The 3 Reasons You Should Be Sharpening Your Own Knives

When you love the idea of doing things yourself, then something like sharpening your own knives can feel like some cozy time spent at home. It’s sort of a zen moment when you learn how to do it properly with a whetstone and end up with a professional-quality edge on your kitchen knife. 

 

It’s not something that many people do, but everybody should. Most people spend a great deal of time in the kitchen so it makes sense that we should be taking care of their tools. If you love to cook, then consider getting yourself a knife sharpening set and doing it yourself. In this article, we will go over several reasons why you should. 

 

1 - Sense of self-sufficiency

 

When you are able to do something like sharpening your knives, then you are doing something that gives you some resilience. You’re able to buy quality knives that last a lifetime and take care of them yourself. No need to deal with dull knives in the kitchen and no need to send them out to be sharpened a couple of times per year. 

 

Learning a new skill that allows you more independence is something that everybody should strive for. Once you begin to learn you will understand how little you know and then comes the fun part. Mastering something that is challenging is a great way to keep your mind sharp as well. 

 

It takes more work to do it the traditional way, but it is rewarding not only because you accomplished something, but also because it makes your work easier. Doing a lot of prep will be a breeze when your knives are properly sharpened. Since you won’t be waiting for a knife sharpener to do it for you, you will never need to do prep with a dull knife.

 

2 - It’s cheaper in the long run

 

Most stamp-cut steel knives are not able to be sharpened. And those that can be don’t get very sharp or keep their edge for long. When you buy high-quality knives and sharpen them yourself you are actually saving money.

 

You’re spending more money upfront on the knives and sharpening kit, but those knives will last a lifetime and never be dull. 

 

Not only that but sending knives out to be sharpened will add up and end up costing a lot. Doing it yourself saves a lot of money over the years. 

 

3 - You’re in control

 

To be a good home cook, you need to have control over your kitchen. This includes having sharp knives at all times. A dull knife is extremely dangerous since you have to use more force to cut. When your knives are sharp then the knife does most of the work for you and leads to fewer accidents. 

 

When you are doing your knife sharpening yourself then you have control since you never have to deal with dull knives. If you have to deal with dull knives because you can’t be without knives while you send them off to be sharpened, then this takes away some of the control you have over your kitchen.