How to Clean and Store Your Blades
Knife Care Tips
How to Clean and Store Your Kitchen Knives: Tips and Advice on Knife Care
Chopping, slicing, mincing: knives work hard in the kitchen and are bound to get dirty with everyday use. The better you clean and maintain them, the longer they’ll last. This may sound obvious, but it makes a huge difference. Read our tips on how to take good care of both blade and handle, with advice on everything from washing and drying to storage and the best cutting boards for blades. Sharpening your knife is another important part of maintenance – click here for advice on how to keep your edges in top condition.
Don’t forget! Our most important tip is to stay calm and handle knives safely at all times. So clean your knives with care to avoid accident or injury.
Washing your blade
The best way to clean your knife is to simply run it under the tap right after you use it. Just hold it under cold running water and rub the blade with your fingers, without touching the sharp edge. You can also use a towel or a sponge, but make sure they are clean so they don’t scratch the blade’s metal surface.
It’s important to do this as soon as possible – salty or acidic food can stain your blade if you don’t clean it for longer periods of time.
It’s also ok to use just water – our stainless steel blades are highly polished during the manufacturing process, which means ingredients don’t usually stick to them. The only exception is greasy food – here a small amount of dishwashing liquid on a sponge should be enough.
For maximum safety, it’s best to hold the knife blade parallel to the sink so you can see the whole surface of the blade and keep an eye on the sharp edge all the time.
Putting Knives in the Dishwasher
All of our household knives with synthetic handles are dishwasher-safe. We would however recommend that you wash all large knives by hand, regardless of whether they have wood or synthetic handles.
The reason for this is that if it isn’t placed carefully, a large knife can damage the cutlery basket, which itself can cause corrosion. If this happens, the dishwasher’s system may have an indirect effect on the knife’s steel. Washing by hand can also help to keep the knives sharper longer, since the process is gentler on the blade.
However, if you do go for the dishwasher option, we recommend rinsing the blade first and making sure that the knives in the cutlery basket don’t touch other metal items. This avoids the blades being damaged by other utensils or cutlery.
We also recommend paying attention to which detergent you use in your machine. Aggressive or too much detergent can also cause stains on the blade. If you see that your dishwasher is not cleaning your blades thoroughly, we recommend changing your detergent.
Other tips include opening the dishwasher briefly after cleaning. The hot water vapor and water condensation can also cause stains and corrosion on the blades.
Drying Your Blade
Don’t let your knives air-dry, as this can result in limescale spots on the blade. Instead, use a cotton or linen towel to dry the knife immediately after washing. Make sure your towel is clean so as not to scratch or harm the blade.
Mantenimiento general para los cuchillos con mango de madera
Los cuchillos con mangos de madera necesitan un tratamiento levemente diferente y definitivamente no deben meterse en el lavavajillas. Cuando los laves debajo del agua de grifo, intenta asegurarte de que el mango no se moje demasiado. De hecho, es mejor limpiar el mango con un paño húmedo. Evita las temperaturas extremas, el nivel alto de humedad y los agentes de limpieza agresivos.
También recomendamos que trates el mango con un aceite de cocina convencional o con nuestra cera protectora cada tanto, para evitar que le ingrese humedad y para refrescar su color y grano natural. Puedes utilizar un aceite de canola o linaza, y recomendamos especialmente usar un aceite de prensada en frío, que no se atascará en los finos poros de la madera e ingresará mejor en el grano de la madera.
¿Qué tabla de corte es mejor para tu hoja?
El tipo de tabla de corte que utilizas también puede afectar el rendimiento de tu hoja. Debes evitar las superficies duras hechas de piedra natural o artificial, que desafilan la hoja de tu cuchillo. Recomendamos utilizar una tabla de corte de madera o plástico en su lugar. Nuestras tablas de corte son especialmente amigables para las hojas.
Consejo de profesional: cuando utilizas tu cuchillo para empujar ingredientes que has cortado de la tabla de corte dentro de tu olla o sartén, siempre da vuelta el cuchillo para usar el lomo. De esta manera no desafilarás el filo cortante de la hoja al rasparla a lo largo de la tabla.
Almacenamiento
La regla de oro es nunca guardar tus cuchillos sueltos en un cajón. Cuando las hojas no protegidas se frotan con otras, pierden filo y el filo cortante puede verse dañado por las otras hojas. Recomendamos fehacientemente que guardes tus cuchillos en un soporte, en un portacuchillos en un cajón o en un portacuchillos magnético sobre la pared.
