Once you start using a knife, the edge will begin to lose its freshly honed edge. Here are suggestions on how to treat knives to slow down the dulling process.
- Always use a wood or plastic cutting board.
- Never cut on a stone counter top, such as granite, marble, or synthetic stone.
- Never cut on a ceramic plate.
- Always wash knives by hand.
- Put washed knives point side down in the silverware tray, to avoid cutting yourself (or the unsuspecting dish dry assistant).
- Never wash sharp knives in a dishwasher. The hot water and detergent will attack the edge, even on stainless steel knives.
- Never cut frozen meats with a knife. Let them thaw first.
If you have a hankering to sharpen your own knives and are looking for water stones made in the USA, check out the product line made by Pride Abrasives. They are a Wisconsin ceramics company and make their own stones from high grade German aluminum oxide at their Bristol, WI facility. They mold and vitrify the water stones at extremely high temperatures to achieve a hard,uniform surface that has been flattened smooth and flat for end users.
Here is a link to the Pride Ceramics website. Although Pride Ceramics does not sell directly, this page has links to distributors.
https://www.prideabrasiveinc.com/water-stones-1/
If you are looking for a new knife, here are my personal suggestions:
My favorite German knives are made by Henckels and Wusthof. The Henckel brand, especially their Zwilling line, seem to hold an edge slightly better than Wusthof, but both are good quality. Messermeister knives are also high quality German knives. The bevel, or angle of the edge, is typically 20°.
Victorinox, famous for Swiss army knives, also has a line of kitchen knives that are of modest price but hold an edge well. The handle is typically made of Fibrox, a black, non-slip polymer that is fatter than your typical riveted handle, but easy to hold even when greasy. America’s Test Kitchen gives Victorinox knives top ratings.
Japanese knife steel is usually hand forged, and the steel is hardened to a higher degree. The bevel angle is also narrower, around 15°, so Japanese knives can be sharpened to a keener edge than most Western knives. Less effort is required for slicing tasks. However, the narrow angle and harder steel makes Japanese knives easier to chip on the edge. You will find a greater variation in styles and design, such as single-bevel knives (most of which have a right-handed bevel, though southpaws can still use them), carbon steel rather than stainless, and handles that can be western-style with two or three rivets on a full tang, or “wa” handles that are cylindrical, oval, or octagonal with a narrow tang hammered or glued into the handle. Well known Japanese brands include Shun, MAC, Global, and Tojiro, but there are many small forging operations that produce very high quality knives at prices that can be several hundred dollars per knife. If you decide to purchase a Japanese knife, I recommend buying online from a reputable company rather than from Amazon or eBay, since some Amazon and eBay sellers are not “authorized” by the Japanese knife company to sell its knives; these knives might not have a valid warranty. See this page for more information: https://www.macknife.com/pages/amazon-authorized-sellers.
My personal favorite online store for Japanese knives is Chef Knives To Go. Their online store is here: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/ They have excellent service and rapid shipping. However, there are many other online stores for Japanese knives, such as japanny.com, honcho-knife.com, Japanese Knife Imports, MTC Kitchen, and Korin.com. Korin.com also has some good information and videos on sharpening at this page:
https://www.korin.com/about-knife-sharpening