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That's fine. They're your knives and it's your kitchen.
If you handwash them, you won't need to sharpen them as often. And if you get used to having sharp knives, you'll stop using that sharpener pretty quickly.
It's like you're saying "I don't need to change the oil in my car. I just spray some WD40 in there every few days until it stops making noise. My car serves me, not the other way around."
That's how you sound. That's why so mamy people are giving you grief.
Dude his post is perfect for this sub.
Nah, it's more like saying I take it to a shop to get the oil changed or fill it up with the cheap gasoline because the point is to get me from point a to point b and I deal with its upkeep. It's not a hobby, it's a tool. But people hear that and want to seem superior, is how I see it, so they tell me the Right way as if I don't know. I just don't agree.
Except you didn't mention getting your knives professionally sharpened, you just said you put them in the dishwasher and then pull them through a sharpener yourself. If you have them sharpened by a pro, then there's nothing at all wrong with that. Nobody says you have to sharpen knives yourself.
I guess I'm as bad at comparison as I am at caring for knives.
Then the correct comparison would be to say you take your knives to get professionally sharpened instead of doing it yourself.
The way a pull thru sharpener works is completely different from a diamond / whetstone. It's a scraper, not grinder. It's like the mechanic doing an oil change with rapeseed oil.
Most people almost never sharpen their knives so from that standpoint using a pull through sharpener is already an improvement. Dishwasher I don't understand however. If I always put my kitchen knife into the diswasher after use I'd never be able to use it because it would be constantly in there. Instead I just quickly scrub it under hot water from the tap and dry it with a towel. Takes me 15 seconds and it's ready for next use and stays razor sharp for months.
I have a dishwasher that has silicone inserts for knifes. But i also hand sharpen my knifes a lot, someone i'd rather sharpen a knife for 15 minutes than cleaning it from hand.
My tools serve me, not the other way around
Legit take. Why buy extremely expensive knife just to babysit it? Just get an okay knife and sharpen it once in a while whether by whetstone or grinder, and knife doesn't need to be razor sharp to function nicely.
Unless OP is getting a few thousand dollar japanese hand-crafted chef knife and then run it with dish washer and knife grinder, then i'd say it's sensible.
Another one is cast iron pan, i've seen tons of people teaching others to use it and then proceed to explain it in such convoluted way that's basically babying the thing. It's indestructible, guys, you don't need to season it everytime before and after use.
knife doesn’t need to be razor sharp to function nicely
No, but if it's not razor sharp after sharpening then it wasn't sharpened properly and it'll be dull again in a week. Properly apexed edge with the burr removed stays razor sharp for months. Improperly sharpened knife cuts well for a week because you're cutting with the burr but after it bends you've got to resharpen it again.
I have some expensive ass knifes and i started to realise that i don't use them too often just because they were expensive. My favourite knife is a victorinox knife that i sniped for 10 dollars. Second to that is a spiderco for 23 dollars. Both really good knifes
Every kitchen should have a workhorse set of Victorinox, imo. Get a fancy knife to compliment that, if you like.
As long as you're not one of those weirdos that insist pull through sharpeners are just as good as properly sharpening it.
Most people don't need a perfectly sharp knife. Are they nice to have? Absolutely. But as long as you don't let them get dangerously dull, who cares.
I like your take.
You're a monster.
Thank you 😊
Our household has amazing sets of Henckels knives that are in perfect condition from careful handwashing, professional sharpening....and because they almost never get used. We also have a few relatively inexpensive knives that get use all the time because they go in the dishwasher after use.
Mine don't go through the dishwasher only because the plastic in the handles would get fucked up. Otherwise they're stainless, how does a dishwasher harm the stainless in my knives but not my stainless silverware, stainless bowls, stainless utensils, stainless dishwasher?
And I use an electric sharpener. I ain't wasting time with a stone - I did plenty of that 45 years ago. Tech has moved along. Does anyone think Wustoff sharpens their knives by hand?
You know there's a million different alloys that are all "stainless steel" right?
As far as some more specifics, nothing else you made is meant to hold a sharp edge, so they aren't made of heat treated tool steel. Making a knife is a balance between having softer metal that dulls more quickly, vs harder metal that chips or cracks more easily.
Another feature you'll notice on your stainless steel knives is a sharp edge, which is much more delicate than the blunt edges on everything else you listed. The thinness of the edge, combined with the metal being hardened so it can retain an edge, make it so you're reasonably likely to chip the edges of many nicer (better heat treated) knives due to stuff knocking around in the dishwasher. Also you're somewhat likely to damage the coating of the dishwasher racks with the sharp edges.
Also, probably not Wusthof, but some high end knives are, in fact, hand sharpened even in factory settings still. It doesn't take very long on a wheel or belt really, though if you don't count that as hand sharpening then yeah that's a definitions disagreement.
I can't say whether this is unpopular broadly, but it sure is unpopular with me.
Grind up a whetstone and put the powder in the dishwasher
This method also yields plates that you can use to play Decapitation Frisbee (tm).
I agree they aren't needed. But oh man. Once you buy a really nice (often expensive) set of culinary knives, you realize what the hubub is about. They're wonderful.
I had a girlfriend that filleted the tip of her finger off using one of my knives. As I drove her to the hospital, she tried to say my knives were way too sharp. I told her that was on her.
My girlfriend did the exact same thing. That knife had literally just came off the stone. Sliced right thru the tip of her finger including the nail.
When it comes to the quality of the knife itself I think you'll see diminishing returns after you pay more than 70 euros for one. The jump from a dollar store knife to a Victorinox is huge but from Victorinox to a japanese hand made one is much less different.
As I drove her to the hospital... I told her that was on her.
had a girlfriend
She bled out while trying to argue with me about whose fault it was. RIP Jessica. It wasn't the knife, it was your lack of respect for the knife.
The human race requires judgment. You were simply separating that chaff from the wheat.
Oh look honey the Neanderthals are on the internet now
You're just jealous of our prominent brows.
Lmao
This is the second thread I've seen today with contentious talk about sharpening knives, and I have to ask both sides: do none of you live near a knife sharpening place? I pay EUR 5 per knife two to three times a year, and my knives are always sharp.
Dull knives are dangerous and make prep real chore.
That's a possibility. I've seen mobile sharpeners that have a trailer with their equipment in it and they also frequent farmers markets. There's also places where you can just mail your knives to and they'll send them back like they've just had some milk plus.
I can buy a set of cheap knives every 5-10 years. It will cost the same as buying an expensive knife set.
Just st make sure they aren't those serrated 400in1 knife blocks. Those never cut, they saw and tear your food.
Huh. I expected to wander in here and see people confused about why this is on unpopularopinion. I'm apparently a repulsive philistine. A meteorite-forged knife sharpened on daylight is a joy to use, but you can also just buy cheap stamped knives, do basic maintenance, and spend your mental capital elsewhere if you want.
What about serrated knives? Asking for a friend..
Only the bread knife.
I use knives I have pilfered from various places I have worked at and they are around 10 - 40 years old, some are really good knives though. I have ever only used 2 pull through sharpeners and the current one is maybe 15 years old. I have also only washed my knives in a dishwasher as long as I have had access to one, so like 20 years, and there has been no noticeable difference.
I also have a cast iron pan that's at least 40 years old, I commonly wash it in the dishwasher and it's indestructible. If it gets some rust on it I just scrape it off with steel wool and add a little oil. It works as well as it did 40 years ago. People are way too anal about kitchen tools.
I'm pretty sure the idea that a dishwasher can ruin a knife or a cast iron pan is a myth that too many people have bought into.
I wash mine by hand and sharpen them afterwards, when I had the feeling they get dull. Sometimes my GF puts them into the dishwasher for some reason. I don’t care, really. Still sharpen them before putting them back in the block.
But you do you buddy. Show them kitchen tools who’s boss!
I initially assumed this was unpopular because "just wipe the knives off..." and "why sharpen them at all?". Boy am I surprised.