News — kitchen knives

If you want your knives to last 5 to 10 years before needing serious regrinding, the best woods for chopping boards are medium hardness timbers like bamboo and acacia, used on boards around 2 to 3cm thick. They are kind to knife edges, resist deep scarring and, with simple oiling every 4 to 6 weeks, can outlast several knife sets. What makes a wood "best" for chopping boards and knife longevity? When people ask what is the best wood for chopping boards and knife longevity, they are really asking two things: which wood protects knife edges and which wood stands...

If you cook at home at least 3 times a week and want a board that protects your knives, lasts 5 to 10 years and looks smart on the worktop, then yes, wood cutting boards are usually better than plastic. Plastic boards can be handy for raw meat, but in our testing and customer kitchens, a 45x35cm wood board used daily and oiled every 4 to 6 weeks stays smoother and safer for far longer than a similar sized plastic board that often needs replacing within 2 to 3 years. Wood vs plastic: what actually happens in your kitchen When...

If you want to keep a sharp chef’s knife for 6 to 12 months between professional sharpenings, plastic chopping boards are not the best choice for knife edges. A well made wooden or bamboo cutting board is typically 10 to 20 percent gentler on your blade, while still giving you a safe, stable surface for everyday kitchen prep. Are plastic chopping boards good for knife edges? Plastic chopping boards are convenient, light and easy to put in the dishwasher, but they aren’t especially kind to knife edges. The material is relatively hard and springy, so as the blade hits the...

If you want to keep a sharp kitchen knife for longer than 3 to 6 months between professional sharpenings, you should avoid very hard, glassy or uneven chopping boards such as glass, marble, granite, ceramic and old scarred plastic. These surfaces blunt an edge in a fraction of the time that a well made wooden or bamboo board does. What chopping boards should I avoid to prevent knife dulling? To protect your knives, avoid any board that is harder than the knife steel or that has deep grooves full of grit. In practice, that means: Glass boards toughened or plain...