For the serious home gourmet there's nothing more empowering than knowing you possess a set of sharp kitchen knives. A sharp knife can turn drudgery into fun and cut your prep time in half. And it would appear to follow that knowing you can keep your knives sharp by being able to sharpen them yourself would add to this self-empowerment. But the problem is … it's not that simple.
Here are five reasons why it might not be worth sharpening your own knives, but, rather, rely on a qualified pro:
1) You have not the interest or patience to master a new skill. Sharpening by its very nature takes some training. If you are not paying close attention to what you are doing, you can easily grind away more metal than you need to or, worse yet, completely ruin a perfectly good knife. Especially using a power sharpening system. There's a learning curve. Respect the curve.
2) Your time is precious. Sharpening a knife can, in an ideal world, take only 10 minutes. That's, of course, if it's in pretty good shape to begin with. Otherwise, we're talking more like 20 minutes or more. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Because, before all this, you've got to put in the hours learning how to, correctly, do it. And no matter what all the DIY knife sharpening experts tell you, sharpening a knife, like any valuable skill, takes time and concentration to learn and get good at. Now, granted, the major usurpers of time are manual sharpening systems. But even if you use a machine, depending on which brand / model you buy, it will take more time for you do it yourself than to pack up your knives and mail them off to a quality sharpening service.
3) Easy-peasy sharpening systems can be the least desirable sharpening solution. General rule-of-thumb-the easier the system, the worse it is for your knives. There are some exceptions to this rule, but fast easy sharpening is not necessarily quality sharpening.
Second general rule-of-thumb-the more inexpensive the sharpener, the worse it will probably be for your knives. Do not think you can save gobs of dough by buying a $ 20 pull-the knife-through hand sharpener and still keep your knives in tip-top shape for years to come. They will not last that long. Inexpensive sharpeners tend to grind off more metal than is necessary, thereby shortening the life of your knives. If you really really must sharpen your own, be prepared to pay $ 100 dollars and up for a decent system.
4) You do not really enjoy sharpening. Life is short. Have you ever heard that saying, "At the grinding wheel?" There's a reason it means what it means. If you do not enjoy grinding down metal in the first place, it's only going to get more and more tedious, not less.
5) Professional sharpening services are plentiful and affordable . There are a number of top-notch professional sharpeners you can find to mail your knives to that are only a mouse-click away. Really. And they're not that expensive. A package of two 8-inch chef knives and two 4-inch paring knives, including shipping, could run as little a $ 33.
There you have it! Five good reasons. Of course, life is complicated – because there are also five good reasons why you should sharpen you own kitchen knives. (Although they do not hold much water for me .) But that's another article …