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Even a great chef's knife is only as good as the condition it's in. You can shell out on a top-shelf blade, but it'll still grow dull quickly if you don't take care of it properly. Worst yet, certain bad habits can ruin your paring, slicing or chef's knife for good.
Kitchen knives of all sizes and prices deserve love. Knowing how to use, wash, store and care for your best knives will keep them on the cutting edge for much longer. Knowing what not to do is just as important since certain bad habits can damage your utensils beyond repair.
One of the biggest mistakes home cooks make is storing their knives improperly. But there are less obvious habits that are damaging the blade often beyond repair, such as scraping it sideways on a cutting board or oversharpening which can cause blade attrition.
If you're looking for a great new knife, we've tested more than 10 to find the best chef's knives for 2024. If you've got one you love, below you'll find a list of the most common kitchen knife use and care mistakes that will ruin even the highest quality knife in no time.
Read more: Want Your Kitchen Knives to Stay Sharp for Longer? This Simple Trick Will Help
1. Scraping it sideways on the board
Using your knife as a scraper is a hard habit to break, but the blade will thank you.
Knives are made to cut in only two directions, back and forth and not side to side, so try not to use your good knives in a scraping manner. It may be instinct to move and gather all that chopped food on the board with the blade of the knife but it will damage the edge over time. If you can't break the habit completely, at least try and do it gently and without much downward force.
2. Using it on anything other than wood or plastic
Even one slice on a glass or marble surface can do irreparable damage to your chef's knife.
There are boards and blocks made from all sorts of materials but many of them are not knife-friendly. Stone or marble boards and glass surfaces should be reserved for serving food, not preparing it (at least not with a knife) since they will dull your blade faster than almost anything else.
Bamboo and plastic are the softest -- and often cheapest -- cutting board materials and will be gentle on your blades. Most other types of wood cutting boards, however, have enough give not to damage the blade.
3. Storing it free in a drawer
Not only will this setup ruin your knife, but you're bound to hurt yourself eventually.
This is probably the biggest mistake folks make with their kitchen knives. I've seen it more times than I can count and it hurts every time. Letting your knives clink around in a drawer with other knives and metal tools will dull or chip them over time. It's understandable to not want a clumsy knife block on the counter, but there are some pretty sleek options these days like this and this
You can also buy in-drawer wooden knife racks or sheath your knives in plastic cases. The coolest option may be to store the knives on one of these magnetic knife racks and show off your shiny blades to dinner guests. Just be gentle when placing knives on and removing them from the magnet so as not to scrape the blade.
4. Letting it sit in the sink or putting it in the dishwasher
Try to get that chef's knife out of the sink and dry it off before you sit down to eat.
For many reasons, your knives should never go in the dishwasher. It'll likely damage the handles, and the blades should never be exposed to water for that long. Speaking of which, never let a knife sit wet in the sink or anywhere else for that matter. That means no soaking, ever, and when you've finished washing it by hand, dry it immediately or the metal will become susceptible to rust and corrosion.
5. Cutting nonfood items or using your knife as a general tool
Don't use a good chef's knife to open your Amazon boxes.
Good knives may seem like a multipurpose tool but they should only be used for food prep. Try not to cut any nonfood items like plastic, cardboard or other packaging. And don't even think about employing your knife as a screwdriver or lever to pry open something stuck.
6. Using a metal scrubber or rough sponge to clean it
Steel wool is great for some dishwashing jobs but will ruin your knife's edge in seconds.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that using metal or another rough material to clean your knife blade could lead to big problems. Instead, use hot water and a soft sponge or cloth. Your knives should never be so dirty that those aren't enough to get them clean.
7. Oversharpening the blade
Sharpening is good. Oversharpening is bad.
There comes a point at which a knife blade can't be sharpened anymore, and if you continue to pound it on a steel or whetstone, you'll only be shaving off the blade itself and shortening the knife's life span. Here's a guide to sharpening your kitchen knives.