A Dull Knife Will Cut You Faster Than a Sharp One
One of the things I love about living in the south is hearing the colorful expressions and sayings. These tidbits of wisdom get passed down through the generations and sometimes require a little bit of explanation.
“A Dull Knife Will Cut You Faster Than a Sharp One.”
And yes, I am talking about actual knives. That sounds completely backward, doesn’t it? Ah, but it’s not! This insightful little sentence captures what professional chefs and grandmothers alike know to be true.
You see, a dull knife will not bite into the food being cut — no pun intended. The edge will not sink in and can, instead, easily slide off and into a nearby finger! And when a dull knife doesn’t cut cleanly, it can even roll within the food mid-cut and take a dangerous little detour. On the other hand, a nice sharp knife easily goes in and continues to cut cleanly all the way through. So why put up with a dull knife and hack through food recklessly, when it is so easy to ensure you have a sleek, sharp one?
There are many ways to effectively sharpen a knife. Old school methods of sharpening can be a craft in and of themselves. I can recall seeing my dad sharpen knives (most often his fishing filet knife) using a whetstone and a little honing oil. He would hold the knife and carefully work the blade across one side of the stone and then the other, taking care to move it just the right way to get a razor-sharp edge. Then he would pull the blade flatly along a long leather strap to finish the edge. His final test to ensure it was sharp would be to shave tiny spot of hair on his arm. If it shaved, he was done. If not, he went back to sharpening until it did. He knew what to do and didn’t mind taking the time and effort to do it. But there are much easier ways available to us today. They might not be as razor-like as dad’s results, but they can certainly make a nice sharp edge that isn’t out to cut your finger off.
Modern blade sharpeners take only a few swipes through to put a nice edge on your favorite knife. An electric model spins the sharpening surface inside the machine so all you have to do is run the knife through a slot a couple of times to sharpen the edge. Often there are two sets of slots for fine or coarse edge sharpening. Some even have additional slots for sharpening tools like kitchen shears or a screwdriver. These can range in cost from a few dollars to several hundred dollars.
Manual models usually contain stationary sharpening surfaces so you’ll need to run the knife’s edge through several more times than the electric model to achieve the same result. Some models of both types require you to hold the blade’s side just so against side of the slot so that you get just the right bevel on the blade’s edge. But that’s not difficult to do.
Personally, I prefer to use a simple manual model that I can whip out anytime, anywhere, and run the knife through a few times to get a nicely renewed, sharp edge. It’s small and compact to store and because it isn’t difficult or time consuming to use, I tend to use it more often to maintain a nice edge on my tools. Plus, it’s effective and can cost as little as $5, so what’s not to like?
So the next time you pull out a knife, ask yourself if it is as sharp as it should be. Or could it be out to hack into your finger when you least expect it. Remember the adage, “A dull knife will cut you faster than a sharp one.” If you don’t have a knife sharpener of some kind, it’s probably time you got one.
