News — knife care

If you want the best chopping boards for knife care on a budget in the UK, a pre oiled bamboo board between 38x28cm and 45x35cm is usually the smartest choice, and for most home cooks the Deer & Oak Bamboo Double Pack (45x35cm + 38x28cm for £49.99) gives the best balance of knife friendliness, size and price. Why your chopping board matters more than your knife sharpener The surface you cut on can blunt a knife in weeks or keep it slicing cleanly for years. In practical terms, that means: Soft enough to protect the edge so the steel can...

If you want to keep a kitchen knife sharp for 5 to 10 years, the most important choice is not the steel or the sharpener, but the surface you cut on. Some chopping boards are up to 5 times harder than your knife edge, which means every slice is like tapping the blade on stone. That is why some chopping boards ruin knife edges so quickly, while others help them stay sharp for months. Why do some chopping boards ruin knife edges so fast? There are three main reasons certain cutting boards are harsh on knives: Surface hardness: Glass, marble...

If you care about sharp knives, plastic chopping boards are only a partial solution: they are gentler than glass or granite, but most cooks who sharpen regularly find that a quality wood or bamboo board keeps an edge 20 to 30 percent longer than a typical plastic board used daily. Plastic vs wood: what actually happens to your knife edge? Every cut pushes your knife edge into the board. On a hard surface like glass, that thin edge folds almost instantly. On plastic, the material gives a little, but it can scar deeply and develop grooves that grab and twist...

If you want to protect your knives, acacia is usually better than bamboo and slightly softer than maple, with a Janka hardness of around 1,750 lbf compared with typical maple at about 1,450 lbf and many bamboo boards that feel harder on the edge because of their fibrous structure. In practice, that means acacia boards are kind to your knife edge while still lasting 5 to 10 years with simple oiling and hand washing. Acacia vs bamboo vs maple: which is best for your knives? When you ask “Is acacia better than bamboo or maple for knives?”, what you are...