News — knife care

If you want to keep a quality chef's knife sharp for 5 to 10 years of regular home use, an end grain wooden board is one of the best surfaces you can choose. End grain boards are good for knife care because the wood fibres stand upright and separate as the blade passes, which reduces edge wear by a noticeable amount compared with hard plastic or glass. What makes end grain boards kinder to knives? When you cut on an end grain surface, you are cutting into the ends of the wood fibres rather than across them. Think of it...

If you want to protect your knives for 5 to 10 years of regular home use, high quality end grain or close grained wood usually treats the edge more gently than most synthetic boards, although soft synthetic boards can be kinder than very hard or cheap wood. In simple terms: for long term knife protection, a well made wooden board will normally beat a synthetic one. Wood vs synthetic: what actually touches your knife edge? Every time your knife hits a board, the edge either bites slightly into the surface or skids on top of it. This contact is what...

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 want to keep a sharp edge on your kitchen knives for 5 to 10 years, the best type of chopping board is usually end-grain or medium-density wood or bamboo, not glass or very hard plastic. Some chopping boards blunt knives up to 2 to 3 times faster because the surface is either too hard, too rough or packed with hidden grit. Why some chopping boards blunt knives faster Every cut you make is metal meeting a surface. If that surface is harder or more abrasive than the steel, your knife edge rounds off quickly. In simple terms, boards...