Knife care tips that actually extend sharpness

I treat knife care as the quiet habit that makes every chop safer and more precise. Instead of chasing constant sharpening, I focus on a few routines that actually extend sharpness so a good chef’s knife can glide through onions for years. These five practices come directly from expert testing and give home cooks a simple roadmap to keep edges keen with minimal effort.

1. Hone Your Knife Regularly with a Steel

Hone Your Knife Regularly with a Steel by treating it as daily maintenance, not a rare tune-up. Knife expert Michael Behn of Moshi Moshi Knife Sharpening explains that honing a knife daily or after every few uses with a honing steel realigns the microscopic teeth on the edge that bend during cutting, preventing dullness without removing metal. Because this process does not grind the blade, it preserves the profile that a full sharpening creates.

To make that habit stick, I mirror the approach in professional tutorials like Knife Skills, where basic strokes are built into prep. Holding the steel vertical and keeping a consistent angle, I run the blade from heel to tip in smooth, light passes, alternating sides. For home cooks, this quick ritual before dicing vegetables or breaking down chicken keeps cuts cleaner, reduces slipping, and delays the need for more aggressive sharpening sessions.

2. Sharpen at the Right Angle on a Whetstone Periodically

Sharpen at the Right Angle on a Whetstone Periodically so the edge is actually restored, not just polished. Tests on more than 50 blades found that sharpening knives every 3-6 months depending on use with a whetstone at a 15-20 degree angle per side reliably grinds away dull metal and exposes fresh steel. That interval reflects how often most home cooks reach for a chef’s knife, with heavier users leaning closer to three months.

I think of sharpening as the “dentist visit” in the tooth analogy used in Sharpen Your Kitchen Knives, a deeper reset that complements daily care. Maintaining that 15-20 degree angle on the stone, with even pressure and full strokes, avoids over-thinning the edge or creating a wavy bevel. For anyone investing in quality steel, this periodic routine is what keeps slicing performance close to factory sharpness instead of slowly drifting into sawing and crushing.

3. Store Knives to Avoid Contact and Rolling

Store Knives to Avoid Contact and Rolling so the edge you just honed and sharpened is not destroyed in a drawer. J. Kenji López-Alt notes that keeping blades in a wooden or plastic block or on a magnetic strip prevents blade-to-blade contact and rolling, which causes micro-chipping along the edge. In his lab tests, improper drawer storage dulls edges 30% faster, a measurable penalty for tossing knives in with loose utensils.

To protect that investment, I favor a slotted block or a wall-mounted strip that keeps each knife separated and fully supported. Guidance on how to Check storage habits stresses that even short drops onto hard drawer bottoms can roll the edge. For busy home kitchens, organizing knives this way also reduces accidental cuts when reaching for tools, aligning safety with long-term sharpness.

4. Choose the Proper Cutting Surface

Choose the Proper Cutting Surface because the board under your knife can undo every other care step. Testing on 20 cutting boards with high-carbon steel blades showed that glass, marble, and metal surfaces can dull knives up to 10 times faster per cut than wooden or plastic boards. That difference comes from the hardness of the surface: every impact on glass or stone flattens or chips the edge instead of letting it bite gently.

For everyday prep, I reach for end-grain wood or a forgiving plastic board that gives slightly under the blade. Equipment reviews highlight that softer boards still stand up to heavy chopping while preserving the edge geometry that careful sharpening creates. Pairing a good board with basic technique, such as the controlled motions taught in Oiling the edge guidance, means each cut removes food, not metal, extending sharpness over months of use.

5. Hand Wash and Dry Immediately After Use

Hand Wash and Dry Immediately After Use so moisture and harsh chemicals do not attack the edge. Food safety guidelines specify that dishwasher detergents with high pH levels erode carbon steel edges by 0.1mm per cycle in stainless alloys, a rate that quickly rounds off a finely ground bevel. Hand washing knives with warm soapy water and drying them thoroughly avoids that erosion and also prevents rust and edge corrosion along the thinnest steel.

I follow the simple rule to Use mild soap and hot water, then towel-dry immediately before returning the knife to its block or strip. Care instructions that warn “DO NOT DIRECTLY TOUCH THE EDGE OF YOUR KNIFE WITH YOUR FINGERS” also recommend light oiling for some steels, which adds a barrier against moisture. For home cooks, this quick sink routine is the final step that locks in all the sharpening work, keeping blades sharper and safer for far longer than any dishwasher cycle ever could.