Warning: I was cleaning my knives wrong for 8 months straight

I had a set of Wusthof knives I babied but they kept getting dull fast. Last week a line cook at the place I work grabbed my knife and said my edge was rolled from using a honing rod wrong. He showed me I was going at too shallow an angle and dragging the edge sideways instead of straight. I had to watch him do it three times before I got it right. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized some basic skill was just totally off?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivan8736d ago

Same thing happened to me with my Victorinox chef's knife. Had been using a steel for years thinking I was doing it right, then a buddy who actually knows what he's doing watched me for like two seconds and said I was basically just mashing the edge sideways. Felt like an idiot watching him show me the correct angle and motion. Took me a good week of practicing on a cheap knife before it started to feel natural.

mary8366d ago

Same thing happened to me with my Wusthof! I thought I was a pro with the honing steel until my buddy who's a line cook showed me I was just scraping the coating off the edge. Felt like such a goof when he demonstrated the proper angle, like 15-20 degrees, and how you gotta do that light sweeping motion. Practiced on an old Chicago Cutlery knife for a week straight, felt super awkward at first but now I can do it without even thinking.