Best Knife Accessories
Keeping your knife in good working order is essential. A sharp blade is safer to use and lets you get the job done quickly. The Knife Buzz team reviews a wide range of knife sharpeners, knife storage, and other accessories. We have also provide useful maintenance advice, and tips to help keep you safe.
Our Top Knife Accessory Picks
The Best Sharpening Stones Your Knives Will Love
Sharpening stones are reliable, cheap and easy to use. They are a great way to sharpen a wide range of knives. More importantly, a sharpening stone or “whetstone” is a surefire way to get your knife razor-sharp.
Best Knife Oils and How to Use them
Modern knives are made from high-quality steel, but this won’t prevent them from corroding. Keeping your knives oiled and clean will ensure they stay sharp and in good condition.
Why Do You Need the Best Knife Block for Your Knives?
Knife blocks are an excellent way to keep your knives organized and in top-notch shape. They are much better than crowded utensil drawers where knives can be unintentionally dulled.
The Best Cut-Resistant Gloves to Keep You Safe
Cut-resistant gloves protect your hands while working with sharp knives. There are several types of gloves and each type has a different level of protection and comfort.
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Latest Knife Sharpening Articles
How to Tell If Your Knife is Sharp
A blunt knife can be dangerous as it is more susceptible to slipping. There are a range of tests to tell if your knife is sharp. These include testing your knife with an onion, tomato, and paper.
How to Sharpen a Knife
So how do you sharpen a knife? It depends on the type of knife being sharpened. You will need to use a knife sharpener, sharpening stone, or a sharpening rod or honing steel.
Do Knife Sharpeners Go Bad?
Sharpeners feature a variety of abrasive surfaces and need regular cleaning to keep them working well. Choosing the right sharpener for your knife type and then regularly cleaning it will extend its life.
Ceramic Rod Knife Sharpener vs Steel
Steel knife sharpeners are more durable and offer rust resistant and hypoallergenic features. Ceramic rod sharpeners are excellent for precise and sharp sharpening of blunt knives.
Best Manual Knife Sharpener Money Can Buy
Great chefs use quality sharpeners. You will see noticeable results after the first use of your manual sharpener. With a little time and patience, you’ll have your dullest blades working like new again.
Electric Knife Sharpeners: Pros and Cons
Electric sharpeners are pricey and lack the fine control you get from a hand sharpener. The pros outweigh the cons with their versatility and ease of use. And with serrated knives, it’s sometimes the only option.
Can You Put Knives in the Dishwasher?
Whether you use your knives in the kitchen or for other tasks, such as hunting and prying things open, they are there to do a specific job. Like any piece of equipment, knives need to be cared for and maintained so that they will last.
Knife maintenance includes sharpening, honing, and proper storage. It also includes cleaning. Proper cleaning will keep your knife sharp, beautiful, and effective, and extend its lifetime by reducing its vulnerability to rust.
Can you simply toss your knife in the dishwasher? The clear answer from many experts is no, absolutely not. Your dishwasher can damage expensive, finely-tuned knives.
Heat and Humidity Damages Knives
High temperatures, moisture, and humidity will certainly cause damage to most knives. Your dishwasher’s water jets also cause a fair amount of turbulence, which jostles your dishes a bit. This can cause your knife to bump into other utensils, which can damage the edge of the blade.
Abrasive Dishwasher Detergent Dulls Blade Edges
Detergents also cause damage to your knives. They are abrasive (which is how they get your dishes clean) and can scratch knife blades.
Detergents are not just abrasive; they can also cause reactions which will damage your knives. When combined with the hot water, they can react to the steel in your knife’s blade. This may cause dull edges, discoloration, and stains, even on stainless steel blades.
READ MORE on cleaning knives in the dishwasher.
Knife Care and Maintenance Tips
When you purchase a new knife, whether it’s a pocket knife, kitchen knife, or even a decorative sword, you put a lot of time and energy into finding the perfect one. You make a list of your needs, do your research, shop around, and finally land on “the one”.
But if you don’t maintain the knife once it’s yours, all that time and energy is wasted, and you have to begin the process all over again to find a new knife. The key to maintaining your knife is keeping it clean and in good condition.
Knives and Swords Should Be Kept Clean for Optimal Performance
Different types of knives have different care needs:
- Pocket knives need their hinges and locking mechanisms cleaned out and oiled
- Brushes should be used to clean the points and gullets of serrated knives
- Ceramic knives should be cleaned carefully without any aggressive scrubbing
- Swords should be wiped down, oiled, and polished
- Straight razors only need the blade cleaned, and should be oiled before storing
Keeping your blades clean will help them perform better and last longer. And these special requirements will keep your knife or sword performing at its best.
READ MORE on basic knife maintenance.
Knife Safety Tips to Avoid Injuries at Home
Since prehistoric times, knives have been used as tools, weapons, and eating utensils. Despite human beings using knives for over two million years, a lot of people aren’t too sharp when it comes to knife safety.
The knife injury rate in the USA is around 1.56 injuries for every 1000 residents every year, with lacerations making up 94% of all injuries. Learning the basics of knife safety can help to significantly reduce accidents and incidents. The following guide will help you to stay safe during knife use.
Knife Safety Basics
In the knife game quality matters. Cheaper knives tend to break and snap, which can easily cause accidents. Using the right knife for its intended purpose is also a must. And it should go without saying, never don’t drink and slice. Using a knife after drinking alcohol or taking strong medication is not a good mix.
READ MORE on keeping safe in the kitchen.
Best Ways to Get Rid of an Old Knife
No matter how great a knife is, there comes a time when you will have to dispose of them for a newer and sharper knife. A new knife makes everything easier to prep, and you spend faster time cutting through any ingredient in your kitchen.
It’s important to know how to dispose of a household knife without resulting in injury. Knives are dangerous items that may result in injury if not disposed of properly.
Safely Wrap Your Old Knife to Prevent Injury
Wrapping and concealing old knives is the most common disposal method. Wrap your knife with newspaper, cardboard or bubble wrap and cover the knife tip with a cork.
Conceal Your Old Knife in a Plastic Bottle
This is an excellent method for small-sized knives. Cut open a used plastic bottle that is about the same size as the knife. You can then conceal these knives in the bottle and wrap the bottle with heavy-duty tape before throwing it in the bin.
Donate Your Old Knife to Charity
If your unwanted knife is in pretty good condition, help people in need by donating it a charity, food kitchen, or homeless shelter. If you choose this option, don’t wrap the knife with tape as this might be difficult to remove and may result in injury when removed. A regular cardboard box should be fine for knife donations.
Recycle Your Old Knife
Many recycling centers are happy to receive solid steel or aluminum knives. Recycling is more environmental-friendly than just discarding or burying your unwanted blades. The knives will likely be melted down to produce better knives or other useful items.
READ MORE on safely disposing of old knives.