Knife Sharpening Tips and Care + Hash Knife How-To
Hey there! So, when it comes to knives, I think we can all agree that a dull knife is pretty much useless. I don’t want you to get caught with a dull knife so, I’ll be sharing my top tips and tricks on how to take care of your knives, keep them sharp, and make them last forever.
We have all kinds of knife. You can get a cheap knife, a good knife, a handmade knife, and my favorite, a cowboy hash knife. I used to think you could sharpen a knife with just three things: a razor strap, an old-fashioned rock stone, or even the rounded side of a crock jar. But today, there are a lot of cool gadgets that you can use to sharpen your knives. One of the more popular ones is the handheld sharpener. I personally like a butcher steel sharpener.
Sharpening a knife with a butcher steel sharpener
#Tip 1: When sharpening a knife, hold the sharpener at a 45-degree angle from your body. Make sure that you are comfortable when holding the knife.
#Tip 2: Grab the knife just at the end of the handle on each side.
#Tip 3: Hold the knife at about the same angle as the sharpener and run it from the top and then beneath. (See how we do it in the video!)
#Tip 4: Always start from the base and pull down to the tip on every stroke. You also want to stay even. If you have a blade that’s not even, it’s not going to be sharp.
Polishing your knife
After sharpening, a blade needs a good polishing to hold that edge even longer and make it stay better. I use a good piece of bull hide leather.
#Tip 1: Hold the knife with the sharp side towards you when going in the backward motion.
#Tip 2: Take the stroke from tip to base, all the way down (About 4 strokes).
#Tip 3: Turn the knife and place it with the sharp side away from you.
#Tip 4: Take the stroke from base to tip, coming forward towards you. Keeping a knife sharp will help it stay sharp a whole lot longer!
Storing a knife
#Tip 1: Wash with hot water and soap
#Tip 2: Before storing your knife, clean and dry!
#Tip 3: For a knife with a wooden handle, apply olive oil or mineral oil to a piece of cloth and use to clean both the knife and the wood. DON’T stick it in a dishwasher!!
Hash Knives
You can get a cowboy hash knife right from our store. Hash knives for cowboy’s have been around forever and it has a handle that you can hold.
When cutting vegetables, roll the hash knife back and forth (Check out our video here to see how it’s done). You can also use it as a chopper. A hash knife can be sharpened in the same way as a regular knife. You can also sharpen it holding the hash knife at the edge of a counter and running the butcher’s sharpener across it
Remember to do an equal amount on each side, and oil the blade, handle and all attachments!
Buying an antique hash knife.
#Tip 1: Check how much yield the blade has. The rivets on both sides can be breaded back again with a hammer or wagon wheel
#Tip 2: Look real close at the edge of the blade. Does it have and chips or scars? That would make it hard to sharpen. Also check the thickness of the blade- if it’s very thin you might want to look for another knife.
Watch us sharpen different types of knives here….
