Is Your Sponge Ruining Your Knife?
Use your sponge correctly to extend the life of your knives
5 MINUTE READ
BY: DAVID OLKOVETSKY
In this edition of our Knife Education Series, we're going over the right type of sponge to use to keep your knives in great shape. We'll also give you some tips to keep your sponges in the best possible condition for the longest amount of time.
As a refresher, we recently discussed how you can keep your knives looking their best, by washing and drying immediately after cooking, and applying a bit of food grade mineral oil on occasion. We also went over several techniques to keep your knives sharp, and chip-free for longer. Proper sponge technique touches on both: keeping knives looking good, and helping them stay sharper for longer. Let's jump in.
Pick A Non-Scratch Sponge
Pick a non-scratch right sponge: Grocery stores and hardware stores carry a variety of sponge options. Our recommendation is to only purchase sponges labeled non-scratch. Their “heavy duty” cousins often contain very aggressive scouring materials, like Aluminum Oxide, which will scratch up your blades and also dull your knife edges. In fact, Aluminum Oxide is one of the main materials used in abrasive belts and whetstones: the material can really eat metal! To make matters worse, heavy duty sponges can also scratch up your pots, pans, and wooden cutting boards, if used too aggressively. That's why we always recommend non-scratch sponges.
The best non-scratch that we've tested is the O-Cedar Scrunge® Multi-Use Sponge. We like it because it's Teflon™ approved for non-stick surfaces, it readily absorbs water, squeezes dry easily, and the shape and size are quite versatile.
The best way to wash knives: Wet your sponge with warm water and then squeeze a bit of dish soap into it. Make sure the soap is well-absorbed. When washing cutlery and dishes, we recommend starting off with the gentler side of the sponge. This side is typically made of cellulose or a foam material (polyurethane). If some food scraps are stuck on, go ahead and switch to the scouring side. Once your knife looks like it's free of any remaining food particles, run some warm water water over it to wash off the soap. A clean sponge and a bit of standard dish soap are all you’ll need to clean off your dirty dishes, and keep your cutlery in top-notch condition. For a detailed guide to washing your knife, visit Artisan Revere's Guide to Washing and Drying Your Knives.
Clean your sponge: When you finish up with the sponge, don’t forget to clean it off. This is one of those unusual kitchen tips that almost everyone forgets about—cleaning the sponge you just cleaned with. It is important because bacteria thrives in moisture.
Your daily ritual should include two important steps. When you finish washing the dishes, remember to 1. Squeeze any remaining water and soap out of the sponge, and 2. Store it in a way that allows air to flow all around the sponge.
There are three quick and easy methods to killing bacteria, like Salmonella, E. coli, and Staphylococcus which might be living in and on your sponge. A few times a week with any of these 3 cleaning methods will help you feel confident that your sponge is bacteria-free.
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The Microwave: Soak your sponge in water and then place it in the microwave. Ensure that the sponge is fully saturated. Run the microwave on high for 1-2 minutes. Carefully remove the sponge. Do not wring it out for at least 5 minutes, as the water it retains will be extremely hot and can burn you. Squeeze out the remaining water only once the sponge has cooled off. To be confident you won’t burn yourself, it’s a good idea to wear latex cleaning gloves. This method kills 99.9% of bacteria.
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Bleach + Water: Create a mixture of 9 parts water, 1 part bleach. Place and leave the sponge in the mixture to fully soak up for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly. Dry. This method also kills 99.9% of bacteria.
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Dishwasher: Place your sponge in the dishwasher and make sure to run it with “heated dry” turned on.
That’s all you need to know to make sure your sponges aren't dulling your knives and making you sick. If you’re ready to upgrade your knives, join us, as we improve the quality of knives across America.
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Customer Reviews
We bought 2 chef's knives for a couple of our customers as an end of project gift. It was awesome to find such high quality knives, they look and feel amazing. David the owner of Artisan Revere was very helpful and even helped us get the customers names engraved on the leather sheath and knife.
The Artisan Revere chefs knife cuts with ease, is super well balanced, and keeps a sharp edge for longer than any of my Wustofs or other European knives. The edge is perfect and the knife is dulled in the exact areas where your fingers might be exposed. The leather sheath is a more plus for protecting the knife. The materials are top notch and are lightweight allowing for fast and easy cutting. You simply are less tired after using this knife compared with others.
Being somewhat of a knife geek, I have a multitude of knives, including ten chef's knives and Santukos of German, Japanese, and American steels in both German and Japanese knives. I researched this and other premium American made blades before purchasing this knife, mainly based on steel technology, but also its light weight. I also appreciated a 1:1 conversation with David to discuss the technology and craftsmanship before I ordered. After using this knife for six months, it is now my favorite knife for most all tasks that don't involve cutting foods that are prone to sticking to the blade, e.g., potatoes, (Glestain specialty Santuko for that unique task), or butternut squash, bones, etc. (Henckles and a rubber mallet for that).
It excels at precision cuts, like brunoise cut veggies, and prepping meat and fish. It is as light as the best custom Japanese knives I have, but sharper and better balanced. It is very well made. It maintains an edge significantly better than any other knife I own. In fact, I haven't sharpened it once in six months and it's still a razor. Its blade and handle geometry is superb. It fits my hand perfectly.
My guests may be impressed by some of the beautiful Japanese knives I have displayed in the block, but this is the one I use all the time and appreciate the most. I keep it in its handsome sheath in my drawer away from curious guests who might otherwise cut themselves, or god forbid, drop it. Well worth the money!
This is the ultimate knife. You will never need to buy another knife in your lifetime. A one-time forever purchase. Nothing even remotely comparable out there.
I'm having so much fun getting acclimated to my new knife. Immediately noticeable was how light it was in comparison to my current daily driver. This translates into a wonderful nimble-ness when in use, feeling very much like a natural extension of my intent as I cut rather than a tool for which I need to plan each movement. The details are beautifully considered, and I was pleasantly surprised by both the rounded spine and the very useful point at the heel. I'm so glad I finally treated myself to this knife!!
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