{"id":18688,"date":"2014-03-28T14:51:38","date_gmt":"2014-03-28T14:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/?p=18688"},"modified":"2017-01-19T02:57:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T02:57:20","slug":"sharpen-knives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/sharpen-knives\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharpen Your Own Knives For A Few Bucks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>You don&#8217;t need to have your knives professionally sharpened.<\/strong> Perhaps if you&#8217;ve been using it as a machete against trees or concrete, you might need to have someone with a grinding wheel look at it, but that&#8217;s not what most people do with their kitchen knives. The typical household blade doesn&#8217;t get the use and abuse that professional kitchens exert on their knives, so simple maintenance will keep it sharper and safer if you <a href=\"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/maximize-your-cooking-and-fitness\/cooking-classes\/\">use your knife correctly.<\/a><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0dfpm5_65kc\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-18691\" src=\"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/grindingwheel.jpg\" alt=\"grindingwheel\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" \/><strong>Having your knife professionally sharpened means removing material from the blade. <\/strong> The knife is ground down by the process. However, this is often too drastic a remedy for what is really going on with your home kitchen knife. A truly &#8220;dull&#8221; knife is flat on the edge, it no longer has a point. This is a candidate for the grinding wheel because a new point must be created.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But, this is not the issue with the majority of knives. <\/strong> Most people deny the fact that a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife. A well maintained blade will cut effortlessly through food. One that is not kept in good condition will drag through items, requiring you to press harder and apply more force. This is usually when the knife slips and you cut yourself. A sharp knife never needs to have excessive pressure put on it, and when used correctly is the safest tool in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-18692\" src=\"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/burrs-on-knife.jpg\" alt=\"burrs on knife\" width=\"250\" height=\"198\" \/><strong>The typical issue with your kitchen knife is that it develops &#8220;burrs&#8221;<\/strong>. These are tiny splinters where then edge has become frayed or flattened in spots. A knife with burrs will create friction and drag through items, making it more dangerous. Solving this problem doesn&#8217;t require the removal of material as if it were dull. The knife needs to be &#8220;re-trued&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The sharpening steel is used to re-true a knife.<\/strong> It doesn&#8217;t remove material like a sharpening stone, but will remove the burrs that slow the knife down and cause you to force it. When a knife is correctly steeled, it will be easier to use and you&#8217;ll have avoided a knife sharpening charge.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-18693\" src=\"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/steeling-knife.jpg\" alt=\"steeling knife\" width=\"226\" height=\"223\" \/><strong>Flashing the sharpening steel around like a Japanese Chef may look cool, but it accomplishes little.<\/strong> The correct way to remove burrs using the steel is to set it at a 90 degree angle against a table and pull the knife across it in a concerted fashion. I often imagine a stringed instrument and the knife is the bow. A 20 degree angle is preferred when using this method.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pull the blade across the steel at least 5 times on each side of the knife and you&#8217;ll have re-trued your knife.<\/strong> But, if it is still dull, you may need the help of a sharpening stone. For just a few bucks at the local hardware store, you can purchase a small stone that will gently grind material off and bring back the edge.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-18694\" src=\"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cutting-can.jpg\" alt=\"cutting can\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" \/><strong>Holding the knife at a 20 degree angle against the stone, pretend you are trying to cut thin slices.<\/strong> Five times on one edge, five times on the other edge, and then repeat on the finer-grit side. This will be more dramatic than the steel, but will help return your knife to usable condition if it has been cutting shoes or tin cans like on late night TV.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There&#8217;s even a correct way to wipe your knife when you&#8217;re done. <\/strong> Please don&#8217;t cut through a towel into your own hand. Trust me, you&#8217;ll only do that ONCE. I know from experience. Place a towel on the table. Place the knife on the towel and fold it over to cover the knife. Apply pressure from above and pull the knife out of the towel to wipe it without coming in contact with your hands.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you used your sharpening steel? Give me a Yes or No in the comments below:<\/strong><br \/>\nI&#8217;ll bet most people have one in their homes and don&#8217;t know what it is for.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You don&#8217;t need to have your knives professionally sharpened. Perhaps if you&#8217;ve been using it as a machete against trees or concrete, you might need to have someone with a grinding wheel look at it, but that&#8217;s not what most people do with their kitchen knives. The typical household blade doesn&#8217;t get the use and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[40],"tags":[327],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18688"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18688"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webcookingclasses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=18688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}