Tips to Keep Your Knife Blade Clean

Good knives are one of the best investments a cook or chef can make. A good quality Vertoku knife can improve your abilities in the kitchen, elevate dishes, reduce strain, and lower the risk of injuries or accidents.

There’s nothing more satisfying than an impressively sharp and finely honed knife, capable of cutting and chopping with ease and gliding through food items like butter.

Similarly, there’s nothing more frustrating than a dull knife when you’re trying to cut meat or chop veggies.

So how do you make your knives last and keep them sharp? Any chef or craftsperson would tell you: keep your tools clean.

Keeping your knife blade clean reduces wear and damage to your blade, aids in maintaining a razor-sharp edge when not in use, and eliminates accidental contamination when preparing food.

Now that you know why you need to take care of those knives, we’ll show you how.

Keeping your knives clean sounds easy enough. Most of the time, the dishwasher does the job just fine. But you probably don’t want to run your high-end performance blades through another rinse cycle.

Properly caring for your kitchen knives is a critical factor in prolonging their longevity and ensuring your blades perform flawlessly for decades to come.

Our Top Tips to Keep your Knife Blade Clean

1. Hand Wash ‘Em.

While some knives can be put in the dishwasher, your higher-end blades deserve a bit more personalized attention. For this tip, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty.

Most knives are made from steel. The reason: stainless steel is durable, easy to clean, and doesn’t rust easily. The reason stainless steel doesn’t rust? The metal is rich in chrome, which does not oxidize.

(Oxidize is just a fancy way of describing the effect that oxygen and moisture has on metal. When it oxidizes, it creates rust. And you never want a rusty knife).

When handwashing your blades, we suggest using a mild soap, and warm to hot water. Wash with a cloth or brush, but veer away from the bristle pads and harsh sponges.

2. As Dry as the Sahara (or that last cake you baked too long)

After you’ve washed your knives, quickly dry them with a dishtowel. Leaving a wet knife exposed to air dry increases the possibility of rust and damage over time. If your knife has a wooden handle, prolonged exposure to moisture can cause wood to degrade or warp, eventually rendering the knife unsafe to use.

3. Always Put Your Toys Away: Proper storage

Once your knives are clean and dry, they need to stay that way until you use them again. The best way to do this is to store them in a cool dry space. We suggest a specialized holder such as a ‘knife block’, although tucked away in a drawer, separate from other utensils is also ok in a pinch.

If you’re feeling fancy, or want your knives more mobile, you can invest in a knife storage wrap. Popular which chefs, these wraps offer a safe and efficient way to not only store, but take your knives on the go while keeping them safe, secure, dry and clean.

Keeping your Knife Blade Clean: a quick recap