Hot kitchen too hot for knives?

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

NO ChoP!

Old Head
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
Messages
2,983
Reaction score
925
Location
North Carolina
So, the kitchen at my restaurant is very tiny; the area where most of the cooking is done is literally 8 x 10 feet, with twelve burners, a salamander, two ovens, a charbroiler, and a fryer; plus compressor heat from coolers. Even after we are closed, just the immense amount of pilots keep it well over 100 degrees.

I have heard that high heat (leaving your knife under a heat lamp, for example) is terrible for your edge. I keep about 10 nice knives on a magnet in the kitchen......any thoughts? (I regularly rub down the handles with mineral oil and blades with camelia oil.:scratchhead:)
 
Most knives are tempered at over 300 degrees. So as long as you dont put you knife in the broiler, you are good to go.
 
Steel on your knife will have to start changing in color (from heat) for you to worry. That also means you would burn your hand touching your knives.
 
Yeah, there would be nearly zero worry about the blade. My concern would be for the handle more than anything. Still, that temperature shouldn't affect it much. I would think that for the epoxy (if any handles are epoxied that is) to start to melt you'd have to get the handle in excess of 120 to 130 degrees. Direct sunlight in a closed car can do that, I should know. But, I'm not sure at what temperature that happened...kind of guessing with the 120 to 130 degree comment.
 
Our kitchen regularly reaches 110 during service in the "cold" part of the kitchen and my station can get 130+ and I have never had any problems.
 
Yeah, there would be nearly zero worry about the blade. My concern would be for the handle more than anything. Still, that temperature shouldn't affect it much. I would think that for the epoxy (if any handles are epoxied that is) to start to melt you'd have to get the handle in excess of 120 to 130 degrees. Direct sunlight in a closed car can do that, I should know. But, I'm not sure at what temperature that happened...kind of guessing with the 120 to 130 degree comment.

The JB weld package says 600 degrees. I was surprised also.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top