Sharpening kitchen knives: tips & tricks
Even the best kitchen knives become dull over time, but can be sharpened again. We'll show you here what your knives will be sharp again. You don't always need equipment for this. There are also home remedies for sharpening the blades.
Kitchen knives sharpen with the usual utensils
A blunt kitchen knife is not a usable kitchen utensil that increases the fun when cooking - on the contrary. However, you can sharpen the blades of the knives in different ways.
- Sharpening steel: A sharpening steel should be present in every well-stocked kitchen drawer or hanging on the wall. If you pull the blade with both sides over the sharpening rod, it will cut better straight away.
- Grindstone: A grindstone is usually only used for high-quality knives. It is important to put the grindstone in water before use. The blade of the knife is then pulled along the grindstone at a very shallow angle and thus sharpened.
- Tip: It is best to grab the so-called Belgian chunk on the grindstone. Cooks also use this to keep your blades as sharp as possible. In addition, the sharpening method is gentle on the steel because the stone is very fine. The disadvantage is that the stone is very expensive.
- Knife sharpener : Handy knife sharpeners are very practical for quickly sharpening a blade. Here the blade is simply pulled through and sharpened by the two sharpening legs of the utensil. You can also use it to grind scissors.
Razor-sharp with home remedies
If you do not have any of the utensils mentioned in the house, you do not have to be satisfied with blunt knives. There are simple tricks to sharpen the blades.
- Ceramic plates: Ceramic plates and cups have a rough edge on the underside. This is ideal for sharpening knives. Lay the plate or cup upside down and pull the blade of the blunt knife over this fine, rough edge several times in one go.
- An old leather belt: A belt that has a rough and rough structure on the back is ideal. Pull the belt as diagonally as possible along the cutting edge of the knife. If you do this several times, you have a very sharp cutter.
- Newsprint: As incredible as it sounds, even with newsprint you can sharpen kitchen knives. You only need a simple daily newspaper. Then look for a page with as much ink as possible.
- A newspaper with a lot of text or large black and white photos is very suitable for the newspaper. If you move the blade over this side at a shallow angle several times, the knife will become sharp again.
- Tip: Never cut into the paper. This would only make the knife more blunt.
