Knives

Steeling a Knife and Knife maintenance:

This subject is of utmost importance to all cooks/chefs or anyone who just wants to cut something.

A little history again. When I married my wife, her father was a butcher with the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) in Illinois. We got to be good friends as time went on, fishing, woodworking, Flea Marketing etc. together.

He told me how the knives were maintained at the meat market. First there was the ever present Dexter steel. All the knives used there were Dexter wooden handled carbon steel. They "Held an edge" a long time, but required Steeling often. (Bones are rough on a knife).

Well he said to steel a knife, you pick up the steel in your left hand with it extended in front of you somewhat above parallel with the floor. Then take the knife in your right hand and approach the tip end of the steel with the heel of the knife (end of blade closest to the handle) crosswise to the steel. The object is to for an angle of about 20 to 22 degrees at the point of contact, now drawing (Pulling) the knife along the steel (applying some pressure) so as to end up with the tip of the knife at the base of the steel.

This process is then repeated with the opposite side of the steel being approaches at the tip wit the heel of the opposite side of the knife. Again drawing it from tip to base.

Now the whole process is repeated alternating from side to side 4 or 5 times. Then check the edge for sharpness. His method of checking was sliding his thumb sideways across the edge. (I don't recommend this to the untrained) However you can actually feel the edge. If it isn't up to snuff, repeat the "steeling" 2 or 3 more times. At that point if the edge doesn't "come up", the knife is dull, and the edge has to be reformed by a stone of power driven belt sharpener.

It was standard practice that the "dull", un-steelable knives were picked up each week and taken out to be sharpened. Some of the "boning" knives had been sharpened so often, they were just a needle point at the tip and about 1/4 inch wide, but they still did the job.

Sharpening:

An entirely different subject. The term sharpening implies the removal of metal along the cutting edge of the knife to reform the proper bevel. The knife edge is actually " V " shaped when sharp, and very close in size to that V. If you can  picture the bottom point missing from the , that is a dull knife.  Then it is necessary to remove enough metal from each side of the V to restore the point at the bottom. This can be accomplished with any number of "stones" always finishing with a very fine Arkansas stone.

It can also be done with a 1 to 2 inch "belt sander" with a 320 grit belt and again finished with the Arkansas stone. NEVER use a grinding wheel - it will ruin your knife. Over heating the blade and softening it, creating dips and valleys along the edge etc. You get the point.  My suggestion is to seek out a professional to do the sharpening.

Steels:

While were on the subject, your steel should be a couple of inches longer then the knife you intend to use it on. A steel is a  hardened steel rod wit tiny grooves running the length of the blade. To work, the grooves need a sharply formed V on the top edge, as it is what "moves the knife edge back in alignment so it will cut properly.

Steels do ware out. Over time the ridges become flattened and a badly worn one will feel almost smooth. At that point, it won't do anything, so chuck it an buy another. (They are not a good item to be purchased used)

Some Do's and Don'ts

1. Do wipe your knives after using them. And do hand wash them when you are done.
2. Don't put them in the sink to "soak" as the water seeps into the joints and the knife edge can be blunted by contact.
3. Don't put your good knives in a dish washer. Rattling around and banging against other items will also dull them.
4. Do use a cutting board of (Preferably) Maple or plastic.
5. Don't cut on surfaces of metal, glass, china or ceramics - they all will roll the edge of the knife and dull it.
6. Do place your good knives in a wooden holder/rack with the cutting edge up or put them in a storage sleeve, not rattling around loose in a drawer.
7. Do keep your knives sharp. A sharp knife can cut through News Paper while you hold it in your hand, with your thumb and index finger or shave the hair on the back of your hand.
8. You know when your knife is sharp when you can slice into a tomato with one thrust, or cut through the skin of a pepper from the flesh side on a cutting board without "sawing"