Paring Knife
Don't Use That Kitchen Knife Until you Know
When using a kitchen knife, or any sharp object, remember to put safety first. Although it sounds obvious don’t run around with a Sharp Knife in your hand, don’t point a knife at anyone and always cut away from yourself not towards yourself. Also, don’t use your finger to see how sharp the blade is. Yes, I know some of you reading this article have been guilty of this at least once and have found out that the edge of the knife was indeed very sharp because you cut yourself on it!
Another important safety tip is to never use the knife for other than its intended purpose. No, a sharp kitchen knife should not be used as a makeshift screwdriver or as a device to try and pry open a locked door that you can’t find the key for. Nor should it be used to pry apart a stack of frozen hamburger patties. You could easily cut yourself if the knife slips and you are also in danger of breaking the tip of your knife off. Also, don’t use your kitchen knives to cut the tops off plastic jugs or to cut cardboard boxes unless you want to almost instantly dull your knife. Use a scissors or Utility Knife for those jobs.
When you buy a kitchen knife you get what you pay for so invest in the best quality knives you can afford and buy them from a reputable dealer. A fully forged carbon knife is the highest quality knife you can buy. High carbon Stainless Steel knives are also pretty good. Regular stainless steel knives aren’t as good and won’t last you as long but any knife will last longer if you take care of it properly (and most people don’t care for their knives the way they should). What should you do to properly maintain your knives? Below is a list of 6 important knife care tips.
1) Never ever, and I repeat NEVER, put your knives in the dishwasher. The harsh chemicals from your dishwasher detergent will pit your knives and the dry cycle will also damage your knives. In addition, if the sharp edges of your knives bump up against anything else, like your plates, it will damage and dull your knives. Instead, as soon as possible after using your knives, wash them by hand with a mild detergent and hand dry them. Don’t allow the knives to drip dry because moisture will dull your knives and will damage the wood handles of knives.
2) Always use a cutting board. Don’t cut on your countertop. Not only is cutting on your countertop bad for your countertop, it’s bad for the blade of your knife too. And never use a Glass Cutting board. Glass Cutting Boards may be pretty but they are also pretty horrible for a knife. It’s a quick way to dull and ruin a knife.
3) Regularly use a honing steel to maintain the edges on your knives, but learn how to use the honing steel properly. To learn the right technique, ask the dealer where you buy your knives to sell you a good honing steel and to also show you how to use it.
4) Have your knives professionally sharpened. Although there are lots of knife sharpeners available for in-home use, I don’t recommend using them. It’s too easy to permanently damage your knife. Instead use your honing steel regularly and take your knives to a professional for sharpening a few times a year. If you take care of your knives properly you won’t need to get your knives sharpened more than a few times a year depending on how much you use your knives.
5) Don’t store your knives in a drawer with lots of metal objects, such as your kitchen utensil drawer. The edges of your knives will get banged against the other metal things, damaging and dulling the edges of your knives. You can still store your knives in a drawer, but don’t have that drawer crowded full of other items. Just keep your knives in that drawer. Another option is to use a Wood Block to store your knives.
6) Use the correct knife for the task at hand. Don’t use your Serrated Bread knife for chopping and dicing. Don’t use your Boning Knife to slice your bread. Instead, use a chef’s knife (also called a cook’s knife or a French knife for chopping, slicing and dicing. Use a paring knife for peeling and trimming, and for cutting and slicing small items. A utility knife is great for slicing meat and cheese. A boning knife is for cutting meat and poultry. A Fillet Knife is a great for cutting fish. And, as you would expect, a bread knife’s best use is cutting bread.
With proper use and care, your knives will last you a long time and will help make your kitchen cutting tasks easier and more enjoyable.
Add a Dynamic Design Accent to Your Home with the Right Staircase
Stairways are a wonderful thing. They suggest a path to things unseen, hidden destinations, secret lives. If you have a multistory home or are planning to build one, take a few minutes to think about the stairs. By choosing to include a beautiful stairway instead of a mundane one, you can change your home atmosphere from ordinary to extraordinary. Whether you choose filigreed iron, steel, glass, or traditional hardwood, the right stairway for your home can serve as a compelling design accent, the focal point of a room, at once utilitarian and beautiful.
If you have an urban industrial loft, you may be thinking of taking one large, high-ceiling room and creating a number of living environments on different levels. If so, you'll be incorporating a bunch of staircases. You may even be lucky enough to have an existing industrial staircase made of rugged steel. If so, you have a decision to make. Are you aiming for a high-tech industrial look, with stainless steel commercial kitchen appliances and exposed electrical and plumbing elements on the ceiling? Then your steel staircase fits right in. If you're looking to emphasis natural colors and textures, however, a sort of Zen retreat, you might want to incorporate the natural beauty of hardwood stairs into your design. A straight, sturdy staircase leading to the upper levels can make a powerful statement; a curving stairway winding around the center of your loft adds elegance and a feeling of flow to your environment.
Historical homes, particularly in the eastern U.S., almost demand the inclusion of hardwood stairs. Your antique home may have a staircase in need of repair, or the existing staircase may need replacing. Either way, you'll need the services of a company specializing in custom-designed staircases. In fact, whether you're creating your own unique home or restoring an antique home, custom designed and built staircases are a must because of the exacting nature of the measurements required.
When you go looking for a company to build your staircase for you, make sure you choose a firm with an experienced staff of designers. A designer should be willing to visit the site, take the appropriate measurements, and present you with design suggestions and advice on materials and costs, as well as troubleshoot the site and the design for possible problems.
They also should be willing to supply you with detailed photographs of their work for other clients. Who knows? You may find inspiration in these photos and use them as a jumping off point for your own creative ideas.
About the Author
Smith Chen is an author and internet marketing consultant .
Find more about Kitchen ShareWebs and Kitchen Remodeling Design
What material does Wusthof use for their knives?
i have Wusthof Grand Prix II chef and paring knife and i also have a classic santoku. what type of metal does wusthof use to make these knives?
X50CrMoV15 - German steel. Very stain resistant. Other than that not much to speak of. The cryptic X50CrMoV15 stands for 0.5% carbon, the other 15% is composed of 14% or 14.5% of Cr, some Mo and V.
More on knife steels - http://zknives.com/knives/articles/knifesteelfaq.shtml
Kitchen knives steels - http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/articles/kkchoser/kksteelp2.shtml
High Carbon in knifemaking refers to any steel with 0.5% or more Carbon in it. Which is very low, especially for today's standards.
Better steels today have above 1% of carbon in them...
 |
 144 Kitchen knife 7 inches $175.99 Time Remaining: 29m Buy It Now for only: $175.99 |
 24 Kitchen knife 7 inches $52.99 Time Remaining: 30m Buy It Now for only: $52.99 |
 48 Kitchen knife 7 inches $79.99 Time Remaining: 30m Buy It Now for only: $79.99 |
 72 Kitchen knife 7 inches $93.99 Time Remaining: 30m Buy It Now for only: $93.99 |
 96 Kitchen knife 7 inches $120.99 Time Remaining: 30m Buy It Now for only: $120.99 |
 Zwilling JA Henckels Four Star II Serrated Utility Knife HE032 $17.49 (4 Bids) Time Remaining: 30m |
 BergHOFF FORGED 8 PCS KNIFE BLOCK CUTLERY SET 425 Value BRAND NEW $179.85 Time Remaining: 31m Buy It Now for only: $179.85 |
 Rada Slicer Knife Black Handle W207 Kitchen Meat NEW $6.99 Time Remaining: 32m Buy It Now for only: $6.99 |
 Schulte Ufer Stainless Steel Knife Set $24.70 Time Remaining: 35m Buy It Now for only: $27.20 |
 15 knife RARE knife $9.99 Time Remaining: 35m |
 Boska Holland Shoe Wooden Party Pick Set 853705 $16.99 Time Remaining: 37m Buy It Now for only: $16.99 |
 CUISINART 8 Piece Cutlery KNIFE KNIVES Set Black 6888 $68.88 Time Remaining: 38m Buy It Now for only: $68.88 |
 Norpro 116 Stainless Steel Grip EZ Clam Oyster Knife $9.50 Time Remaining: 39m Buy It Now for only: $9.50 |
 Towle Marchesa Round Bowl Soup Spoon Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery JAPAN $4.95 Time Remaining: 39m Buy It Now for only: $4.95 |
 Solid Bamboo Butcher Block SKU90031 $75.00 Time Remaining: 40m Buy It Now for only: $75.00 |
 MAXAM 8 PIECE CUTLERY SET PRE OWNEDBUT NEVER USED $10.00 Time Remaining: 41m |
 Practical Kitchen Knives 7 PCS +Block Set NEW $18.75 Time Remaining: 41m |
 Solid Bamboo Oval Serving Board $50.00 Time Remaining: 42m Buy It Now for only: $50.00 |
 SHUN KAJI 6 ULTIMATE UTILITY KNIFE NEW IN BOX $144.99 Time Remaining: 44m Buy It Now for only: $144.99 |
 Berlin Kuche 4 Piece Steak Knives Set GERMAN DESIGN NIP $24.98 Time Remaining: 45m Buy It Now for only: $24.98 |
 Close to New Misono UX10 Slicer Sujihiki 95 Great Condition Nennox Shun G $249.99 Time Remaining: 45m |
 Towle Marchesa 6 Dessert Salad Fork 3 Tine Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery $9.95 Time Remaining: 45m Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 SET 3 HOFFRITZ CHEF KNIVES PLATINUM SERIES STAINLESS $75.00 Time Remaining: 46m Buy It Now for only: $75.00 |
 Towle Marchesa Sugar Shell Spoon Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery 18 8 JAPAN $2.95 Time Remaining: 47m Buy It Now for only: $2.95 |
 Towle Marchesa Dinner Fork Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery 18 8 JAPAN $21.95 Time Remaining: 53m Buy It Now for only: $21.95 |
 Towle Marchesa Teaspoon Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery 18 8 JAPAN $10.95 Time Remaining: 55m Buy It Now for only: $10.95 |
 Towle Marchesa Cold Meat Serving Fork Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery 18 8 $29.95 Time Remaining: 56m Buy It Now for only: $29.95 |
 Towle Marchesa Solid Serving Spoon Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery 18 8 $29.95 Time Remaining: 58m Buy It Now for only: $29.95 |
 Lansky lm009 Universal Pedestal Mount for Sharpening Systems $26.47 Time Remaining: 59m Buy It Now for only: $26.47 |
 FWTKPK01 3 in Paring Knife $20.72 Time Remaining: 59m Buy It Now for only: $20.72 |
 Towle Marchesa Gravy Sauce Ladle Stainless Flatware Supreme Cutlery 18 8 JAPAN $29.95 Time Remaining: 1h Buy It Now for only: $29.95 |
 Kitchen Knife Forged 7 Stainless Steel Santoku Knife $21.88 (21 Bids) Time Remaining: 1h 1m |
 Henckels Twin Cuisine 4 PC Steak Knife Set $105.00 Time Remaining: 1h 5m Buy It Now for only: $105.00 |
 Firestone Diamond Stone Electric Sharpener Plain Serrated Edge FS1953 NEW $79.89 Time Remaining: 1h 14m Buy It Now for only: $79.89 |
 Cutco Knife HONING STONE SHARPENER VINTAGE $9.99 Time Remaining: 1h 16m |
 Used Santoku Kitchen Knife $0.99 Time Remaining: 1h 19m |
 DEXTER 32910 KNIFE 10 BLADE SOUTHRIDGE MASS BUTCHER KNIVES USA HIGH CARBON $36.09 (13 Bids) Time Remaining: 1h 19m |
 Top Chef 5pc Santoku Knife Set $64.99 Time Remaining: 1h 23m |
 Victorinox Sandwich Spreader Wood Handle 40400 $12.99 Time Remaining: 1h 24m Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 4 PC FARBERWARE STEAK KNIFE SET $5.95 Time Remaining: 1h 28m |
 K sabatier knife HIGH CARBON KNIFE 12 1 2 KITCHEN CHEF KNIVES 3 RIVETS FRANCE $24.50 (7 Bids) Time Remaining: 1h 29m |
 New Shun Classic 6 Chef Knife DM0723 5 6 Japan Kochmesser DM 0723 Kai Kershaw $124.95 Time Remaining: 1h 30m Buy It Now for only: $124.95 |
 Thiers steak Knives Set of 6 in a wooden box $50.00 Time Remaining: 1h 30m |
 Regent Sheffield large kitchen chefs knife nice quality $5.00 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 1h 31m |
 Rada Serrated Steak Knife Set 4 Knives G24S USA Cutlery $18.99 Time Remaining: 1h 34m Buy It Now for only: $18.99 |
 Large JA Henckels Twinworks Friodur 14 Knife Solingen Germany 314 14 $39.99 Time Remaining: 1h 34m Buy It Now for only: $39.99 |
 CANADA CUTLERY TOTE AND ICEL KNIFE SPATULA WHISKSPOONSSPATULAS MEASURING SPON $17.95 Time Remaining: 1h 37m Buy It Now for only: $19.95 |
 Rada Cutlery S7s Gift Set 8pc Steak BBQ Knife set $43.00 Time Remaining: 1h 39m Buy It Now for only: $43.00 |
 Zwilling JA Henckels Slicing Boning Bread Knives $9.99 Time Remaining: 1h 40m |
 Rada Steak Knife Set of 6 Knives G206 Black USA Cutlery $28.99 Time Remaining: 1h 40m Buy It Now for only: $28.99 |
 Dr Tech 3PCS 3 Paring +5 Utility +6 Chef Ceramic Knife Sets White Blade $39.99 Time Remaining: 1h 42m |
 KUTMASTER STAINLESS STEEL KINFE 2 SIDED ALL IN ONE KNIFE 13 TOTAL 8 BLADE $3.99 Time Remaining: 1h 43m |
 KitchenAid 3 Piece Chefs knife Set Brand New $30.99 Time Remaining: 1h 44m Buy It Now for only: $30.99 |
 Kitchen Cutlery Sagittarius Motif Stainless Steel Spoon $4.25 Time Remaining: 1h 44m Buy It Now for only: $4.25 |
 Ed Wusthof 8 Chefs Knife 4582 20cm $19.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 1h 46m |
 Brand New Cutco Soft Grip Cheese Knife 1504 $46.00 (5 Bids) Time Remaining: 1h 47m |
 Cutco 1720 paring knife used black $29.99 Time Remaining: 1h 47m Buy It Now for only: $45.00 |
"In Association with Amazon"
 |
Victorinox 40520 Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife List Price: Sale Price: $24.72 You save: $15.28 (38%)  |
 |
Totally Bamboo 20-7930 3-Piece Cutting Board Set Sale Price: $14.95 |
 |
Ginsu 04817 International Traditions 14-Piece Knife Set with Block, Natural List Price: Sale Price: $25.70 You save: $24.29 (49%) |
 |
Presto 08800 EverSharp electric knife sharpener List Price: Sale Price: $27.54 You save: $12.45 (31%) |
 |
Simply Calphalon Nonstick 6-Piece Bakeware Set List Price: Sale Price: $24.99 You save: $5.00 (17%) |
 |
Victorinox 47508 3-1/4-Inch Paring Knife List Price: Sale Price: $4.38 You save: $3.42 (44%) |
 |
Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB Prep 9 9-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless List Price: Sale Price: $118.99 You save: $171.01 (59%) |
 |
John Boos Mystery Oil Butcher Block Oil List Price: Sale Price: $6.95 You save: $8.00 (54%) |
 |
J.A. Henckels International Eversharp 8-Piece Steak Knife Set List Price: Sale Price: $24.99 You save: $35.01 (58%) |
 |
ChicagoCutlery Fusion 18-Piece Set including Honey Maple Wood Block List Price: Sale Price: $84.99 You save: $95.00 (53%) |
Thank You
We hope you found the
Paring Knife
you were looking for.