Knives, no matter the type, should be an investment. Whether you buy knives for your kitchen or for the outdoors, they should be made of quality materials to ensure they have a long lifespan. After all, the quality of the blade can impact how effectively and safely the knives are used.
However, there is more you can do to make sure your blades last a long time. The proper care and maintenance of knives will prevent corrosion, which can be an issue even when knives are made from corrosion-resistant materials, and edges becoming dull and ineffective.
This post has outlined three of the key steps to ensure your knives last for years to come.
Clean and Dry the Knives After Each Use
As previously mentioned, even knives made with corrosion-resistant materials can be form rust if improperly cared for. This will usually appear at the blade’s edge or side. Steel knives, including carbon steel and stainless, will begin to rust with improper use or maintenance, too; this can surprise some people as there is a misconception that stainless steel is non-rusting.
For kitchen knives, rusting can happen quickly due to cutting and chopping acidic foods, such as onions and tomatoes. Although this is rarely what hunting knives are used for, the iron in the knife’s steel will react with oxygen and water, forming rusting that could destroy the blade further down the line.
To prevent rust from forming, all knives should be cleaned with warm water and dish soap. Ensure knives are not left to soak in water as this could cause bacteria to build up; instead, try to clean knives as soon as you can. Once they are cleaned, dry them immediately with a towel.
Use the Knives Correctly
The final step in this post might be the most important: only use the knives as intended. This means that kitchen knives should not be used for tasks that are not related to food, and outdoor knives should not be used in the kitchen. Doing this could cause the blades to become blunt more quickly and potentially damaged, which could seriously harm your investment and yourself.
If you have specialized knives, these should also be used for the specific purpose. For example, while a fixed blade knife can be used for multiple purposes outdoors, a bowie knife should only be used for field dressing game. Websites like MKC’s advice section has a lot of information on how to correctly use professional knives, whether for cooking or for hunting.
Maintain Sharp Blades
A dull or blunt blade can make a knife unsafe. It will require much more pressure to cut through meat, vegetables, rope, and such. For camping and outdoor knives, the edge can become blunt, due to micro-chipping, and deformed. When a knife becomes blunt or deformed, it can slip and injure the individual using it.
To avoid this from happening, it is essential to hone and sharpen the blade frequently. While a knife sharpener is used to shave little bits of the blade to form a sharper edge, a honing rod can flatten bumps or dings from chips to create a straighter blade. A sharper and straighter knife will work much more efficiently, cutting through materials without too much effort.
To make sure the knives you have purchased will be useable for years to come, you must follow the advice outlined in this post. This will ensure your investment does not go to waste.
