The Nuances Of Washing & Drying Your Knives Correctly

Name: The Chef’s Knife
Brand: Artisan Revere
SKU: Chef-Blu-Mahog-86
Price: 465.0 USD
Availability: InStock

3 MINUTE READ

BY: DAVID OLKOVETSKY

Ensuring that your knives last forever is all about building good habits. There’s nothing complicated or fancy about it, just some basic principles that will keep your blades in superb working condition. Our first two tips are designed to help you keep your knives looking great.

In our prior edition, we learned how to properly wash and dry our knives. For a refresher, click the link below.

The Nuances of Washing and Drying Your Knives Correctly

In this edition, we’re going over food-grade mineral oil, and why applying it to your blades will prevent patina.

Wash & Dry Immediately After Use.

Don't leave your knife in the sink or on the cutting board: One of the most common errors home cooks make, is leaving their high-end knives out on the cutting board or marinating in the sink for hours after cooking with them. Hell, line cooks get kicked out of the kitchen for doing it because it’s also dangerous—another cook might reach into the sink and cut themselves.

Avoid the dishwasher like the plague: Never ever place a quality knife in the dishwasher unless you are actively trying to ruin it. It is a hurricane of near-boiling water and highly abrasive detergent. It will chip, dull, and corrode your knives, including a high probability of causing pitting corrosion—a particularly nasty, localized form of corrosion. Finally, the high temperatures and wet conditions will rapidly eat away the epoxy that holds your handle together, and you'll soon have a totally useless knife handle.
Hold the knife by the handle: Ideally, in your dominant hand.
Hot Water: Run warm or hot water, and not just because it feels nice—it actually serves a purpose—which we’ll get to in a minute.
Use only non-scratch sponges: These can be found next to heavy duty sponges at the grocery store. Heavy duty sponges can actually dull your knife’s edge, because aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) on the scouring side is high Rockwell and used in abrasives.
Dish soap: Applying any of the name brand dish soaps to the sponge.
Avoid slicing the sponge: Never cut into the sponge with a sharp knife. Sharp knives will slice right through it.
Scrub the knife: Go ahead and scrub down the entirety of the blade with the sponge. Make sure to get any stuck-on food.
Wash off the soap: Now wash all the soap off with warm water. It’s always best when washing to use your helping hand to ensure you got all the soap off. We’re able to feel residual soap much more easily than we can see it.

Washing

“Moisture is the enemy of steel. So are acid and salt.” —David Olkovetsky

Here’s why it’s also bad for your knives: Leaving your knife dirty, means that a part of the beautiful meal you just finished prepping is still sitting on that blade. Anything acidic or salty or moist is actively trying to eat away at your blade steel and handle. Our founder, David Olkovetsky always says, “Moisture is the enemy of steel. So are acid and salt.” Acids and salts attack the free chromium in your knives, and it’s chromium that makes a “stainless steel” knife, stain-less. Excess, or free chromium (Cr) makes a passive film that protects your blade from rust and patina, so if you want to give the Cr a bit of a boost, wash your knives off right after use. We know this might appear to be obvious at first, but it’s still worth talking about how to properly wash and dry your knives, in detail.

Drying

Now that you’re done washing, there’s one step left—drying.

We mentioned earlier that it’s good to wash with warm or hot water, and the reason is that it makes drying your knives, and all of your dishes easier. Warm and hot water evaporate more readily off the blade, so it will be easier to dry your knife fully. Please make sure your knife is bone-dry before storing it.

Dry with a towel: Take a clean dish towel or paper towel, and dry off your knife, completely.
Use your fingers to feel for moisture: Feel the blade and handle with your fingers when you’re finished with the towel. You do this to confirm that the knife is totally dry.
Store safely: Place the knife somewhere safe, like a leather saya or a magnetic rack for storage.

There you have it. How to wash and dry your knife like a professional. If you’re ready for an upgrade, join us, as we improve the quality of knives across America.

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Customer Reviews

The Last Knife You’ll Ever Need: My Journey to Artisan Revere

As I've gotten older, I've begun to recognize the importance of eating handmade food from fresh ingredients. Not only is the food healthier, it tastes tremendously better.

However, a good knife is one of the areas I've neglected in my pursuit of crafting handmade food. For some reason, I've held the perception that a knife is a knife is a knife. I was wrong.

Before Christmas, I decided that I wanted to treat myself and invest in my last knife. To support my efforts in finding the right knife, I use the following prompt in ChatGPT:

== BEGIN PROMPT ==
You are a master chef who specializes in US independent knife makers.

I'm in the market for a new chef's knife. I am looking to spend less than $400. I want a knife that is known for flexibility, retaining its edge, and durability. Give me some of the best options from US independent knife makers.

Create a table with the top ten options with links to their sites.

== END PROMPT ==

Artisan Revere was one of the companies listed. After following up with other prompts to refine what I was looking for, everyday use retains its edge and ease of maintenance, it was clear that Artisan Revere was the best option for me.

Although I spent more than I initially planned, having used my Artisan Revere chef's knife for the past three months, I couldn't be happier with my investment and feel it was worth every penny.

Having such a good knife pushed me to invest in a better cutting board and has encouraged me to push my already fanatical passion for cooking even further, which has had a corresponding impact on my enjoyment of the entire cooking experience.

And while I could go on and on about the tremendous attributes of my knife, what I appreciated even more was David Olkovetsky, the CEO, calling me to understand my cooking style and confirm I had what I needed to take care of my knife. This level of hospitality, combined with a tremendous product, has made me a fan that will only ever use and gift Artisan Revere knives.

If you're on the fence about investing in a knife. You'll never regret investing in an Artisan Revere knife.

High Quality Knife

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.

A truly professional 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.

Favorite chef's knife

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!

The Ultimate Knife

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.

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