I know being a semi proffessional cook that I should have a good selection of quality knives kept in a good condition but to be honest mine are anything but!
Everytime I do a photo shoot my stylist reminds me just how appalling my knives are.
New sharp knives do not generally cause injury, it is those that are blunt and not cared for and then you use extra pressure to chop and before you know it you have cut a finger or worse.
Today I took my very blunt knives – all 2 of them, I work with a 20 cm chef’s knife and a long carving knife – to the sharpeners. I positively crept into the store and shamefaced handed over my knives, silently urging the girl behind the counter to quickly take them out the back.
My impulse to get my knives sharpened today was somewhat irrational, being the start of a long weekend and if I decide to cook anything that requires more than a ham or bread knife then I don’t have it. Perfect justification for a new purchase! I must admit that conservatism ruled and when I asked the price of a 15 cm utility knife although it looked quite small and I found out I had already reached $100 I decided that it would in fact do very nicely to carve the lamb we are likely to have on Sunday.
I was then reminded of an article I read a while ago which suggested that if you were not vigilant at keeping your knives well sharpened then perhaps you were better to buy cheaper knives from discounted stores and use them until they won’t work anymore, toss them out and start again. Somehow this seems too wasteful and I would rather stick to buying once and buying well.
Brands such as Felix Solingen or Wusthof are great, while there are certain technical details which constitute a good knife, in the end it comes down to personal preference in terms of weight and style.
My new knife is fabulous which has shamed me even more. From now on things around here are changing and I am going to give my knives the respect they deserve.
Hmmm – I have to admit I’ve got a beautiful set of Mundial stainless steel knives that were bought for me quite a few years ago and I hadn’t had them sharpened until a couple of months ago. I was amazed at how much enjoyment I got from chopping vegetables up, even being able to chop through chicken bones (naughty), once I got them back a week later! I was in chopping heaven. Although, I have to say it was VERY difficult to find somewhere to have them sharpened. Any other suggestions of places to take them would be appreciated.