
(see Chapter 4, Finding a Sharpening Service and Chapter 5, Reviews of Three Quality Knife
Sharpening Services, which covers services I have used and can recommend.)
Suffice it to say, I am certain that through the web (or other avenues) and my
guidance anyone can find a service that will satisfy even the most finicky customer (of
which I am one).
NUMBER FIVEtime,
time, time. Properly caring for your knives, no matter which way
you go, will take more time. No doubt about it. Just as it does for your car, your lawnmower,
and, the-mother-of-all-time-sucksyour house. But if you choose to send them to a professional, and in between sharpenings hone them yourself, it will be a matter of minutes,
not hours. Sixty-second snippets, every couple days. Not quantity, but consistency, will
make all the difference. If you wish your knives to be sharp, all it takes is a little diligence.
Mailing off my kitchen knives to a quality knife sharpening

service has reenergized my culinary life.
The good news is that mail-in sharpening services are designed to save time and make
things easy. Most have simple, clear instructions (which often includes a downloadable
form to print out) as well as standard means of payment (credit card or PayPal). The steps
required to properly package up and mail out a box of knives can be mastered in 20
minutes. Yes, youll have to learn how to roll them up in newspaper without nicking yourself. (Oryou can just buy a set of knife guards.) But after youve done it once, and gotten
the hang of the whole process, the next time will be a cinch. Plus, KitchenKnifeGuru is
always here to help and guide!
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Knife Renewal
True confession: Mailing off my kitchen knives to a quality knife sharpening service has
reenergized my culinary life. Im not exaggerating. Its evaporated the nagging complaint I
had carried around for years in the back of my cranium that moaned, Our kitchen knives
are not sharp enough, but what can I do about it? Its given me back my cutting edge
beauties for a price thats more than worth it. Its saved me time. Made prep work fun. Simple tasks like slicing up a melon for breakfast, instead of being a herky-jerky trauma, go
smooth and quick. I now enjoy pro-quality blades every single day without having to add
sharpening the knives to my already long list of duties and errands.
It could do the same for you! Do yourself a favor and seriously consider a knife sharpening service.
(Photo credit: Thanks to Chi-Chatty on Flickr.com for her photo of the sharpening wheel.)
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Finding a
Sharpening Service
REMEMBER THAT TIME
you made copies of your front door key, and even though all the
key cutters charged a going rate, the first one you went to made lousy keys and the
second terrific ones?
Its the same with knife sharpening servicesthere are numerous
companies charging comparable
prices but not always offering comparable quality. There are also plenty
that have been around for a while
that you wouldnt want to entrust
your Masahiro chef knife to. And
while spending a premium (especially for Japanese knives) definitely
Traditional whetstone
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offers you access to a higher level of expertise, its no iron-clad guarantee in and of itself. Its
best to be well-informedabout the sharpening service you will be sending your knives to,
about the sharpening process in general, and about your knives.
What Can Go Wrong

While a top-notch sharpening service is a cooks best friend, a second-rate one is their natural-born enemy. Heres how an inferior knife sharpening service can sabotage a knife.
They can:
1)
Not grind it sharp enough. Duh. This is small potatoes, compared to the others.
2)
Grind it unevenly. Which will a) not allow your knife to work at its optimum
level, and b) require unnecessary extra grinding to get it fixed.
3)
Grind it more than it needs to be groundthus, shortening the lifespan of

your knife. (Every time you sharpen, you take metal off the blade.)
4)
Grind it too hot, so the edge is weakened, compromised. The steel is permanently damaged and loses its ability to stay sharp. Time to buy a new knife!
Need I say more? Please do your homework.
SHARPENING WEAR AND TEAR
The three chefs knives on the next page have
different degrees of wear from sharpeningfrom least to most (top to bottom). The
blades, when they were brand new, would have been very close to the same shape
and height/width. But now you can see the knife on top is clearly taller/wider and has
retained more of a curve to its cutting edge. The other two are narrower and the
curve of their cutting edge has been flattened out. Its most noticeable in the bottom
knife, in the final third of the blade as it nears the tip.
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Know Thy Knife

Its pretty important to understand the style of knife you own before getting it sharpened.
It can 1) help protect you from wasting time (and money) with unqualified sharpening
services and 2) give you more options as to how you sharpen it. Heres a quick primer:
There are, basically, two different styles of kitchen knife made todayGerman (aka
Western) or Japanese. There are also a lot of blends of these two styles into models you
could call hybrids. Although each of these two major styles fashion knives with their own
distinctive shapes and sizesthe most fundamental difference between them is the steel
theyre made of.
. . .if youre sending out a Japanese or hybrid to be sharpened,

its wise to be sure the service has experience with sharpening
this kind of knife.
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German-style blades are thicker and made of a softer, but tougher, type of steel.
Which traditionally requires them to be sharpened at a wider angle (2022 degrees). Japanese-style blades are thinner and made of a harder, yet brittler, grade of steel. Which allows
them to be sharpened at a steeper angle (1115 degrees). Hybrids tend to have the thinness
and edge of a Japanese blade, but the shape of a German, and are usually sharpened at the
steeper, Japanese-style angle. To add to the mix, some Japanese knives are only beveled on
one side (like a chisel), and some have asymmetrical bevels, which demand a highly customized approach to sharpening. (Odds are, if you are not already aware of it, you dont
own this type of blade. So dont fret about it.)
Although Japanese-style knives are all the rage and popping up like mushrooms, the
great majority of knives people own are still German-style blades. Thats the status quo (at
least in the U.S.). Thus, the great majority of knives handled by sharpening services are
German-style as well. Which means if youre sending out a Japanese or hybrid to be sharpened, its wise to be sure the service has experience with sharpening this kind of knife.
Better yet, they should be familiar with the specific brand youre planning to send them. In
general, this shouldnt be a problem. Most of the services I?have dealt with were very open
to answering questions on the phone or through email. But be awarethere are some
unscrupulous outfits out there that will claim they can sharpen anything. The last thing
you want to do is send them your custom gyoto from Seki City (Japan).
WHATS YOUR KNIFE?
Henckels and Wusthof are the two major makers of
German knives while some of the major Japanese brands are Global, Shun, Masahiro,
MAC, Bunmei, and Kasumi. Most of these manufacturers also make hybrids or are
hybrids (like Global). Most French, English, and American-made knives are Germanstyle knives (although that is changing).
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Cutlers and Grinders

Another major issue to be aware of when deciding on a sharpening service, is the
difference between a commercial grinding service and a professional cutler. The first is
used mainly by butchers, fishmongers, and super-commercial kitchens (aka Wendys,
Applebees, Red Lobster, etc.) who generally use fairly inexpensive and disposable knives.
The grinding service collects, sharpens, and returns the knives en masse once a week or
so, and often even supplies them as well. Very industrial, very crude and efficient. The
second (a professional cutler) is used mainly by restaurant chefs and consumers and is
designed to handle high-quality cutlery with delicate blades. More care, more quality.
Guess which one you want?
The grinding service collects, sharpens, and returns the knives

en masse once a week or so. . .
Not to confuse the issuebut some sharpening services do both kinds of business. If this
is the case with a service youre considering, they might be fine, but proceed with caution.
Try asking them some questions from the list Ive supplied at the end of this article. If they
begin to balk, or simply dont respond (if youre
doing it via email or something), then theyre probably either 1) not as much of a cutler as you desire or
2) not big on customer service. Both are negatives in
my book. Unless there are other compelling positives
for keeping them in the runninglike theyre just
down the street, or a foodie friend of yours raves
about themI would look elsewhere.
Tools of the Trade

If you take your knives to a knife sharpening
service, odds are they will be sharpened on a
machine-powered system. The standard process for
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A typical belt-sander and buffing wheel
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cutlers these days is to use a belt sander in combination with a buffing wheel. Another
common method an aluminum-oxide wheel (running at a slow speed) cooled with water.
Depending on the condition of the knife or the modus operandi of the service, the knife
might go through a couple of different grits of abrasion (from 150 to 600) before being
finished, or buffed/polished.
If you own a traditional Japanese or Japanese hybrid, you have another option for
sharpeninga Japanese water stone system. Japanese knives were traditionally sharpened
on these stones which look like western whetstones, but are much finer and softer and
come in an incredible wide array of gritsfrom 500 grit (course) to 10,000 (super-fine for
polishing). Professional Japanese knife sharpeners usually use a powered water stone wheel
that rotates at a slow speed and dips the stone in water as it spins around (horizontally).
Then, they may finish off by doing the final polishing work by hand on a regular water
stone. If you own a traditional Japanese knife, this method is the one and only way to
sharpen it correctly while preserving the integrity of the knife.
There are a number of first-rate sharpening services that offer water stone sharpening
through the mail. To be honest, this is a bit outside my area of expertise, mainly because I
do not presently own any traditional Japanese knives. Nonetheless, from my in-depth
research, I know of at least three top-notch services I can recommend. (See the end of
Reviews of. . . Sharpening Services.]
Man Over Machine

My experience has been that the most important factor in producing a sharp knife is the
expertise and dedication of the person sharpening it. Equipment can only take you so far,
and the equipment needed to sharpen a knife well doesnt need to cost thousands of dollars.
It can be gotten for a couple hundred. What cant be bought is the sharpeners skill and passion for the work. So thats what you want to look for when finding a sharpening service.
My experience has been that the most important factor in

producing a sharp knife is the expertise and dedication of the
person sharpening it.
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Added to this, theres a broad array of varying levels of perception, approach, and
sophistication in professional sharpeners and their clientele. An edge that works fine for a
line cook at Applebees, might not be adequate for a sashimi chef at Japonica. Or an experienced home gourmet with a Murray Carter gyoto might be much more exacting than your
young mom with a Henckels classic and a million other things to be concerned with. Thus,
though there are many viable sharpening services out there promoting their wares, one size
does not fit all. Find a quality outfit. Find the one right for you.
*POSTSCRIPT TIP:
Please understand that when you send out your knivesespecially
if its the first time theyve been sharpenedno matter how excellent the sharpening
service is, they might not come back looking quite as pristine perfect as when they left.
Nothing majormaybe a little nick on the handle, or a fine scratch on the blade. Thats
the nature of the beast. Dont let it throw you. Often these things were there already, and
you just hadnt noticed. Repeat after me: My knives are beautifully crafted tools, not
works of art. Theyre meant to be used.
Suggested Interview Questions

Heres a list of questions that might be helpful for interviewing prospective knife
sharpeners. Pick the ones that work best for you.
How long have you been sharpening? How did you get into it? How were you
trained?
Whos doing the actual sharpening? How large a crew? What is their training?
Describe the process of sharpening an 8-inch blade chefs knife with your
system. What machinery/equipment do you use?
Any problems you might you encounter?
What if an edge needs to be completely reprofiled?
On average, how long should it take? Whats your typical turnaround?
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Do you sharpen all knives the exact same way? Or do you adapt to the style of
the knife? Or to the condition of the knife?
Do you put a straight knife edge, or do a secondary angle? Convex? Anything else?
Do you do Japanese-style knives? What brands are you familiar with? Have you
worked on ______ knives?
How do you recommend a customer maintain a blade you have sharpened?

Why do you recommend it?
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Reviews of Quality Knife

Sharpening Services
IM A VERY
very very very very picky person. Especially when I want to be. So, when it
came around to compiling a short list of quality kitchen knife sharpening services, rest
assured, I did not take the mission lightly. I
hunkered down.
Generalities
First off, know this: All three of the finalists
Seattle Knife Sharpening, D&R Sharpening
Solutions,
JustKnives101have history.
Theyve all been doing what they do for over a

decade and one of them has the lineage of a
family business going back to 1922. None of
them are newbies or fly-by-nights.
Seattle Knife Sharpening at work
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Secondlyalthough they are all well established as regular bricks-and-mortar businesses, they have substantial experience as mail-order businesses as well. Theyve all
shipped and received a whole lot of sharpened metal. They have clear instructions and procedures as to how to send them your kitchen knives. And they are all dependable and
highly competent.
ThirdlyI have personally tried them all. Yes, pinky promise (as my 8- year-old says).
I am not simply parroting what Ive heard or read about or garnered from multiple
websites, but sharing my own personal experience as a fellow consumer.
Very Important Note: I do not receive a penny from any of these knife sharpening
services for referring customers. Its a freebie. If for some reason this changes, Ill be the
first to let you know!
Seattle Knife Sharpening

I first found out about Seattle Knife Sharpening (www.seattleknifesharpening.com/) by
accident from a YouTube video. Early on in my knife-sharpening education, I stumbled
onto a clip of a very satisfied Seattle Knife customer showing off his newly sharpened set of
Global knives. He sliced off slivers from a sheet of paper with ease and raved about the
sharpitude. I was entranced.
I went to the Seattle Knife website and liked what I saw (literally as well as figurativelyits a nicely designed site). The business seemed to be a small operation by one guy,
Bob Tate, which I found attractive. Personalized service. He had learned his craft from Bob
Kramer, one of the most well-known and high-quality bladesmiths alive. Andjudging
from what he wrote on his siteBob (Tate, that is) seemed open, friendly, personable. I
wrote him an email or two with questions about his craft, how he ground his edges, and he
answered back quickly.
I zipped through a tomatothe first time in years without a

serrated in my hand.
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His method is unorthodox, but wickedly sharp. He explained that for each knife he
started from as sharp an angle as he dared as his primary angle, and then ground the rest
of the blade down so that it smoothly segued from the edge up to the spine. It sounds
thorough, and it is. As he mentions on his site, its a 6- to 7-step process using belt sanders
and polishing wheels along with sharpening compounds. On a German-style knife this
often means thinning down the blade and creating an edge angle much sharper than usual.
Fine with me!
I boxed up a bunch of my knives as per Bobs instructions and sent them off to Washington state. Almost two weeks later I got them back (unfortunately, I live on the other
side of the country). I was a little disappointed at the turnaround timebut the knives, the
knives! They looked sharp. I took my chefs and immediately tried what Id seen the guy in
the YouTube video do. Oh, yeah. Right through paper, not only without resistance, but
not leaving any roughness either. The cut edges of the paper were perfectly smoothlike
Id used a pair of scissors. I zipped through a tomatothe first time in years without a serrated in my hand. This was true for the Henckels Id sent him as well as my Japanesemade Global.
As if this were not enough, Bob was also big on follow-through. He recommended the
best hone to use to keep my knives sharp as long as possible [see the Hones tab], and even
gave me honing instructions over the phone. What a guy! I was off to a great start with my
first professional knife sharpening service.
D&R Sharpening Solutions

I first heard of Dave Martellthe owner, chef cook, and bottle washer of D&R Sharpening
(www.drsharpening.com/)from my favorite kitchen knife book, An Edge in the Kitchen by
Chad Ward. Dave has been building a reputation in knife sharpening for over a decade and
has a special passion for Japanese blades. Actually, hes divided his business into two
separate sharpening servicesone for Western-style knives, the other for Japanese.
Having no Japanese knives that needed sharpening, I chose the more standard Western-style service. I queried him about his sharpening process and he confirmed that it was
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the usual combination of belt sander followed by polishing wheel. But, unlike Bob in Seattle, Dave prefers to sharpen Western knives at the traditional angle of 2025 degrees.
Although he feels its not as pretty, hes found it to be the most durable angle for this
style knife. Different strokes for different folks.
The poor bread knife had been seriously abused over the
years, sawing through frozen bread among other things. . .
I packed another box, not quite so many this time, and the knives were returned in one
week. Yes, half the time of Seattle Knife, but then Fleetwood, PA, where D&R is located, is
only a 5-hour drive away. The bevels (the part of the blade that Vs in to the cutting edge)
were impeccableas even and straight as if theyd come from the factory and the sharpness
matched factory standards as well. They cut through tomatoes, sliced cucumbers nice and
thin. They slivered paperjust like the YouTube video. That said, if I?were to be persnickety (and that is my job as KitchenKnifeGuru), they werent quite as searingly sharp as Seattle Knife. But more than sharp enough for my kitchen or any other thats not filigreeing
radishes a mile a minute.
One of the knives I sent D&R was a workhorse Henckelsa wedding presentthat
not only had many years of faithful service to its name (decades, really), but many sharpenings of mixed-quality that had left it with an ugly, uneven edge. If you chopped parsely on
a flat board, youd miss sections with every chop. Sure enough, when I got it back from
D&R, the edge was straight and even. No more gaps on the cutting board. Hurrah!
I also sent them one of my serrated bread knives which they sharpen for an extra
charge. Not every knife sharpening service can handle serrated, but both Seattle Knife and
JustKnives101 (the next service I review) do as well. The poor bread knife had been seriously abused over the years (another wedding present), sawing through frozen bread
among other things, and really needed an overhaul. It came back refreshed, but not fully
restoredwhich may be the best one can hope for a serrated blade, I know theyre challenging to fully resuscitate. (Though I might send my other bread knife to one of the other
two services sometime and compare.)
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D&Rs website is not quite as stylish as Seattle knives (not that it really matters), but
they do have a mailing form you can print out for totaling up your charges (Seattle does not,
you must create your own). They also have a very convenient payment system where they
email you a Paypal invoice when the knives are ready to ship back. Very fast and easy for the
customer to processa big plus in my book. All-in-all, a top-notch operation. Next. . .
JustKnives101
JustKnives101 (http://www.justknives101.com/) rose to the upper reaches of my professional knife sharpeners list from a simple google search for knife sharpening service.
What attracted me right off was:
their professional-looking and informative website
the fact that they were a family business that had been around a long while
the fact that they sounded like they knew what they were doing and were into
quality.
The only thing I was a little wary of at first was that they might have a large crew
doing high volume and thus be more of a grinding service than a professional cutler (see
Finding a Sharpening Service). But after talking on the phone with Paul, the owner, my concerns evaporated. He assured me he, personally, did 90 percent of the sharpening, all on a
very expensive belt sander imported from Germany. Among things that made it unique was
the fact the belt ran over a hard rubber wheel as well as through water which helped protect
the knife edges from overheating. It was the only machine of its kind he knew of in this
country. Paul usually sharpened to about 20 degrees, but was flexible to the demands of
each knife. He also mentioned that a lot of his customers were chefs from near and far
just what a quality-conscious kitchen-knife owner like me wanted to hear! I packaged up
three more and mailed them off.
My impression of the blades was similar to D&Rsthey had

smooth, even bevels and were plenty sharp.
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A week later they were back in my kitchen (JustKnives, like D&R, is located just a
half-day drive away). My impression of the blades was similar to D&Rsthey had smooth,
even bevels and were plenty sharp. They sliced beautifully, but still not quiiiiite as effortlessly as the knives from Seattle. (I told you I was picky.) They came sheathed in cardboard
knife guards which was a nifty touch. And like D&R, JustKnives had a mail-in form you
could easily print out to figure your invoice.
Three up, three down!
Money, Money, Money

Right about now you might be asking, what about price? Did they all charge the same? And
the short answer is a definite, No.
D&R and JustKnives structure their prices in a cost per size-rangefor example, $4
for blades 1- to 4-inches long. Seattle does it differently and charges a flat $1.25 by the inch
(except for single-bevel which are $2). On top of that, Seattle charges a standard processing
fee of $10. (Thus, it pays to send a bunch at a time.)
So, say you sent off three knives to each servicean 8-inch chefs, a 6-inch chefs, and
a 4-inch paring knife. What kind of bill would you ring up? (Not including shipping.)
Sharpening Service
Three Knives
Six Knives
$32.50
$55.00
D&R Sharpening
$24.00
$48.00
JustKnives101
$15.00
$30.00
Thats quite a spread, isnt it? With Seattle Knife over twice the cost of JustKnives. If
you double the amount of knives, Seattles cost comes down proportionally because the
$10 service charge averages out more. And the distance between Seattle and D&R also gets
much closerbut theres still quite a gap between Seattle and JustKnives. Which begs the
question, why would Seattle be worth it?
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I dont view my job as KitchenKnifeGuru as someone to talk you into using one
sharpening service over the other, but simply to shed as much light as possible so you can
make your own educated decisions. But there are two obvious reasons why Seattle might be
worth paying more for:
1) Their knives are sharper and more refined. The edge has been ground, buffed, and
polished to a higher degree than the other two.
2) Their knives will probably stay sharp longer. This is mainly due to the simple physical fact that Bobs process of creating a long gradual bevel from spine to edge tends to
make the blades thinner. As the edge wears down, its still pretty darn thin and will
continue to cut better. We are talking Western blades here. For Japanese, where the blade
is already thin, this might be a different story.
There is one negative to Seattles sharpening method though, and that is, because the
knife edges are thinner, they are more delicate. They wont take as much abuse. So if you
plan on slamming into frozen cookie dough (dont laugh, one of Bobs customers did), or if
you just cant afford the mental energy to think about protecting your kitchen knives, then
Seattle might not be the best choice for you.
Bottom line moneywiseSeattle Knife Sharpening is pricier, D&R Sharpening in the
middle, and JustKnives101 quite a bargain.
Other Possibilities
To fill out the list, here are a few more sharpening services I have not had a chance to take
out on test rides yet, but seem promising:
The Epicurean Edge [EpicEdge.com]: Recommended from ChowHound website;
looks very impressive; expensive though.
Accurate Sharpening [accuratesharp.com]: Uses the Edge Pro sharpening system,
one of the finest sharpening systems out there; unusual because they sharpen by
hand, not using any machines, and yet are quite reasonably priced. Recommended by
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kitchen knife master Norman Weinstein. Appeared in a Wall Street Journal review,
but knives did have a problem finding their way home.
Precision Knife Sharpening [precisionknifesharpening.com]: Very pro website,
explains a lot and sounds very competent; recommended in Wall Street Journal review.
KySharp [kysharp.com]: Compelling history and modus operandi; no other references.
Perfect Edge [perfectedgesharpening.com]: Impressive website. It talks the talk
can it do the walk?
Wrap Up
As far as Im concerned, you could not go wrong with having your knives sharpened by any
one of the three services I have personally used and reviewed. They are all masters of their
craft, consistent, and well-organized. They all produce sharp knives. Yes, Seattles knives
are a touch sharper and may stay that way longer. But you pay more for it. On the other
hand, both D&R and JustKnives101 seem to have better turnaround times, even if you factor for the shorter distance traveled. So if thats crucial, especially if you live on the East
coast, these two services will be quicker. (Unless youre willing to pay for premium
delivery, of course. Then its irrelevant.)
If you love and appreciate handling a sharp kitchen knife, theres no reason to put it off
any longer. I have done the homework for you. If you dont have a clear preferencerelax,
close your eyes, and pick whichever one your finger falls on! You really cant go wrong.
KNIFE REPAIR
If youve got a knife you know needs some minor repair work, heres
a quick snapshot of the three sharpening services repair policies:

Seattle Knife will straighten a bent tip for free; but fixing a broken one is $6.00. Dont
know their policy on chips.
D&R has a large disclaimer up front from that they do NOT fix any thing extra (no
edge nicks or broken tips) for free. They dont say anything about a bent tip though.
And they did even out my well-worn blade at no extra charge.
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JustKnives specifically says small chips or small broken points included. It looks
like they give the customer a bit more leeway than the other two.
If you have any repair issuesplease do yourself a favor and ask ahead of time. That
way youll avoid any misunderstandings.
PostludeJapanese Knife Sharpening Services

Every knife sharpened (with one exception) in my knife-sharpening odyssey was a Western/German-made knife. But theres a whole world of Japanese-made knives out there that
need sharpening as well. Most traditional Japanese knives (which Global is not) should only
be sharpened by a specialized service in the Japanese tradition using a water stone (usually
a combo of motorized and manual). I do not currently own any of these thoroughbred
Japanese knives, so this particular market is outside my personal experience. This much I
know though:
Seattle Knife sharpened my Global knife beautifully and would probably do an excellent
job on other Western-styled Japanese blades as well, such as Shun and MAC. Just ask.
JustKnives101 on their website says they are factory-authorized to sharpen Global,
Shun, and Masahiro knives. Although I could not confirm their factory-authorized
status with the knife importers for those brands, judging from JustKnives reputation
and their work on my knives, Im pretty confident they would do a fine job.
If you own a traditional or high-end Japanese blade, here is a list of Japanese knife
sharpening services with impeccable credentials. The first three have huge reputations and
the fourth is up-and-coming.They are not cheapbut you are probably getting a half hour
or more of a master sharpeners loving tender care (and expertise). If you value your Japanese knife and wish to use it for years and years, do not skimp!
Japanese Knife Sharpening [japaneseknifesharpening.com]: As mentioned earlier,
this is Dave Martell of D&R Sharpening Solutions other sharpening service (his true
love, really) that specializes in Japanese blades. He is passionate about his craft and a
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longtime master. Check out this quote from his website: Dave still continues to hone
his skills everyday. He strongly believes that the most intriguing part of sharpening is
that you never achieve pure perfection no matter how long you work at it.
Korin [korin.com]: Written and talked about everywhere, Japanese master Chiharu
Sugai is the name brand in Japanese sharpening. Recommended by the The Wall Street
Journal and, apparently, everybody in the world.
Carter Cutlery [cartercutlery.com]:?Created by another legendary bladesmith, Murray Carter, the twist being hes an anglo who studied in Japan 18 years. He mastered
age-old Japanese knife making and sharpening techniques and became a 17th generation Yoshimoto Bladesmith. Fascinating story. Still sharpens everything himself.
Tosho Knife Arts [toshoknifearts.com]: Not as well-known as the first three, but
both partners have solid credentials and much promise. Located in Toronto, Canada.
Post PostludeKnives List (what knives I sent to each sharpening service)

Henckels professional S chef 8-inch
Henckels chef 6-inch
Global G-48 7-inch
Sabatier slicer 8-inch
Calaphon santoku 8-inch
Henckels paring 4-inch
Henckels paring 3-inch
D&R Sharpening Solutions

Henckels 4 star chef 8-inch (worn down)
Henckels professional S chef 6-inch
Henckels professional S bread knife 8-inch
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Just Knives101
Henckels chef 8-inch
Henckels slicer 8-inch
Calaphon paring 4.5 inch
(Photo credits: Sharpening wheel courtesy of Bob Tate of Seattle Knife Sharpening.)
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PART THREE
HONES/STEELS
Whats a Honing Steel?

YOUVE
heard
steels
PROBABLY
about
honing
beforemore
simply known as steels.

You might even have
one stashed away in your
knife blockthat metal
rod with a handle that
came with your knife set
that youve rarely, if
ever, taken out and used
A ceramic honing rod and a traditional steel.
on your kitchen knives. You might have seen a butcher use one, if not in real life, at least in
KITCHEN
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movies. (Most famously, Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York.) But what the heck are
you supposed to do with it? Sharpen knife blades? Impress your guests?
In the kitchen-knife world, a flurry of confusion surrounds what a steelor honing
steel, or honing rod, or honeactually is and does. For good reason. There are a lot of
terms floating around out there for similar and not-so-similar tools. And sometimes what
looks like the very same tool (no matter what you call it) will have two rather different
functions. To top it off, many manufacturers seem to have taken a vow of secrecy and offer
descriptions of their products that are cryptic at best. So if youre looking for some clarity
. . . read on.
Terminology
The term steel traditionally refers to a metal rod about the length of your forearm you can
stroke your kitchen knives with to bring back their sharpness. Notice I say, bring back,
not simply sharpen because, traditionally, a honing steel functions differently than a
sharpener. A steel simply realigns the edge of a knife blade while a sharpener grinds off
metal to create a new edge. They both achieve the same end, a sharper knifebut accomplish it in different ways. Honing is non-destructive while sharpening is not. Honing is a
maintenance task to be performed quite often while sharpening should be done as little as
possible. You hone a knife until the edge finally gets so worn down that you need to
sharpen it again.
Honing is non-destructive while sharpening is not.

Whats especially confusing is that what looks like the very same toola rod with a
handle on it (aka a steel)may be designed to either hone or sharpen, and sometimes do
both. To understand this better, we need to take a quick close-up of a knife blade.
Make the Bent Places Straight

As you might imagine, the steel at the cutting edge of a knife is very very thin. Thats one
of the main qualities that enables it to cut. But it also makes it vulnerable to stresses it
was not designed to handle. Like hitting a chicken bone. Scrapping against a mango pit.
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Slamming into a cutting board. All of these events will cause the delicate edge of a knife
(which on a microscopic level looks more like ragged teeth) to fold over in spots. The
sharp edge will still be there, but portions of the blade will have been bent to the side or
completely rolled over, so that the knife cant cut as well anymore. It will feel duller. But
its not, really. And it doesnt need to be sharpened.
An electron microscope photograph [600x] of a stainless steel blade sharpened at 220 grit.)
Whats needed is for those sections on the blade that have been temporarily folded
over to be realigned and straightened. Enterthe Honing Steel. It pushes these problem
areas back into place. All along the blade edge. Again and again. (Its amazing how tough,
yet elastic, steel can be.) Eventually, these sections (remember theyre like jagged teeth)
begin to wear down or break off to the point they can no longer be refurbished and rehabilitated. A new edge needs to be groundthe knife needs to be sharpened. (See the illustration at the end of Chapter 2, The Sharpening Cycle of a Kitchen Knife.)
Hypothetically, you could hone your kitchen knife with the edge of a steel letter
openeras long as the letter opener was made of a steel harder than what the knife was
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made of. Or you could use

the back of a porcelain
plate. (Thats actually a
neat trick if you get stuck
at your aunts carving
turkey with a super-dull
knife and nothing to tune
it up with.) But what works
best is to use a honing
steel. Its quick, its safe,
and demands minimal skill
and effort.
BEFORE
Honing/Steeling
AFTER
Honing/Steeling
BeforeAfter honing a kitchen knife
Types of Hones/Steels
Based on the material theyre made of, honing steels can be divided into three basic types
steel, diamond, and ceramic. (To be more accurate, diamond and most ceramic hones are
layered substances on top of a steel core.)
Steel hones are the oldest, most traditional, and most common. They are the type
that often comes with a kitchen knife set. They can either be perfectly smooth or have fine
ridges running their length. The smooth kind is the most benign, while the ridged roughs
up the knife edge a bit while it realigns. For a while at least, this roughing-up treatment
lends the edge more tooth and will make it cut more aggressively. But its not long lasting
and tends to wear the edge down faster. (The courser the ridges on the honing steel, the
greater the knife wear.) Thus, this is not my favorite type of hone.
The totally smooth steel hone (which is virtually non-destructive) is much superior to
the ridged, but is still not my first choiceone of the main reasons being that it cannot be
used with a Japanese-made knife. The steel that Japanese knives are made of is harder and
brittler than German (or Western) steel and will tend to chip on a steel hone. This is true
for all steel hones that Im aware of.
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Diamond hones have no problem with handling any kind of steel. German, Japanese,
planet Marsthey work on them all. Diamond is hard. But the problem with using a diamond hone/steel for regular maintenance is that its not truly a honing steel. Its a
sharpener in disguise. Oh, it may look like a honing steel because its in the shape of a rod,
but its functioning more like a sharpener. Granted, depending on how fine the grit is (and
how hard you press), it will not be any way as wicked as a full-fledged sharpening stone. But
stillodds are you will be sharpening more than honing. Which is fine if your knife is
beginning to get dull and you dont have time to do a full-fledged sharpening session and
you just want to give it a quick tune-up with a few light swipes. But its definitely not fine
for regularly realigning your blade every other day. Keep that up and youll have no knife
left. Pleasenever use a diamond steel/hone for regular maintenance.
Oh, it may look like a honing steel because its in the shape of
a rod, but its functioning more like a sharpener.
Ceramic hones mix the best of both worlds. Theyre harder than any kind of steel, so
they can be used with Japanese knives, but theyre not too hard. (Ceramic is much less
aggressive than diamond.) And theyre usually manufactured with a very fine grit (1000 and
up) that, although slightly destructive, wont unnecessarily wear a knife down. It will clean
the edge up a touch while it realigns which is not a bad thing. Any of those microscopic
teeth that have been weakened will be taken away leaving the edge stronger and able to stay
sharp longer. Only a miniscule amount of metal will be lost (as long as you dont bear down
and try to use the honing rod as a sharpener).
The abrasion of a fine-grit ceramic is infinitely finer than the ridges of even the finest
steel hone, so it will be much easier on your knives. This is why a number of my favorite
professional knife sharpeners recommend a fine-grit ceramic as the ideal hone. Ive been
using one on my knives for over a year now since they last were sharpened and they all still
slice through paper with ease. Hard to beat that! (Oh, there is one negativeif you drop a
ceramic hone on a hard floor, it can break.)
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RECOMMENDED HONING STEELS
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Like everything in our highly-commoditized
world, there are a variety of ceramic steels to choose from. (Im not sure how much
the quality can vary, but I wouldnt trust anything under $20.) There are two brands
Ive had personal experience withDMT and Messermeister. They both make a 12inch model (not including the handle) which is easily long enough to use with even a
10-inch blade. The DMT is 2200 grit, the Messermeister 1200. Thus, the DMT is almost
twice as fine as the other. Does this matter? Maybe some, but its not significant
1200 grit is fine enough and if the DMT feels too pricey, then Messermeister is a highquality alternative.
I own the DMT and it works like a dream. The Messermeister Ive handled, but not
actually usedI bought it for friends as a wedding gift (along with a Shun knife, Im
not that cheap). One of the professional sharpening services Ive used actually
prefers it to the DMT. If youre in the mood to shop, heres where to go:
Diamond Machining Technology [DMT] CS2 12-Inch Ceramic Steel @ Amazon / $37
Messermeister 12-Inch Ceramic Rod @ Amazon / $25
Please note: Both manufacturers make diamond and steel models as well, so be sure
the honing steel you select is ceramic.
Length and Cleanup

There are two other simple, but important, details to be aware of regarding a honing steel:
1) make sure its the right length and, 2) keep it clean.
1)
You want the length (not including the handle) to be 2-inches longer than the
longest knife you intend to use it on. (Bread knives and other serrated knives dont count
because you cant easily hone them.) You need the extra inches in order to comfortably run
the entire edge of the knife down the hone in one complete swipe. So if your king-of-thekitchen is a 10-inch chefs knife, you should buy a hone with an 12-inch long shaft.
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2)
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You must clean your honing steel. Otherwise, it will get clogged up with the super-
fine metal particles from the knives youre using it on. And it will gradually lose its effectiveness. After each honing session, give it a thorough wipe with a clean cloth. Then, every
few weeks or so, scrub it in hot soapy water with a synthetic brush or scrub pad just the way
you would a gourmet cooking pan. No steel wool or anything harsh that could scratch.
(Some recommend using cleansing powder on ceramic hones, but I shy away from it
because Im worried the abrasiveness of the powder will wear down the surface.)
No matter how well you maintain your hone, it will wear out.
Ceramic hones are bit more troublesome to keep clean because even if you scrub them
regularly, the metal residue tends to build up a bit anyway turning them greyish. That said,
my understanding is that because ceramic is usually such a fine grit in the first place, this
thin, leftover build-up doesnt impact much on the hones effectiveness. Nonetheless, if
you wish to clean a ceramic rod more thoroughly (which I keep meaning to do, but havent
gotten around to yet), the most effective solution seems to be using an erasure. Idahone (a
well-known hone manufacturer) makes one specifically designed for this task and its supposed to work wonders. (Its on my shopping list.)
Finally, be aware, no matter how well you maintain your hone, it will wear out.
Depending on the brand/quality and how much and how hard you use it, it might only last
2 to 3 years. So dont expect it to last the lifetime of your Henckels knives.
Japanese Knives and Honing Steels

Word to the wise: Honing steels are primarily designed for maintaining Western-style
knives made of Western-style (or German) steel. This type of steel is tough and pliable. If
you own a Japanese knife, please do yourself a favor and do some research before you try
honing it.
Western-styled Japanese knives (Global, Mashiro, MAC, etc.) can be honed, but only
with a ceramic or diamond honing rodnever one made of steel (either ridged or smooth).
Japanese steel is harder and brittler than German-style steel and can chip. Only a ceramic
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or diamond hone (which are much harder and a finer grit) can handle this Japanese steel
without damaging it.
Traditional Japanese knives you should be even more careful with. They should never
be steeled/honed at all. Period. They should only be touched up with a waterstonethe
same thing you should sharpen them with. This is the blessing and curse of Japanese
knivestheyre super sharp, but theyre also more finicky. (Note: Ive garnered this from
research, not personal experience, since I do not currently own any traditional Japanese
knives.)
Honing Steel Recap

1) Be
clear about the difference between honing and sharpening. Honing realigns,
sharpening grinds. For regular maintenance you want a steel that hones, not
sharpens.
2) Of
the three types of honing steels, I (and my sharpening professionals) recom-
mend a fine-grit ceramic. It will be gentle on your knives while still cleaning
them up a bit. And you can you use it on Western-style Japanese knives.
3) Make
sure to buy a hone thats 2-inches longer than the longest knife you will
use it on. And keep it clean.
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How to Hone (or Steel)

Your Kitchen Knife
OTHER THAN NOT
mashing your kitchen knives into things like porcelain, glass, metal,
frozen chicken fillets, (the list goes on)the single best thing you can do to keep them
sharp is to hone them regularly. No, make that hone them religiously. (Because honing is a
calling, a holy task, something that works best when done with dedication and consistency.)
And I am not exaggeratingit is the single most important thing you can do. So if you love
the idea of having continually sharp knives, its a skill worth learning. And its EASY!
Vitals
There are three simple things to remember:
1) Find
the right angle and keep it there. (Ill get to that shortly.)
2) Dont
press hard. Just a little more than the weight of the knife itself.
3) Dont
overdo it. Generally, 2 or 3 swipes per sides enough.
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Rememberhoning is not the same as sharpening. With a sharpener youre actually

grinding away metal to form a new edge, while with a hone (or steel) youre simply
realigning.
Type and Length of Hone

The type of honing steel I recommend is a fine-grit ceramic rod. It is the most dependably
hard, the least destructive, and is well-suited for German-style knives and some Japanese
hybrids. Fine-grit ceramic hones were first recommended to me by one of my favorite professional sharpeners (Seattle Knife Sharpening) who trained under Bob Kramer of Kramer
Knives fame. And they have since been recommended to me by other pro sharpeners as
well. So, from what Ive learned so far, they seem the wisest choice. (And, yes, most ceramic
hones will likely break if you drop them.)
Hones/steels come in varying lengths and the rule of thumb is that your hone (the
ceramic part, not including the handle) should be a couple inches longer than the longest
knife you plan to use it with. It makes for ease of use. There are a number of brands and
KKGs DMT ceramic honing rod
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models of fine-grit ceramic to choose from, but two high-quality ones I can personally
recommend are: the DMT CS2 12-Inch Ceramic Steel @ Amazon / $37 and the Messermeister 12-Inch Ceramic Rod @ Amazon / $25. I own the DMT and Ive handled the
Messermeister.
Honing Angle
The object of honing is to stroke the hone with the knife at the same angle the knifes been
sharpened atwhich can depend both on the knifes design and whos last sharpened it.
Sound like a free-for-all? Its not. Because there are time-honored traditions, standards.
If its a German-style knife (which most likely it is) like a Henckels, Wusthof,
Sabatierno problem. German knives traditionally come from the factory with two even
edges, both at the same angle of 2022 degrees. Sometimes people cheat them to sharper
angles (like my Seattle Knives sharpener guy), but if you know no differently, then assume
the knifes been sharpened at around 20 degrees. (Note: the angle were talking about here
is called the edge angle which is the angle on only one side of the knife.)
If your knife is Japanese or a Japanese hybrid, then its been sharpened at a more acute
angle, probably between 11 to 15 degrees. Japanese knives, traditionally, are made of a
harder steel than German knives, and can hold a thinner, more sharply-angled, edge.
But it gets weirder stillbecause some Japanese knives have a chisel edge (also called
flat ground) with only one side sharpened instead of two. And some even have unequal
edgeslike Mashiros which are 20/80. (If you dont understand what I mean by 20/80,
please dont fret, because odds are you do not own this kind of knife.) If you own one of
these more unusual Japanese knives, and you own German-styled knives as well, I would
recommend starting with the German. As a matter of fact, for many Japanese knives, especially those brands fashioned in the traditional style, its best not to hone them at all with a
steel (ceramic or otherwise), but rather use a water stone. (Id be glad to research your specific brand furtherpost your request in the Forum area of this site or email me.)
Most Global, MAC, and Shun knives (all hybrid Japanese brands) are beveled evenly on
both sides in the Western tradition and can be honedalbeit at a sharper angle. (I believe
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Globals sashimi knives are the major exception and have a chisel edge.) Again, please make
sure you understand the edge of the knife youre working with because if you hone at the
wrong angle, you will dull the edge even more instead of restoring its sharpness.
Honing Lesson
There are a number of techniques people use to hone/steel, some of them quite brash and
showy, but the technique I use and recommend is the safest and most reliable. Especially
for those of us who are not doing it 10 times a day, 6 days a week.
1)
With a cutting board or a dishtowel underneath as a buffer, stand the hone on your
kitchen counter perpendicular to it, straight up and down, with the ceramic tip resting on
the counter. (If youre right-handed, hold the hone with your left hand. Or visa versa.)
2)
Next, you want to approximate the correct angle:
Trick 1: With the knife in your right hand, bring the blade close to the hone at a 90
degree angle (parallel to the counter, as if youre going to slice the hone in two). Visualize
that invisible 90 degrees. Then, rotate the spine so that the knife now halves that
imaginary 90 degree anglethats 45. Then, halve the angle once morethats 22.5. You
Trick 1 for finding the correct honing angle
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can leave it there, or cheat it in bit (for 20 degrees), and youve got the right angle to hone
a German knife.
Trick 2: Fold over a sheet of paper diagonally, to make a 45 degree, then fold that in
half for 22.5. (As if you were making only one half of a paper plane.) Trim it down so its
small enough to hold up with your hone hand and nuzzle your knife up against it. If you
need a sharper angle for a Japanese knife, fold it one more time for 11.25 and cheat your
knife out a bit for 15 degrees.
Trick 2 for finding the correct honing angle
Dont worry if the angle(s) seems fuzzy to you at first. The more you do it, the sharper
your eye will get.
3)
Starting at the heel (or base) of the knife and the top of the hone, with the knife at
the correct angle, pull the knife toward you as you let the blade slide down. Use very
light pressure. By the time the blade reaches the tip of the hone, you should be at the tip
of the knife. Again, dont press hard, very lightuse the weight of the knife and a little
extra. Note: Avoid letting the tip of the knife slide off the edge of the hone, try to stop
while its still on the hone, or you run the risk of rounding the tip over time. (See stepby-step photo montage on next page.)
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4)
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Do the other side of the knife on the opposite side of the hone. It will feel a bit awk-
ward at first try, but youll get used to it. Go as slow as you wantnobodys watching and
speed has no effect whatsoever on quality!
5)
Alternate back and forthone swipe on the first side, one swipe on the otheruntil
youve done around 2 or 3 swipes per side. If your knife edge was in pretty good shape to
begin with, it shouldnt take much. Check to see if your edge has come back and is sharp
again. Try slicing some paper. If not, do a few more.
6)
If you find, after doing 6 or 7 swipes per side, that theres very little improvement,
then there are two possible reasons: a) youre not honing at the correct angle, b) the knife
youre honing is too far gone and needs to be sharpened. [OK, theres one more possible
reasonc) youre not pressing hard enough. But I hesitate to mention it because I dont
want you to get into the habit of using too much pressure.]
Angle Adjustments
Scenario 1: If your angle is too steep, too acute, for the knife youre honing, then you can
hone all day and you will never push back a micron of steel. The problem is the cutting
edge of the knife is not quite making contact with the hone. Knife and hone are
connecting, yes, but on a rim of steel that is millimeters away from the actual edge. Widen
the angle slightly (tilt the spine of the knife a touch further out and away from the hone)
and try again.
Scenario 2: If your angle is too wide (which is worse), then you are actually dulling the
knife further instead of honing it. You are bending over the steel on the edge as if you were
chopping on a porcelain cutting board. Stop, stop, STOP! Narrow the angle and try again.
When in doubt, always start with an angle that is steeper/smaller than you might need,
then widen it out if its not working. This kind of adjusting will have no effect whatsoever
on the knife edge, while the other way around, you will inadvertently be worsening your
problem before improving it, which makes no sense at all.
If, after adjusting your angle (and perhaps using a touch more pressure), you notice no
more sharpness returning to the edge of your knife, then stop honing. Your knife edge is
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deadand no amount of honing will bring it back to life. This deadness (or dullness) is not
so much from the microscopic steel at the edge being temporarily curled over as it is from
it being worn down completely. Time to get that puppy sharpened! (Actually, to be
searingly honest, you can bring even a dead knife back a bit with a hone, but I dont recommend it because: one, it wont last long and, two, it will wear hard on your hone.)
Get On a Schedule
How often should you perform this silly ritual? Believe it or notideallyevery time you
use a knife (a serious session, like prepping a meal). Seems a bit obsessive, doesnt it? But
youd be surprised what you might be able to train yourself to do, once you reap the benefitsa perpetually sharp knife. Remember, it only takes about 60 seconds.
Technically speaking, its better to hone right before using a knife than afterthe reason being that if a large amount of time has elapsed between honing and use, the knife can
regress some and the edge bend back out a bit. But its no biggie. If honing right before is
too much hassle, then do it later when you feel less pressured. The main thing is to do it!
And, of course, its sort of a paradox: If you dont hone much, then your technique
wont improve much, and every time you do it, it will still take more time than it should.
While the more you make yourself hone, the better and faster youll get at it, and the easier
it will be to do it on a regular basis. At a bare minimum (if youre cooking 3 or 4 times a
week), you should do it once a week. Less than that and youre greatly diminishing the benefits gained. It will still help, but youll need to get your knives sharpened sooner than necessary and youll needlessly deprive yourself of working with sharp knives.
Againthe main thing is to do it! And do it regularly.
Ergonomics
One final note: Please take some time to think out where you store your hone and make it as
accessible as possible. Easy to get to and close to your knives. Dont make yourself have to
dig through the back of a cabinet, scattering whisks and spatulas, every time you need to
use it. Youll never last. Make it handythis will support you in doing what you need to do.
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And its OK if it doesnt fit in your knife blockmine doesntstore it in a convenient

drawer, or hang it on a hook near the action.
Its all about developing a simple useful habit. If you can teach yourself to hone regularly, youll have sharp knives at your fingertips all the time. Youll begin to get addicted.
Youll show off to your friendsslicing cucumbers paper thin. And depending on 1) how
much you cook 2) how dutifully you hone and 3) the quality of your knives, you may be
able to go a year or longer before having to even think about sharpening.
Buy a hone todayyou will never ever regret it!
BONUS TIP:
At the beginning at least, try printing out a cheat sheeta short list of
instructions you keep with the hone that can remind you of the main points until
youve memorized the routine. (See following page for Honing Cheat Sheet.)
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Honing CHeat SHeet

hone/steel after every other use
at same angle, or slightly steeper, than
sharpened angle20 for Western knives,
or 15 for Japanese.
remember the two tricks for finding the angle
always better to err being too shallow, then
go steeper
best on low table, at the level of your hips
lock wrist and elbow to keep angle consistent
avoid letting tip of knife slide off of edge of steel
use barely more pressure than the weight of
the knife itself
alternate side to side
2 or 3 strokes per side; 7 or 8 max
test sharpnessif not improved, tweak angle
hand wash honing steel occasionally and wipe dry
When to steel?
ideally, right before using, just a couple of strokes
otherwise, once a week
do it regularly
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PART FOUR
CUTTING BOARDS
Cutting Boards Complete

FACT:
One of the easiest things you can do to insure the long life of your kitchen knives is
to give them the right kind of cutting board to cut and cube on. And believe it or not, even
in this age of high-tech
materials and nano-bred
wonders, just about the
best substance for your
knives to chop on is
stillyou guessed it
good old wood. Plastic,
high-tech darling of yesteryear, is the other most
favored material. (Not
any plastic, and not any
KKGs cutting boards
wood.) Each of these
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two has their strengths and weaknesses, their lovers and detractors. But the cool thing is,
theres no reason you have to take sidesyou can mix and match. At least, thats what I do.
Never Ever
Before we get into comparing and contrasting wood and plastic though, and in case you
havent read my Top Ten Tips to Keeping Your Kitchen Knives Sharp, lets be clear about
what you should NOT be cutting on:
granite
steel
hard plastic
porcelain
Corian
any other material

that is hard and
unyielding and does
KItchen knife no-no
not score when you

slice it with a knife.
Why? Because even though a knife is made of steel and steel is a hard and very tough
material, the finely sharpened edge of knife is actually rather delicate. And cutting and
chopping on these verboten materials will dull your knives quicker than you can say curried
cous-cous (in the course of dicing one large onion). It will make you have to either sharpen
them more frequently or perpetually put up with dull knives. Who wants that?
In the Beginning, There Was Wood

Wood is not only a beautiful, natural material, its also very strong, and very durable. Yet,
its most attractive qualityas far as the health of your knives is concernedis that it will
yield to their sharp edges. When you cut on a wooden board, the wood fibers break and
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leave a markwhich helps prevent the fine edges of your knives from rolling over and
turning dull.
Not just any kind of wood from just any kind of tree makes a great cutting board.
Some woods are too hard, some are too soft, some lack a uniform texture, some are not
dense enough. The great majority of quality boards in the U.S. are made of hard maple
because its got just the right balance of durability to softness, and its uniform, dense, and
fine-grained. Plus, its in plentiful supply.
Not just any kind of wood makes a great cutting board . . .

Some people do make cutting
boards out of soft maple and other
more pliable woodsand they dont
wear well. But there are a number of
other woods that can still do the
jobbirch, walnut, cherry, white oak,
ash, along with more exotics like teak
or royal mahogany. You can also find
boards made out of a combination of
woods, but I must admit Im a little
wary about using them for heavy
Small one-piece decorator board from Sweden
chopping. Because unless the types of wood are perfectly matched in hardness, you could
be subjecting your knives to uneven wear and tear.
WHAT ABOUT BAMBOO?
Bamboo is actually a grass, not a wood (not that it
really matters). Its suitability as a cutting board is mixed and I discuss it separately
later in this article along with two other materialshard rubber and wood fiber
composites.
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Three Constructions
Although you can still find boards made from one slab of wood, most modern cutting
boards are made from a number of planks that have been glued together. This makes them
stronger and less likely to crack or warp. There are three types of construction: end grain,
edge grain, and flat grain. An easy way to understand the difference between them is to
conjure up an imaginary 2 X 4.
End grain: To make an
end-grain board, youd use the
end of the 2 X 4where the
grain is open, like a sawed-off
tree trunkfor the top of your
board. Of the three types, this is
the easiest to identify because of
its checkerboard pattern. Traditional butchers blocks are endgrain construction.
End-grain board made by Catskill Craftsman @ Amazon.com / $117.
End grain is the kindest to your knives and will wear the
longest.
End grain is usually the most expensive because its the most labor intensive to
make. But its also the kindest to your knives and will wear the longest. The wood fibers
are pointing upward, so you are cutting into the fibers, instead of across them. The knife
edge spreads the fibers apart (sort of like pushing a ruler into a scrub brush) and then
allows the fibers to come back together and mend themselves. Theres less pressure on
the knife edge which will keep it sharper longer. As an added benefit, you will notice less
scoring on an end-grain board. The only real negative is that by the nature of their construction end-grain boards tend to be thick (try 3 to 4 inches) and heavy. Not much fun
to lug over to the sink.
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Edge grain: If you laid your imaginary 2 X 4 down with the long narrow side facing up
(the 2-inch side), youd have an edge-grain board. Ideally, the grain pattern of each composite plank would be vertical
to
the
countertopin
practice its often mixed.

But you get the idea.
This kind of construction is by far the most
End of edge-grain board where you can see the grain in some planks runs more
vertical than others.
common because it balances strength and dura-
bility with cost. These boards last a long long time if you care for them (i.e dont soak them
in water and oil them regularly). Ive had a couple of mine over 20 years. They can vary in
thickness, but on average run only an inch or so, and come in all sorts of sizes. So you can
choose exactly the size and thickness that works best for you.
Flat grain: If you turned your imaginary 2 X 4 so that the wide edge (the 4-inch side)
was facing up, youd have a flat-grained board. Even though it may look similar to an
edge-grain board, its not comparable. Because no matter how well-made a flat grain
board is, its still not as strong, and it wont last as long. Its the nature of the grain pattern.
Yes (as mentioned above), many edge-grain boards use face-grain, or quasi-face-grain,
planks mixed in as well. Thats fine. Wood is a natural mediumno need to be fanatic
about it. As a matter of fact, youd probably be hard put, nowadays, to find a pure flatgrain board. The main thing is to have a preponderance of edge-grain which will give the
board strength and resist warpage.
QUALITY WOODEN BOARDS
If youre in the market for a quality edge-grain cut-
ting board, here are two that would be worth looking into. Theyre produced by the
leading manufacturers in the U.S.J.K. Adams and John Boos. I do not personally
own one of these, but if I were to buy a wood cutting board tomorrow, these are the
two brands/models I would consider. Both are hewed from hard maple and come in a
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variety of sizes. The Adams is designed thinner and lighter (3/4 inch thick), the Boos
thicker and heavier (1 1/4 inch). It all depends on what you prefernimbleness or
solidity. J.K. Adams Basic @Amazon.com / $25; John Boos Chop-N-Slice
@MetroKitchen / $35.95.two edge-grain cutting boards.
Then, There Was Plastic

Strangely enough, high-density polypropylene (i.e. plastic) has similar properties to wood.
Its tough, yet soft enough not to dull a knife blade. It doesnt heal up quite as well, and it
doesnt look as good after its accumulated hundreds and hundreds of score marks. (Somehow we dont mind the look of weathered woodwe often pay a premium for itwhile
plastic creeps us out when it gets too worn and used.) On the other hand, a board made of
plastic will generally be cheaper, so it wont cost as much to replace. It will also be thinner
and lighter than your average wood board. And, as an additional bonus, you can throw it in
the dishwasher if you choose. (More about this laterbut dont even dream about tossing
your wooden board in the dishwasher.)
One of my favorite professional cutlery sharpeners says, I

look for a plastic board that you can easily slice a strip from
the side with your knife.
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Before you go riding off into the sunset with a stack of plastic cutting boards in your saddlebags, please make sure of one important thingthat the plastic you buy is soft enough.
Because just because all the online retailers say, safe for professional knives, will not dull
knives, doesnt necessarily make it so. Bob Tate, one of my favorite professional cutlery
sharpeners says, I look for a plastic board that you can easily slice a strip from the side with
your knife. Thats pretty soft, isnt it? After learning this, I checked out the polypropylene
boards in my kitchen and three out of the four passed with honors. The one that didnt, I
only use occasionally and never for chopping, so Im not concerned about it. Its a classic
dilemma, really: Harder plastic will look nice longer, but be tough on your knives. Softer
plastic will turn ugly quicker, but be gentle on your knives. I vote for the knives.
Plastic boards come in a lot of fun colors which you can use as a coding system if you
want. Red for raw meats; green for vegetables; etc., etc.this is what professional
kitchens do to help prevent cross-contamination. (I touch on this more in the next section.) Otherwise, you can just enjoy the rich colors. Another nice thing about plastic
boards, is that unlike wood, they dont tend to take on as much the flavors of pungent
tasting foods like onion and garlic. If youve ever cut up strawberries on a wooden board
that had recently been used to mince a clove of garlic, youll know what I mean. Garlic
strawberry shortcake anyone?
In our kitchen, because even with
plastic weve tasted garlic and onion
residue, weve taken it a step further.
Weve dedicated two plastic boards
(one large, one small) to fruit only
and written the word "fruit" on them in magic marker. (In very small type, I might add,
near the edge.) Nerdy. . .but it works!
QUALITY PLASTIC BOARDS
There are two plastic cutting board brands I can
swear byOneida and Dexas. Both pass the softness test and come in a number of
sizes and zesty colors. Ive chopped and sliced on their boards for quite a few years
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and theyve held up really well (but I have not washed them in the dishwasher). If
these brands dont work for you (or are unavailable), then youll need to either go to a
store where you can handle boards yourself, or try a hit-or-miss approach ordering
various brands online. Fortunately, the prices are low enough you can afford to make
a mistake or two. (Dexas Jelli Board in royal blue @ Amazon / $20; Dexas Grippboard
in red @ SurlaTable / $12; Oneida Cutting Board in purple @ Amazon / $16.)
Cutting Board Cleanliness

I can hear some of you madly screaming all the way from the top of this article: What about
cleanliness and contamination? Everybody knows that wood is a germ monger and plastic is
clean. (Or maybe the other way around.) Arent you going to address this? So, here goes. . .
. . .according to a definitive study done by Dr. Cliver at UC

Davis, a scarred plastic board will actually hold more bacteria
than a scarred wooden one.
When it comes to bacteria and other nasties, what it boils down to is not what your
cutting board is made ofbut how well you manage your boards and how well you clean
them. No matter what youve heard or read (including advice from your mother and dated
pronouncements by the USDA), neither wood or plastic are inherently more sanitary than
the other. Its all in the maintenance. As a matter of fact, according to a definitive study
done by Dr. Cliver at UC Davis, a scarred plastic board will actually hold more bacteria
than a scarred wooden one. (Crazy, huh? If youre curious why, see the sidebar below.)
Sure, a brand new plastic board, without any knife cuts in it, is a cinch to sanitize, and beats
out wood. But how long does a cutting board stay in that condition? Not very. And thats
where wood excels.
At any rate, no matter what kind of board you use, you still need to wash itespecially
if its handled any kind of raw meat. You should scrub your board thoroughly with soap and
hot water (flowing from the tap, not standing in the sink), wipe it off well with a paper (or
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cloth) towel, and air dry it standing up to ensure you rid it of all moisture. To be totally
honest, in my kitchen the only board that gets a guaranteed serious scrub is the one thats
handled raw meat (or fish). The others may vary according to the mess. But everyone has
their own standards, so do what youre most comfortable with.
Of course, with plastic boards you have the option of popping them in the dishwasher.
(Though you should rinse them off first.) If youve got the right kind of dishwasher, it will
even sanitize them. The only thing you need to beware of is the dry cycle which tends to
warp polypropylene. So dont let the dishwasher dry themtake them out early. Just for
the record, I do not do this. I hand wash all my boards.
FURTHER RESEARCH
For those who want more on cutting board hygiene, here
are links to three articles which discuss it in more detail. The first is the original
research paper published by Dr. Dean O. Cliver at UC Davis and the other two are follow-up articles based on his research.
Original Cliver study: http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm
Rodale follow-up article: http://www.rodale.com/cutting-boards-and-bacteria?page=0,1
The Rustic Dish follow-up: http://www.therusticdish.com/science[/message]
The Two Boards Concept

It pretty much comes down to common sense. Would you lay a raw chicken breast on top
of your fresh tossed salad? Of course not. Then why would you slice up chicken for your
sautee, wipe off the very same cutting board, and then proceed to separate lettuce leaves,
slice up tomatoes, on the very same spot you just had raw chicken on. Not very appetizing.
And not very clean. The technical term is cross-contamination. Even if you scrubbed the
board with soap and hot water, there are still bacteria (chicken fat is especially good at insulating them) that could survive in the knife cuts in your board. The board would need to be
thoroughly dried out before they would be nullified.
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Enter the Two Boards Concept. Although I like things clean, I am by no means a sanitation freak. Thats why Im a big fan of dedicating a cutting board (or two) to nothing but
raw meat, poultry, and fish. All you need to do, on the most basic level, is to keep the raw
animal produce separate from everything else. If you can just do this, youre doing a lot.
Then, all thats left is to scrub thoroughly as described above.
Once you get you used it, its pretty simple. Its sort of like pretending you practice a
special brand of kosher cooking. Dont kill yourself trying to scrub a cutting board clean in
the middle of prepping a meal ever again. Use two boardsone for raw meat, the other for
everything else.
Bamboo, a Love Affair Gone Bad

Bamboo has become the eco-friendly wood of the new century and it is quite a wonder.
It looks super cool and its lightweight but strong. Its tight-grained and dense, so its
easy to clean. Whats not to like?
I cant in good conscience recommend bamboo as the material of

choice for your main cutting board.
Id used my two smaller-size bamboo
boards for years and swore by themuntil I
saw a negative comment on the web and asked
one of my professional sharpening services
their opinion. I already knew bamboo was
roughly 15 percent harder than hard maple
KKGs three bamboo boards
which is the standardbut 15 didnt seem that

far out of line. Turns out hardness is not the
main problem. Its all about consistency. Maple is far more consistent in hardness whereas
bamboo is super hard at the nodes and soft in between, my sharpening guy said. The nodes
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will kill you. Or the soft in between. Or, more accurately, the uneven wear between them
tends to shred the edge of your blade. Especially if youre doing a whole lot of chopping.
So I cant in good conscience recommend bamboo as the material of choice for your
main cutting board. But it seems fine as a supporting cast member. Thats how I use my
bamboo boards, anywayfor lighter roles like slicing up an apple or serving cheese. Especially since bamboo is so pleasing to the eye. I dont think Ive ever seen a bamboo board I
didnt want to buy immediately just to take home and look at.
BAMBOO BOARDS
Here are links to a few of my favoritesI own the first two
models by Totally Bamboo and the last is made by them as well. I have rarely used
mine for heavy chopping, but have washed them with soap and hot water (NOT submersed) and they have held up very well. (Below: Totally Bamboos 3-Piece Cutting
Board Set (20-7930) @ Amazon / $13, their Kauai single board 11.5 length @
SurlaTable / $20, and their Striped 3-Piece Set @ SurLaTable / $25.)
Other Options
There are three other types of cutting boards worth discussingthe last of which, like
bamboo, I dont recommend for heavy usage. But you see it marketed on a lot of kitchen
gear websites, so I thought it would be worth covering.
Hard Rubber: Hard rubber boards, the Sani-Tuff brand specifically, are big in the
food industry. And for good reasontheyre as pliant yet durable as wooden boards, wont
trap bacteria like plastic boards, are easy on knives, and can even be resurfaced by sanding.
And to top it off, they can go in the dishwasher.
So wheres the rub? The biggest downside is that theyre not that attractiveunless
you have a thing for industrial beige. They look like they belong in exactly the place they
were designed fora commercial kitchen. They also lean toward larger sizes (which can be
cumbersome and heavy), tend to grab your knife blade more than wood or plastic, and are
not cheap.
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So its up to you. If you dont mind the look and heft, they are worth looking into. But
whatever you do, dont order anything thicker than the 3/4 inchunless you like to
weightlift while you cook! (Disclosure: I have no hands-on experience with these, but am
relying on my own research.)
SANI-TUFF BOARDS
Heres a link to (currently) the best-priced merchant:
Global.com. You can also get them on Amazon through a third party, but they cost
more: Amazon.com.
Thin, Flexible Plastic Mats: Although their thinness varies according to the manufacturer, the big appeal of these cutting mats is that they are ultra-light and ultra-portable.
Which means you can stow them away anywherein a drawer, behind your knife block
and quickly whip one out whenever needed. Converts rave about the fact you can use the
board itself to funnel whatever youve chopped up directly in a soup pot. Kuel. And they
come in all sorts of festive colors like regular plastic boards, so you can easily code them for
different foods if you like. Ive never used them, but I can see the appeal.
Mats are not designed for heavy-duty jobs.

Please be aware thatdepending on the thinnessyou should, ideally, use them over
something with some give in it like a wooden cutting board. If you put a mat thats only a
couple of millimeters thin over your granite counter and mince away with your favorite
newly-sharpened chefs knife, you will quickly fold over the cutting edge (i.e dull it). And
please dont even dream about chopping with a cleaver on one of theseyoull slice right
through. Mats are not designed for heavy-duty jobs. Also, be aware that, in general, they
wont hold up to sustained dishwasher use, but will warp and curl.
Perhaps the best way to approach them is as a disposable accessory that might last for
a year max. (Theyre extremely affordable, depending on the brand.) Use them when
youre in a crunchlike slicing some fruit over a board you just smashed a garlic clove
onand once they get cracked and scarred, buy a new pack.
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Here are four well-researched possibilities. Its
impossible to know which, if any, of these cutting mats will work bestconsidering
the fuzziness of product specs and range of customer reviews. But all of these
brands/models should be thicker than most and less prone to curl. My personal faves
are the Rsle from Sur La Table and the Dexas Flexi from Williams-Sonoma. The former is German-made with a lifetime guarantee and the latter has a plethora of
positive reviews with hardly any negative.
Rsle Cutting Mats, set of four @ Sur La Table / med 19.95; lrg $34.95
Dexas Grippmats, set of four @ Sur La Table / $20
MIU Flexible Cutting Board, set of 5 @ Amazon / $9.95
Dexas Flexi Cutting Boards, set of 4 @ Williams-Sonoma / $19.95
Wood Fiber Composites: Richlite is a wonderfully green material made of layers

of paper pulp and resin. Epicurean makes a long line of Richlite cutting boards which
are quite stylish and quite the rage. One can understand whytheyre incredibly
durable, wont stain easily, can take up 350 degrees of heat, are completely sanitary,
and can even go in the dishwasher. Theres only one big problemtheyre pretty darn
hard. Significantly harder than hard maple, which makes them less-than-ideal for
heavy cutting-board use. Even though all the websites selling these boards claim they
wont dull knives, I find it hard to believe. (Disclosure: I have tested out Richlite, but do
not use it myself.)
Nevertheless, these Epicurean cutting boards are handsome and sophisticated and
can fill a certain niche. If you find them irresistible, I would recommend making them
supporting players (like I recommend for bamboo). Relegate them to lighter tasks
halving a melon, sawing up a baguette, serving figs and cheeseand save the heavy lifting for other boards made of more yielding materials.
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Epicurean Non-Slip Series Cutting

Boards @ Sur La Table / lrg $34.95.
Same, except with brown grippers,
@ Amazon / lrg $36.27.
Conclusions
Remember, the two best all-around materials for cutting boards are wood and plastic
which you dont have to choose between, but can use in combination. Both can be hygienic
if used properly because the main thing is how you manage and clean your cutting boards,
not what you cut on. To this end, adopt the Two Boards Concepthave a separate cutting
board for raw meat only (including poultry and fish). Youll find it indispensable to making
your prep work sanitary and simpler.
Take care what your knives cut on and they will return the favor by staying sharp
longer!
Cutting Board Recap

Wood
pros: protects knives; beautiful, natural look; weathers well; variety of styles;
lasts long time
cons: cant wash in dishwasher
Plastic
pros: protects knives; looks great at first; variety of colors; dishwasher safe
(except for dry cycle)
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cons: eventually scarsdoesnt weather as well as wood; careful drying in dishwasher

Bamboo
pros: attractive unusual patterns; lightweight; weathers as well as wood; variety of
styles; lasts
cons: hard on knives; only light usage, as backupbread, apple for lunch; no
dishwasher
Hard Rubber (Sani-Tuff)
pros: protects knives; more sanitary than plastic; dishwasher safe; lasts forever; can
be resurfaced
cons: not attractive; no style selectiononly one color, beige; heavy; pricey
Thin, Flexible Plastic Mats
pros: portable and light; variety of colors/styles; inexpensive; semi-dishwasher
cons: flimsy; minimum knife protection; wear out quickly; not meant to last; will
warp in dishwasher
Wood Fiber Composite (Richlite w/Epicurean)
pros: attractive modern designs; wears well; variety of styles; lasts as long as wood
cons: hard on knives; should only use lightly as backupbread, etc.
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PART FIVE
KNIVES
How to Buy a
Great Chef Knife
A CHEF KNIFE
(or cooks knife) is the soul of the kitchen. Its the tool you most use without
even thinking, but cant live without. Its in your hands pre-dinner, when you slice up an
avocado for guacamole, and
there again when you quarter
watermelon
for
dessert. So buying the right

one is worth some thought.
For me, it boils down
to two big things:
1)
How does it feel in
your hand?
2)
How well will it hold
its edge (i.e. stay sharp)?
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Do I hear someone whining, But what about looks? Dont they count for
something? And I would have to saysure, as long as the two biggies are taken care of
first. Then feel free to go to town. But beauty is no guarantee of usefulness. What matters
most are the two big things.
HENCKELS KNIVES
The knife on the previous page is a classic 8-inch chefs from
one of Henckels oldest top-quality lines, the Professional S series. Its a hand-medown from my Mom and, I must admit, I love how it feels in my handbalanced,
with a nice sense of heft. Although Germany has hundreds of knife makers,
Henckels and Wusthof are the two that are most well-known internationally. And for
good reasonthey make dependable knives (usually backed by a lifetime guarantee)
that will stand up to a lot of hard use (and misuse) and still retain their edge. If youre
in the market for a knife, here are links to two reputable online merchants that stock
a full line of Henckels Pro S cutlery at competitive pricesMetroKitchen and
SurLaTable. And make sure to check out the Short List of recommended knives at
the end of this article.
Access to the Merchandise

In an ideal world, we would all live near a major gourmet kitchen store that had walls of
knives we could touch in the flesh before we bought. Oh, the salesperson probably
wouldnt let us chop up an onion, but we could get a general feel just by handling them a
bit, pretending to slice and dice.
Alas, thats not the case for most of us. And it presents a challenge when trying to
understand how your future kitchen soulmate will feel in your grip. Nonetheless, no
matter how limited a selection the stores near you offer, its worth making a visit to
whichever ones carry quality knives. Dont let the salesperson intimidate you. Ask to take
out as many as you need from behind the glass display case and into your eager palm.
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Most reputable online merchants have reasonable return policies because its in their best interest to encourage you to buy.
Alsobe open to other non-trad avenues of getting a hands-on experience. Ask your
foodie friends what knives they own and if you can try them out sometime. Or how about
friends of friends who might work in restaurants? Be creative! And then, of course, theres
the online universe. Todays consumer has shopping options never possible before. And
most reputable online merchants have reasonable return policies because its in their best
interest to encourage you to buy. Thus, your best bet might be to simply do some research,
take an educated guess, and buy online.
WORD OF CAUTION
Depending on the knife and how its packaged, you will be
able to handle a knife purchased online before committingand if its a total

disaster, mail it back for a nominal charge. But make sure to talk with a telephone
salesperson to find out which knives have problematic packaging and what the merchant can do about that.
Decoys
There are certain features that manufacturers or merchants might tout about their knives
that dont necessarily matter. They can act like smoke screens clouding the issues of quality,
the things that are truly
important. Lets look at
a few major ones.
Full tang versus
partial tang: The tang
is that part of the blade
that sticks into the handle, that keeps the two
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connected. The tang is often sandwiched between two pieces of handle that are held
together with rivets. A knife is described as "full-tang" when the metal from the blade
runs all the way through the handle.
Theres nothing wrong with a full-tang. But the problem is, sometimes knifemakers,
and especially merchants, tout a full-tang as the ultimate measure of quality and
durability. While, technically speaking, a knife with a full-tang structure might be
stronger, its basically irrelevant. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. Youre not prying
off two-by-fours with your chef knife, youre chopping carrots. Many custom hunting
knives and Japanese swords are not full-tang, and they are (and were) built for more
heavy-duty uses than your average chef knife. Dont get hung up on the tang. Go with the
overall quality of the knife.
There are high-quality stamped blades and low-quality

forged blades.
Forged versus stamped: Historically, there has been a huge difference in quality
between a blade that was pounded into shape (forged) and one that was cut out of a sheet of
metal like a cookie (stamped). But today, thanks to the wonders of modern manufacturingthe accessibility of high-end steel, the sophistication of heat treatmentthe gap
between them has narrowed to none. It all depends. There are high-quality stamped blades
and low-quality forged blades. Yes, the majority of bargain basement knives will still be
stamped, and the majority of high-end blades ($200 and up) will still be forged. But in that
wide middle ground ($70 to $200), if you match each type of knife at comparable price
points, a quality stamped blade will meet a forged head-on and hold its own. Its more
about the feel and what you like.
Bolster bluff: The bolster is the part of a knife between the handle and the blade
that is built out a bit and can 1) help protect your gripping hand from sliding up
against the back edge of the blade, and 2) help balance the knife. A bolster, along with
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a full-tang, used to be
the mark of a quality
forged knife. But now
in our polyglot world,
with the mixing of
Western and Eastern
knife styles and the
proliferation of inexpensive manufacturing
(i.e. China), this element is not a guarantee
of quality. Most forged
Two quality 6-inch chef knivesthe first, a Henckels, with a traditional full bolster;
the second, a Shun, with a partial bolster.
German-made knives have traditionally had bolsters while Japanese-made have not. A
bolster is not essential, its a matter of taste.
The Feel Factor: Weight and Handle

Assuming you can audition a physical specimenhow does this baby feel in your hand? Is
it too heavy, too light? Does the handle seem comfortable? Too bulky, too small? Hows
the balance? Does it want to stay in your hand while your work? Most cooks prefer a knife
Six different
chef/santoku
knives with six
different handles.
From L to R:
Henckels, Global,
Henckels 4-Star,
Caphalon,
Henckels Pro S,
Shun Classic)
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that weighs evenly between the blade and handle. Some prefer the blade to weigh a touch
more and tug down toward the food. In the end, only you can determine what feels right.
And you cant be sure what works for your favorite celeb chef will work for you. You need
to trust your own senses.
German-style [knives] are thicker and heavier. Japanese are

thinner and lighter.
Nowadays most quality chefs knives (or cooks knives) can be grouped into three general categories: German-style, Japanese-style, or hybrid. German-style (or Western) are
thicker and heavier. Japanese are thinner and lighter. And hybrids are usually in the Japanese
mode, but not always. It helps to know this when trying to figure out what you like.
For example, if youre holding a Japanese-made G-48 by Global (which is a hybrid),
youll definitely find it lighter and the handle skinnier than a German-made Classic Chefs
by Wusthof. So skinny, in fact, that when you open your grip, the knife will want to flop
over sideways in your hand. (The Wusthof will stay put.) Do you mind the fact that it cant
rest in your hand without flopping sideways? Or are you
so delighted with the lightness that its a non-issue?
In the last decade, heavier German-style knives have
been giving way to the lighter Japanese-style model. One
of the pluses of the Japanese-style thats been extolled is
that because its so much lighter, you feel less fatigue.
And its truebut it might not be a big factor for someone cooking only four meals a week for a family of three.
At any rate, dont just follow the trend, follow what feels
good. (For what its worth, even though I own and use
both, I still gravitate toward the heavier, Western, style.)
And while youve got it in your hands, pay special
Handles on a Henckels Professional S and

a Four Starboth made of polypropylene.
attention to what the handles made of. Do you enjoy the texture? Materials can vary. For
example, both Henckels and Wusthof have top-of-the-line models with very different-feeling
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handlesone with a hard smooth finish that imitates wood and another thats more plastic-looking, softer, and has more grip. And then, of course, theres the trademark pebbled
steel that Global knives sport. Remember, anything that mildly irritates you during a test
might drive you nuts after using it a hundred times. Then again, if the blade keeps on cutting supremely . . . you just might get used to the handle.
THE RISE OF SANTOKU [san-TOH-koo]
For a hundred years at least, the
standard chef knife in the West has pretty much looked like the one at the top of this
article. Its the one everyone thinks of as a cooks knife or even just a kitchen knife.
But in the last decade or so, theres a style of blade from Japan thats been gaining
prominence as a new favorite all-around knife. Enter santoku. . .
One Size Does Not Fit All

Before we leave the world of ergonomics, theres one more design factor worth thinking
aboutthe length of blade youre most comfortable with. A 7-inch santoku? A classic
8-inch chefs?
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A large knife blade definitely is something many find intimidating (like my sister, for
instance, and I can empathize). Yet for others, like Norman Weinstein whos taught professional chefs for over 20 years, nothing will do but a 10-inch chefs. Thats fine. Choose
whatever size youre most comfortable with. And what will work best for the range of tasks
alloted to itfrom dicing a shallot to splitting open a melon.
9-INCH KNIFE
In the last few years, more and more German manufacturers have
begun to offer a 9-inch chef knife. Which is awesome news because its a great inbetween size! Ive featured one by Messermeister in my Short List of recommendations at the end of this article.
Let it be noted though
that if youre cooking for an
army or handling a lot of cumbersome foodslike pumpkins
and squash and bundles of
kalea 10-incher can come in
quite handy. And the width of
the blade enables you to scoop
up piles of chopped carrots
effortlessly. Also, if you have
large hands, a wide blade
insures your knuckles dont get
pinched between the handle
and cutting board when chopping up onions.
6-inch chef, 7- and 7 1/2-inch santokus,
and 8-inch chef. Please note: I do not
recommend choosing a 6-incher as
your main chef knife. Its too short.
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If youre not sure about the length, then Id recommend going with a standard consumer-sized 8-inch chefs. Or if you favor Japanese lightness, then maybe a 7-inch santoku. (One great thing about the santoku is you can have the extra width of a 10-inch
blade without the length.) Leave it up to experience to eventually teach you what you do,
or dont, favor. Actually, Im in limbo a little on this issue of size myself. I keep going
back and forth between my Henckels 8-inch chefs and my Global 7-inch santoku. One
night Ill use just the Henckels, and another night just the Global. And some nights Ill
switch between them both.
Whatever works for you. You, you, you!
Sharpness that Lasts (know what youre buying)

Heres my main criteria for sharpness: I want a chef knife that can cut through a tomato
without any resistance. Time and time again. If it can do this, then its probably sharp
enough for my uses. Simple and sweet.
Practically any knife you buy todayyes, even at WalMartwill start off this sharp.
But it wont stay that way. Only the good ones, assuming youre not chopping on glass or
metal or something insane, can retain their sharpness, or more accurately, have their original sharpness revived again and again for quite a few years. And the quality of the good
ones, their strength and resilience, their ability to hold their edge, totally depends on the
quality of steel theyre made of.
One knife
sells for over
$100 and the
other for $17.
Can you tell
the difference? Be an
informed
shopper!
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Steel is an entire subject in and of itself, but suffice it to say, its a material that lends
itself to a ginormous range of quality and character, and the steel in a cheap knife is light
years away from the steel in a more expensive knife and it will not hold up. The edge will
fold over and dull too easily and will require much more sharpening. And the sharpening
itself will wear away much more metal, so that youll find yourself with either a perpetually
dull knife, or a knife whos cutting edge quickly wears away to nothing.
So how do you know youre getting a knife with high-performance steel? Go with a
name brand. Heres a short list to start with: Henckels, Wusthof, Shun, Global, MAC,
Messermeister. But, unfortunately, its a bit more complicated. Because most of these
brands have quite a few product lines (try 11 or more for Henckels) that vary enough in
quality to make them not the least bit comparable. And to wade through all the styles and
models of just these six brands would take a whole website in itself. So the main thing I can
do for you here, in wrapping things up, is to 1) give you a warning, and 2) point you to a
short list of suggestions. (And encourage you to check out other areas of this site where I
delve in deeper.)
First, the Warning: There is NO FREE LUNCH. If you find a brand of knife thats
trumpeting its specialness but is significantly cheaper than brand-name models of similar
size and design, let the buyer beware. Its not humanly possible. (Well, maybe if its stolen
merchandise. But you dont want to get into that, do you?) You get what you pay for.
Secondly, the Short List: Just a short scroll down is a list of six high-quality chef knives
that are worth taking a look at. Theyre purposely from a variety of makers in various
styles. Of course, ideally, youd be in a store where you could physically interact with them
before you buy. But, againno bricks-and-mortar store on the globe could offer you so
many choices. Or such low prices.
Priorities
One final thing: In thinking about how much space Ive spent in this article on how a chef
knife should feel, and how short a space in discussing the importance of its ability retain
its sharpnessI dont want to leave you with the wrong impression. In my experience,
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sharpness has been just as important as ergonomics. Believe it or not, my hand (and arm)
have readily adapted to the feel and shape of a variety of knives (and their handles) that
Ive used over the years. Whether they were chunky or thin, heavy or light. But when a
sharp knife went dull and refused to be revived, I never ever could get used to it. It continually annoyed the heck out of me.
So, when in doubtgo with quality!
The Short List

Six different kinds of quality chef knife from six different manufacturers. To learn
more about each knife and knifemaker and why theyre on the list, check out Chapter
10, Quality Chef KnivesSix Recommendations which should really be called How to
Buy a Great Chef Knife, Part 2.
Henckels Professional S 8-inch Chef Knife

@MetroKitchen: $130 / 10-inch: $150
Wusthof Classic Ikon 7-inch Santoku

@ MetroKitchen: $110
Messermeister Meridian Elite 9-inch Chef Knife

@ Amazon: $120 / 8-inch: $80
Global 7-inch Santoku (G-48)

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MAC MTH-80 Professional Series 8-inch Chef Knife with Dimples

@ Amazon: $130 (+ $5 shipping)
Shun Classic 8-inch Chef Knife (DM0706)

@ MetroKitchen $170 / 10-inch $190
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Quality Chef Knives

Six Recommendations
HERE ARE SIX
suggestions for buying a quality chef knife (or cooks knife), each produced
by a different world-class knifemaker. This short list is designed not only to highlight quality knives, but to give
you a sense of whats out
there (a lot!) and help
you find the knife thats
right for you.
This is not a Top
Ten List (or Top Six).
And its not comprehensive. (Youll notice
there arent any traditional Japanese knifemakers on the list. Sorry,
(Clockwise from upper left) Henckels Professional S, Wusthof Classic Ikon, Messermeister
Meridian Elite, Global G-48, MAC MTH-80 Professional Series, Shun Classic
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cant explain why now.) But it should aid you in making some sense of the kitchen knife
world and give you some ideas!
. . . a chef knife, depending on how hard you use it, could

easily last 30 years or more.
The brands covered are: Henckels, Wusthof, Messermeister, Global, MAC, and Shun.
The first three are centered in Germany, the last three in Japan. Most of these manufacturers produce a range of sizes/lengths as well as slightly different models of the same caliber.
For example, although Ive chosen Globals santoku knife for this list, Global also makes a
number of regular chef knives that are comparable quality. So, if one of the models on this
list doesnt exactly work for you, poke around some, you may find what youre looking for.
Alsobefore you bemoan the prices, remember that a chef knife, depending on how
hard you use it and how well you take care of it, could easily last 30 years or more. Im not
exaggerating. Plus, its the single most important tool in your entire kitchen. (What would
compete, your large saut pan?) If you dollar-cost average the price of the most expensive
knife on this list (say, the Shun 10-inch for $170), over 30 years it would cost you a whopping $5.66 per year! So try to see the BIG picture.
Henckels Professional S 8-inch Chef Knife

@ MetroKitchen: $130 / 10-inch: $150
Henckels is one of the largest knifemakers in the
world and has been around since the 1700s. They
produce at least 11 different lines of knives, so its
especially important to be clear what model youre
buying. The Pro S line one of their finest and its
manufactured in Soligen, Germany where their core
factories are located. They also have factories in
Spain, and as a newer developement, in Japan as
well. Its in Japan where they produce their latest
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creation, a model designed by Bob Kramer, the American bladesmith who has set the bar
high for kitchen-knife quality.
The Professional S is fully forged from one hunk of steeland with a bolster, a fulltang, and a three-rivet handle, its as classic as it gets. Although the handles been made to
look and feel like wood, its not. Wood handles are no longer the norm and most manufacturers assume customers would rather have the longevity offered by a synthetic material.
This chef knife is one of the mainstays of my kitchen and I loooove the feelnicely
balanced with a little heft, but nothing that tires my hand out (for the record, I dont spend
hours prepping). I got it sharpened well over a year ago, and with regular honing its kept its
edge. It comes in two sizes, an 8-inch and 10. (Theres also a 6-inch, but thats too small for
an all-purpose blade.)
Wusthof Classic Ikon 7-inch Santoku

Wusthof is the other of the Big Two German
knifemakers and some pros swear by it over Henckels because they feel the quality is higher. Not sure if
this perception is justified, but its probably aided by
the fact Wusthof has been family-owned and run for
almost 200 years. Interesting enough, both Wusthof
and Henckels are manufacturered in the same German town (along with dozens of other blademakers)
which is one of the knife-making capitals of the
world. (Whats another capital? Seki City, Japan.)
Although Wusthof makes a terrific classic chef
knife very similar to Henckels, as a contrast, I recommend looking at this model because:
1)
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its a santoku, Japanese-style blade, which some might prefer. It gives you the
width of a longer knife without the more cumbersome length. And it should be
noticeably thinner and lighter than your traditional 8-inch chef knife.
Whether or not you like a bolster is up to you, it is no measure of quality . . .

Like the regular high-quality chef knives made by Wusthof, its fully forged and has a
full tang. But, unlike them, it does not host a full bolster. Whether or not you like a bolster
is up to you, it is no measure of quality, but will make the knife easier to sharpen. This santoku also sports the scalloped edge that is all the rage to, theoretically, keep food from
sticking. Because this model is in the Japanese-style, but made by a German knifemaker, I
would call it a hybrid of sorts. (Henckels makes santokus as well.)
If you like the santoku style, but dont care about the handle and would like to save
some cash, check out the santoku Wusthof makes in the Classic line. But please note
while the Classic is still an excellent knife, it is not at quite the same level as the Ikon.
Messermeister Meridian Elite 9-inch Chef Knife

@ Amazon: $120 / 8-inch: $80
Messermeister knives, like the name sounds, are rooted in Germanythe Meridian Elite
line being forged in the very same German town as the preceeding knives from the Big
Two. While Messermeister is not as big an operation as Henckels and Wusthof, theyre no
less revered for their quality. Maybe even more so.
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This knife makes this list for three reasons:

1)
its highly recommended by Chad Ward in his book An Edge in the Kitchen as
being uber-sharp. It comes from the factory with a highly polished edge that
Ward claims is superior to any of the big-name knife brands and will hold it for
a substantial amount of time.
2)
it has a partial bolster which makes it easier to sharpen (and is a nod to Japanese
knives)
3)
it comes in a 9-inch size thats a perfect compromise between an 8- and a 10-
inchbut doesnt cost any more than your average 8-inch. Neat, huh?
Theres only one caveatthe blade width (of the 9-inch) is too wide for your average
knife rack. Youll have to make special provisions. If that concerns you, or, if you dont care
about the extra length, then buy an 8-inchat $80 its an outright steal.
Global 7-inch Santoku (G-48)

@ MetroKitchen: $123 / @ SurLaTable: $123 (+ shipping $16.50)
Global
revolutionized
the
kitchen-knife world in the 1980s

by creating a series of high-performance knives that were on the
cutting edge of fashion (forgive
the pun), yet still affordable. Like
traditional Japanese knives, theyre
extremely light with a thin, razorsharp edge. Yet in blade design,
they generally owe more to Western tradition than Japanese. Thats
why I call them Japanese hybrids
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in that they graft one tradition of knifemaking onto another. Most of Globals knives are
not forged, but made of a high-quality steel that has been tempered and heat treated to new
levels of sophistication.
While the shape of the blade on the G-48 is similar to the Wusthof santoku, the balance and feel should be quite different. To say nothing of the styling. No major knife
brand stands out as so stunningly modern. (Interesting detail: Global injects the perfect
amount of sand into the hollow handle to make it balance correctly.) As mentioned
before, if you prefer a traditional Western-styled chefs, Global has plenty of those also.
Try a G-2 or G-61.
I own this santoku and am embarrassed to admit I treasure the edge so much that I
cant bear to do much chopping with it, but save it mainly for slicing. Which it does amazingly! (Crazy, I know.)
MAC MTH-80 Professional Series 8 Chef Knife with Dimples

@ Amazon: $130 (+ $5 shipping)
MAC knives seem to be one of the best kept secrets of the consumer kitchen knife market.
Professionals seem to know all about them with famous chefs like Thomas Keller and
Charlie Trotter unabashedly endorsing them as the ultimate cutting machine. But ask
your average home gourmet, and odds are theyve never heard of them.
Japanese designed and manufactured, like Global, theyre a new breed of knife, a
hybridthat incorporates the harder and thinner Japanese steel with a Western-shaped
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blade. Theyre not as stylish as Global, but probably even sharper. And (like Global)
theyre also not forged, but highly machined.
As the Messermeister above, Chad Ward (in An Edge in the Kitchen) raves about the
pure cutting fury of the MTH-80. So for those who worship sharp, this ones for you!
The MTH-80 Professional is the workhorse of MACs various product lines and Im
guessing its the most popular because it offers the maximum sharpitude for your dollar.
Plus, the welded-on bolster creates an unusual combination of super-thin blade with added
weight that keeps it balanced in your hand more like a German-style knife. According to
Gourmet Magazine, a MAC knife is the difference between a minivan and race car. Care
to take one out for a spin?
(Note: Please be careful not to confuse the MTH-80 Professional with the TH-80 Chef
Series 8 Chefs Knife with Dimples, a lower-level model that goes for $40 or more less.)
Shun Classic 8-Inch Chef Knife (DM0706)

@ MetroKitchen: $170 / 10-inch: $190 @ Amazon: $170 / 10-inch: $170 also
Shun, along with Global,
is probably one of the
most popular and wellknown Japanese brands in
the U.S. Its no wonder
their flagship line, Shun
Classic, is very attractive
and very sharp. Theyre
manufactured in Seki City
which, along with Solingen, is another knife-making capital.
Dont let the beautiful wavy pattern on the blade fool youits much more than a
pretty face. Sandwiched between 32 layers of swirly-patterned softer steel (16 layers per
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side) lies a thin hard core that creates the edge. At Rockwell 61, its harder than half of the
knives on this list. Which gives it the ability to hold a 16-degree edge for a very long time.
I have to admit when I first unpacked my new Shun 6-inch chefs not so long ago, I
was stunned at how light it was. For someone used to weightier German blades, the lightness felt almost chintzy. Silly me. Over the past year Ive now come to fully appreciate the
way the thin sharp blade can slice through denser foods with ease and less resistance than
my thicker German knives. Dont get me wrong, Im not ready to abandon shipbut its
great to have Shun as an option.
Another reason the Shun Classic is on this list is its distinctive Pakkawood handle.
Its similar to the nimble feel of a traditional Japanese knife, but different. The unique Dshaped contour might fit certain cooks hands better than others. So, if a typical Westernstyle knife handle always feels too clunky, heres another way to go.
To briefly summarize:
If you like a knife with heft, then the Henkels or Messermeister will probably
please you most. Theyre forged German steel through and through and will
feel the most solid.
If you want light and nimble, then the Global and Shun should be at the top of
your list. The Wusthof and MAC could be back up.
If you have a smaller-sized hand and want your knife to fit snuggly in it, the Shun
and Wusthoff should be your fist picks. The handles on both are more streamlined and less bulky.
If you have a larger hand and dont want it to feel squished on the cutting
board, the Messermeister and the MAC should give you the most clearance.
The handles are long and the width of the blades should keep your knuckles
from banging the countertop. (Actually, the Global will work equally well in
this regard, its pretty roomy.)
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For pure beauty, the Global and Shun would be hard to beat. The Global is
designed in high-tech modern, the Shun in classic contemporary. The Wusthof
also, with its curved handle, has some extra swish. (And rest assured, theres no
sacrifice of looks for performance on any of these knives.)
If you love tradition, or know you want a knife with a classic look and feel that
will never go out of style, the Henckels is your man. It is the closest to a vintage chef knife.
Finally, if you crave sharposity, if youre aching to get your tired chef hands on
one of the meanest slicing-and-dicing machines on the planetgo with the
MAC. You will not be disappointed. (And, as a more elegant second, consider
the Messermeister.)
Six up, six down! As you can see, there are a lot of wonderful chef knives out there.
Hopefully this short list has given you a taste of the possibilities. Remember, stay with
quality brandstheres no free lunchand stay with what feels and works best for you.
Its your body. Its your kitchen. Have fun cooking!
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LEGAL NOTES & DISCLOSURE

Copyright 2012 Nate Ouderkirk

The Sharpening Cycle of a Kitchen Knife / 4

Knife Edge Basics / 11

Why a Knife Sharpening Service? / 114

Finding a Sharpening Service / 19

Reviews of Quality Knife Sharpening Services / 27

Whats a Honing Steel? / 39

How to Hone (or Steel) Your Kitchen Knife / 47

Cutting Boards Complete / 57

How to Buy a Great Chef Knife / 73

Quality Chef KnivesSix Recommendations / 84

Cutting edge of Shun chef knife

Whats Your Angle?

rarely referred to and is composed of the sum of both

Included and edge angles

sharp, does it? It isnt. Its designed to be just sharp

STEELS A BIG DEAL

Theres another major difference between Western and

The Final FrontierUnder the Microscope

The Sharpening Cycle

Honing will prolong the sharpness of your kitchen knife and

Honing (or steeling) is a nondestructive technique that simply

After more use, the edge

Through use, the edge

After honing with a steel,

Another honing cleans

The edge finally needs

Do you buy some kind of fast-andeasy electric knife sharpener?

Do you throw up your hands saying

Do you sadly and reluctantly just

A commercial sharpening stone

Or do you find a qualified pro to do it for you?

We dont know they exist.

We dont know how to locate one.

We worry that even if we do locate one, theyll cost too much.

Were afraid a sub-standard outfit might ruin our beloved knives.

Answers to the five reasons above:

Thanks to the internet, assembling a short list of possible can-

much? As much as it might sound like a luxury, sending your

A package of two 8-inch chef knives and two 4-inch paring

Mailing off my kitchen knives to a quality knife sharpening

What Can Go Wrong

Grind it more than it needs to be groundthus, shortening the lifespan of

Need I say more? Please do your homework.

SHARPENING WEAR AND TEAR

The three chefs knives on the next page have

Know Thy Knife

. . .if youre sending out a Japanese or hybrid to be sharpened,

WHATS YOUR KNIFE?

Henckels and Wusthof are the two major makers of

Cutlers and Grinders

The grinding service collects, sharpens, and returns the knives

Tools of the Trade

A typical belt-sander and buffing wheel

Man Over Machine

My experience has been that the most important factor in

Please understand that when you send out your knivesespecially

Suggested Interview Questions