Five Tips For Taking Care of Your Cutlery 

No matter what you hear on TV, quality kitchen knives are not indestructible. To protect your investment of good quality knives, here are five tips to ensure a long and happy relationship with your sharp and shiny friends.

1.   Use Your Knives for Their Intended Purpose

As the old saying goes, "your knife is the most expensive and least effective pry-bar you'll ever own." You can insert pretty much anything in place of pry-bar (chisel, screwdriver, or hammer) and come to the same conclusion. but knives are precision cutting instruments. Using them for anything else will not only void your warranty, but probably damage your knife and possibly even yourself!

If you need to hack through a bone, open a can, or pry apart frozen hamburger patties, use the right tool for the job.

2.   Sharp Knives Are Safe Knives 

It may seem counter-intuitive, but a dull knife is much more likely to slip or twist when trying to cut items like tomatoes and onions. This, coupled with the fact that a dull knife requires more force to cut, means that working with a dull knife can be downright unpredictable. Sharp knives, on the other hand, will cut exactly where their edge is pointed, and as long as you keep your digits out of that trajectory, you'll be fine.

Keep your knives sharp by regularly using a steel or pull-through maintenance device and having them professionally sharpened every year or two.

3.   Safe Storage

The most terrifying kitchens to walk into are the ones with no knife block on the counter, no magnet bar on the wall, and no knives to be seen. These are the kitchens of predatory blades, lurking in gadget drawers, just waiting to leap out and slice an unsuspecting thumb or pinkie. Storing your knives loose in a drawer is not only dangerous for your hands; contact with other metal tools in your drawers can dull or chip your knife's thin edge, resulting in poor cutting ability.

Here are some safer storage options:

• Knife Blocks
  Available in a variety of shapes, colors, and configurations, a good knife block will not only protect your knives but can also complement your kitchen decor. When storing knives in a block with vertical slots, make sure that the edge faces up-wards to prevent dulling.
  
  
• Knife Drawers
  Each knife has its own slot, allowing you to store and organize your knives safely out of reach in a standard kitchen drawer.
  
  
• Magnetic Bars
  Available in wood, synthetic material, or aluminum. Two extra strong magnetic segments provide a safe, easily visible, and space saving storage option. Plus, it looks really cool. Mounting materials are included with each magnet bar.
  
  
• Knife Rolls
  An ideal method for professionals to store and transport their tools safely. It is recommended that each knife be stored in a separate knife saver before placing it in your roll.
  
  
• Knife Savers
  Basically sheathes for your kitchen knives. This is a great way to safely store knives in a drawer or to transport them. Start by fully inserting the blade closest to the bolster into the open edge of the knife saver, then gently pressing the rest of the blade into the edge protector.