A Piece of Paper Can Keep Your Kitchen Knife Safer To Use

When I first starting cooking for myself, I had the presence of mind to get one decent chef's knife . If there's one thing I learned from watching hours of Food Network during college, it was that you need a good kitchen knife. Fully armed, I felt like I could tackle all manner of chopping, slicing, and dicing. What I didn't know was that for knives to function properly, they take some upkeep.

In the years since, I've learned a lot and experimented with whet stones , visited a knife sharpener, and utilized an electric sharpener. Now that I'm in a good groove (pun intended) honing my knives every week and sharpening every few months , my life has changed for the better. Slicing and dicing is so much easier and takes far less effort, so everything goes faster. Most importantly, I've injured myself far less. A knick in the kitchen is a rare event these days.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but sharp knives are safe knifes . You're far more likely to injure yourself on a dull knife, since a dull knife requires more force and can sometimes get stuck in tough vegetables or meat. More force means items are more likely to slip and slide on the cutting board, and your fingers can easily get in the way.

For your safety and a more enjoyable cooking experience, it's important to ensure your knife is properly sharpened at all times . There's a super easy (and honestly fun) trick for testing just that.

Use the Paper Trick To Test Your Knife's Sharpness

To test your knife's sharpness , grab a sheet of plain, uncreased copier paper (it can have text or images on it, it just needs to be uncreased with minimal wrinkles). Hold the sheet of paper up using your non-dominant hand over the kitchen counter. Holding the knife in your other hand above the sheet of paper, slice down at an angle (towards the center of the paper). If the paper slices easily, your knife is sharp. If it tears the paper and/or gets stuck, then it needs honing, also known as steeling, or sharpening.

If you haven't sharpened your knife in some time, then it's probably time for a proper sharpening. If you sharpened your knife in the last month or two, it likely just needs honing. Regularly honing your knife means you can sharpen it less (every three to six months) since it conditions the blade and helps keep it from becoming dull. If your knife doesn't pass the paper test again after honing, then its time to sharpen.

Since I'm on a regular schedule of honing and sharpening my knives now, I like to use the paper test to ensure I've done a good job. After honing or sharpening, I perform the test. If I pass, I get a big grin across my face and a smug sense of satisfaction from a job well done. If not, I go back to the steel rod and hone some more before trying again. Then I can cook with confidence, knowing my knives are in tip-top shape.

Read the original article on Simply Recipes