At least, that's the advice from the Guide to the Galaxy, more or less, with a little adjusting to fit. The question is... what KIND of towel?
Now, before one of you Admins moves this to the Off-Topic room, this is actually a serious knife-related question. Everyone agrees that carbon knives should be (washed and) dried after each use, but no one says what to use for that all-important task. What difference does it make, you ask? Well, if you were afflicted with the pathetic excuses for toweling that seem to be all that's available in my area, having driven all the useful towels into exile, apparently, you would not ask such silly questions.
Now that I am no longer affiliated with any restaurants and, therefore, persona non grata at my local supply store, I find myself stuck with an assortment of essentially useless cloths that seem to actively repel water, rather than absorbing it. So, where does a non-professional find decent, absorbent kitchen towels, these days? Preferably without spending a fortune on them. It seems like such a simple thing, but it's trickier than one would expect.
We do not use any softeners at all. The tengui do need a few wash cycles.
Still - the best water absorbing towel we have at home are those made from bamboo fibres. These are made as diapers for a reason
My search for the ideal towel is over. (12-Pack) 16 in. x 16 in. Commercial Grade All-Purpose Microfiber HIGHLY ABSORBENT, LINT-FREE, STREAK-FREE Cleaning Towels - THE RAG COMPANY. This is by far the most ideal towel to work with on the cutting board -- one damp for wiping during cutting, and one dry. They are very soft and absorbent, and they fold evenly without lumps.
I tried this herringbone cotton dish cloth which is OK, however when folded the seams add uneven thickness. It is not the ideal towel either damp or dry to work with on the cutting board because they are not sufficiently soft and pliable, and they do not fold evenly.
I too use micro-fibers, however ( and I'm ASSuming, yes I know, ) it may be the brand I use. Drying in a dryer seems to destroy mine quicker than line drying. Do these hold up better to machine drying?
If you're going to dry MFs in a dryer do it on low or no heat.
Rag Company has a Detalk about washing/drying MF towels.
[video=youtube;FhZBikIIbPo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhZBikIIbPo[/video]
I use a sponge followed by a normal cotton kitchen towels. It absorbs enough for my usage. Contrastively to paper towel they are washable and reusable.
@ TurboScooter - thanks for the video link. I use microfibre, cotton and paper towels depending on the task at hand. However the video showed me I've been treating the microfibre towels rather poorly - very hot tap water, sometimes even adding boiling water and bleaching them. About to buy some new ones now and start over.
I have to admit, cloth diaper towels are great for the kitchen. Cheap, gets my knives dry, easily replacable, can find them anywhere, nearly lint free, almost zero downsides outside of potentially confusing the kitchen diaper for the baby diaper lolDon't laugh:
Cloth Diapers. A simple cotton prefold diaper (thick, multilayered cotton) that's been washed and dried about a dozen times is extremely absorbent. And you can buy them in a range of sizes for a couple dollars each.
Enter your email address to join: