Benefits of being sharp.

Hi and thanks for being here to read my Blog Posts.

From my perspective and in own opinion, knives are either extremely sharp or they are dull, there is just a lot different levels of dullness.

As I have mentioned before, I don't know anyone else who sharpens knives but everyone   I sharpen for is interested in sharp knives and most guys mention an interest, a phase they went through. I guess I went through that phase but it never ended.

Typically, and this happens to me everyday, I meet someone with a dull knife (knives) and they range in age from 1 year to 20 years and if I am lucky they have never been sharpened after original purchase. (I say lucky because the bevels have not been screwed up by someone using a grinder)

Basically, the pattern that repeats itself is the owner of a brand new knife is thrilled with the way it cuts, the sensation that is felt by using a sharp knife and then in no time at all, within a few weeks that sensation turns to frustration and the knife spends it's life being forced through food and the owner just becomes complacent and lives with it.

IMAGINE having that same knife as sharp or sharper as new for the rest of it's life.

I'm sure anyone reading this probably knows how that feels, i.e. a sharp knife all the time. I just understand how people refuse to do anything about it. Especially professionals who use knives every single day for 8-12 hours a day.

So what are the actual benefits of having a sharp knife?

Maestro Wu Bombshell Cutlery (Chefs knife)

1. It is safer, a dull knife will easily slip off a vegetable with a tough skin, a turnip for example and you can cut yourself badly because of the force required to cut through anything.  You have cut yourself with a dull knife, it hurts like hell too and takes a long time to heal.

2. A sharp knife relieves stress believe it or not. I'm often given a knife to sharpen by a husband who has a wife that basically MADE the guy bring me the knife because she was so fed up with using it. She was stressed out every time she cooked, the husband talked her into buying an expensive knife but refused to do anything about it when it became dull in 3 weeks. Every evening, the same crappy scenario unfolded and eventually he decided TO DO HER A FAVOUR and get the stupid knife sharpened. (Also have been informed many a time that the husband could do just a good a job as I do but she insisted on getting it done professionally). I have been thanked by those same wives many a time, a sharp knife let her revisit the joy of cooking, she was trying new recipes and the stress was gone. (Well the dull knife induced stress that is....still had the husband there)

Globals love them or hate em

3.  Sharp Knives improve the flavour of food.

This is the most important one in my opinion and I did not believe it until I saw it and tasted it with my own eyes/mouth.

I have known for years that Japanese Chefs (in Japan that is, not all of them here in North America) sharpen their knives every day because they understand the value of a sharp knife. These are the chefs that are slicing up raw fish and vegetables for 12 hours a day, these are the professionals using Yanagibas and Usubas in their daily lives.

I had read that a dull knife can and will alter the flavour of certain food products because of the tearing action of the knife passing through something like an apple, or tomato or a piece of steak.

I have also seen pictures of certain delicate leafy produce actually changing colour immediately after being cut by a dull knife. 

Then I watched one of Murray Carter's sharpening videos in which he cuts two apples, one with a dull knife and of course the other with a sharp one. He left the two pieces on a plate and went to work sharpening. Within 30 minutes there was a noticeable discolouration of the apple slice cut with the dull knife and absolutely no difference in the other slice.  I cannot recall just how much time passed but it the difference in colour of the apple slices was quite obvious.

Basically,  a dull knife with it's edge folded over and broken off in pieces will saw and tear through vegetables and protein and disrupt the cells at the molecular level so cells are torn open, more than necessary of course and juices and blood spill out unnecessarily. So the food dries out faster and vegetables like a lettuce will wilt quite rapidly.  

Not to mention the ridiculous amount of force necessary by the chef to cut through those products.

A sharp knife of course will glide effortlessly through the same foods and slice on the cells the very refined edge of the edge comes in contact with.....there is no collateral damage.

I saw the is in person at a cooking class where the chef brutalised 10 granny smith apples with his dull Global Knives.....it was painful to watch. I started the timer on my cell phone and within 8 minutes the apple pieces starting turning brown.

We have all tasted meat that is dry, perhaps the culprit is not just over cooking but a dull knife.

I am sure there are other benefits, I will add some as I think of them.

Thanks for reading.