New to quality knives, I need help / Info ...

[HansB]

Hi! I'm US born, German raised ... both of my parents were born in Germany, hence the German knives. I am looking to learn how to care for the Zwilling Pro knives I received as a gift from a relative (with a little help from my Mom) that actually works at the Solingen Manufacturing facility. I received a 8" chef, 8" carving, 8" bread, 7" santoku, 5.5" boning, 4" paring and a set of 4 steak knives ... all Pro.

What I know ... I know that I need to hand wash and dry them after use and not to throw them in the dishwasher like I did with "cheap" knives I used before receiving these ... that's all folks!

What I don't know ... What's is the best way to store them? Magnetic strip or block? How do I sharpen / maintain them? What does it mean to hone them? I used a cheap butchers steel for my old knives, now I see that there are ceramic and steel rods. Does it matter if I use plastic or wooden cutting boards?

I'm a good cook that know my way around a kitchen

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[refcast]

Store them: storage goals are so the knives don't cut you, or get damaged. So the tips and edges are protected, or out of the way of objects or other knives. Secondary is moisture management, making sure any extra moisture can leave. Either block or magnetic strip is fine. . . Up to your safety preference. I personally like making a soft paper or cardboard case (also called saya) cover for each knife, then away in a drawer or cabinet.

Sharpen: get a japanese whetstone (suehiro, naniwa, shapton are good brands) around 800 to 1000 grit, should cost $35-50 for one stone that'll last you a long time . . . Dozens of hours of use sharpening the edge
.. maybe 50+? Idk. See the angle at the edge on both sides . . . Match it. Lots of sharpening videos online, the Japanese Knife imports one is good.

The bread knife needs its own sharpening rod, sadly, shaped to the serrations.

Honing: just a synonym of sharpening. . . . Often it means fine grit sharpening (4000 grit +) on an already sharp edge. Most kitchen knives can make do at around 1000 grit. A lot of knives can work at 400 grit too, though that's about as low as I would go for a knife.

Honing rods: these remove material from the edge to sharpen them, but stones are faster. Rods work. I don't recommend them, but if it works for you, I that's fine, because they do abrade and sharpen.

Plastic vs wooden: most people won't notice too much . . . Generally, hard plastic, and abrasive woods (bamboo, acacia I think) dull knives more than soft resin (hi-soft) or other wood boards. It's the hitting the edge on the board hard that dulls knives.

I highly recommend learning to sharpen on stones! It opens up a lot of stuff, like thinning knives to cut with less resistance, or repairing some knife damage

 

[Heckel7302]

For sure get a stone and learn to sharpen. It's worth investing in quality stones. For example, I estimate my Naniwa Pro loses about 1mm of height for every 100 knives sharpened. That's over 2000 sharpenings over the life of the stone. If you sharpen one knife a week, that's 40 years before it's all worn away. Not worth saving $20 on a cheap no name stone. That said, if you aren't confident that it's something you'll take to, the best cheap option is a King 800 or 1000 or 1200. You could upgrade later.

Lots of youtube tutorials, but the classic is Jon Broida's Japanese Knife Imports sharpening playlist.

 

[HansB]

Thanks for the advice. After I do more research and watch a bunch of YouTube videos I will learn to use stones. Heck the knives for free ... I think I can afford some quality stones.