Category: Knife Care Tips

Ten Tips for Kitchen Knife Safety

April 10, 2014

Research shows that the tight economy has contributed to a continuing spike in culinary school enrollments over the past few years, as Americans seek recession-proof job options. If you’re among those looking to make a living in the kitchen, or your simply inspired by your favorite cooking show to jazz things up for your own dinner table, it’s a given that you’ll be working with knives.

For the culinary-minded newbies out there, Sarge Knives offers a few tips for safety when using kitchen knives:

1. Ditch the distractions: It takes just one quick misstep with a sharpened blade to cause serious injury. Turn off the TV or radio and send the kids out to play.
2. Wash your hands: A lot. Wash them thoroughly with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds to effectively ward off illness-causing bacteria and germs. Do this after each food you cook, especially meats.
3. Keep it clean: Constantly clean your cutting board, countertops and blades between food items – especially after meats. It’s best to let cutting boards air dry, as drying cloths can hold and transfer bacteria.
4. Keep ‘em sharp: Trying to cut with a dull knife is a serious safety hazard. Its dullness prompts the cutter to apply more force, which can make for a more serious potential injury should the blade slip.
5. Curl your fingers: Always curl your fingers when cutting foods of any sort. Leaving them laid out flat or straight is a good way to lose a fingertip.
6. Maintain contact: When chopping, mincing or dicing foods, be sure to keep the tip of the knife on the cutting surface as you lift and chop.
7. Resist the urge: Licking the spoon is fine. Licking the knife blade – not so much. Not only do you risk slicing your tongue, you’re also creating a food safety issue.
8. Keep your distance: While it may seem more comfortable to lean against a countertop while cutting foods, it’s also dangerous. A slip of the blade can cause a stomach injury.
9. Walk this way: It’s best to avoid walking with a knife at all. But if you must, walk with the blade facing downward.
10. Put them away: When you’re done using your kitchen knives, clean, sanitize and store them safely away, particularly if you have children.

Happy cooking!

Top Knife Photography Tips

March 6, 2014

Last week, we filled you in on the essential tools you’ll need to snap great shots of your favorite knives. This week, we’re adding some technique tips to help assure your pictures won’t turn out fuzzy, shadowy, washed out or dotted with hotspots. Grab your camera and let’s get started…

• Fill the frame: Even if you’re not a classic film fan, you’ve probably heard the famous line, “I’m ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille.” That Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard, 1950) might have been crazy, but she clearly knew the value of a great photo – one that fills the frame with its subject, focusing attention on its glorious detail. Such is the case when you’re photographing your bladed beauty. Don’t let your knife get lost I a sea of background or a clutter of extra props. Instead, place it on a solid background, zoom in close and focus.
• Go diagonal and curvy: Diagonal lines and curves are far more dynamic to the human eye than are vertical or horizontal lines. Plus, the diagonal corner-to-corner dimension of the frame is longer than the straight side-to-side dimension, allowing more of your frame to be filled with your subject rather than the background.
• Snap a side view: The profile (side view) of your knife will show off the most design-wise, including the shapes of your knifes’ blade and handle, their proportional sizes, patterns, engravings and construction technique.

Do you have additional tips you’d like to share with fellow knife enthusiasts? Post them on the Sarge Knives Facebook Fan Page.

5 Essential Kitchen Knives

February 21, 2014

Whether you’re an army cook out in the field, the head chef at a swanky 5-star restaurant or a loving mom whipping up dinner for her lively brood, the most kitchen-savvy among you likely are using the same arsenal of blades.

Sarge Knives offers tips on the five essential kitchen knives every cook needs:

1. Cleaver: These wide-bladed, thick-spined knives make use of their weight to cut through tough foods with a chopping motion. They’re primarily used to cut through meat and poultry bones, but their width allows them to pull double duty, pulverizing meats and crushing garlic cloves and seeds.
2. Chef’s knife: One of the most versatile knife types, the chef’s knife is used for chopping and slicing fruits, vegetables, roots and, frankly, most anything else. Most feature a broad blade that curves upward toward the tip. This allows for a rocking motion, making the chef’s knife ideal for fine mincing. Chef’s knifes typically come in blade lengths of six, eight, 10 and 12 inches. Longer blades make for faster cuts, though they can be a bit hard to control, particularly for more petite cooks. Shorter blades are perfectly suited for kitchenistas with smaller hands.
3. Serrated knife: Also called wavy-edged knives, serrated knifes are the best option for cutting foods that are dense on the surface, but soft inside such as loaves of bread, sausages and tomatoes. That’s because the serrated knife’s teeth allow for greater pressure exerted on the skin of a food, making it easier to slice through hard bread crusts and tough sausage skins and fruit peels. You won’t catch a sandwich shop worker without a serrated bread knife. While the teeth of a bread knife are too large to cut fruits and vegetables effectively, their 8- to 9-inch blades are perfect for slicing up loaves of bread.
4. Fillet knife: Also called boning knives, and essentially smaller chef’s knives, fillet knives are the go-to options for cutting fish or poultry and for removing meat from bones. The come in multiple blade widths and vary in stiffness. Choose a narrow filet knife on ribs and chops to easily cut through bone and cartilage; a wide fillet knife for chicken and pork; and a curved fillet knife for an optimal working angle when cutting close to and around bone.
5. Paring knife: These smaller knives typically have blade lengths of just three to four inches, which allow for solid control. Blades usually taper to a point, allowing for intricate work. Varying types of paring knives include bird’s beak knives great for peeling round-shaped fruits and vegetables and for more precise carving and fluting; wavy-edged or serrated paring knives for cutting bread and tomatoes; and clip point or granny paring knives, effective for peeling fruits and vegetables and for removing eyes from potatoes or pits from olives.

Sarge Knives offers a full range of knife types including top-quality fillet, boning and chef’s knives perfect for preparing dinner whether in the kitchen or at the camp site.

Tips for Cleaning, Oiling & Storing Your Stainless Steel Hunting Knives During Winter

January 1, 2014

While stainless steel hunting knives arguably are more durable and less high-maintenance than their carbon steel counterparts, they still require a good deal of upkeep. With proper cleaning, oiling and storage techniques, your blade will be in prime shape for the next hunting season and long after.

Sarge Knives offers these tips:

• Regularly check for and remove fingerprints from your hunting knife blade. Fingerprints contain an acid that can speed up rusting. To avoid this, softly rub a mixture of salt and vinegar on the blade with a clean wine cork or soft cloth.
• Clean your stainless steel knives after each and every use. We recommend using a spray cleaning product specifically formulated for use on stainless steel.
• Dry your blades after each cleaning. Don’t be tempted to skip this one – that’s another good way end up with rusty blades. Use a soft cotton cloth and be sure to dry both blade and handle all the way down, paying particular attention to any grooves and spaces on knives with movable parts.
• Oil you r blades to keep them protected while they’re stored away. General purpose oil works, but many knife experts highly recommend camellia oil. Carefully wipe the length of each blade with an oil-moistened cloth. Avoid using too much oil, as it can attract dirt and dust. Properly oiling your blades is particularly important if you live in a damp climate or one close to the ocean, as it can avoid rusting.
• Store your stainless steel hunting knives in a cool, dry space with a constant temperature. Avoid storing them in leather sheaths. They’re great for carrying your knives with you, but when stored they can lock in any unintended moisture and, again, accelerate rusting.

A great knife is a great investment. Protect yours.