Did you know you could be embarrassed by your knives? It’s true. Three years ago, Alisa and Erin came over to cook paella at my house, and they were both horrified – truly horrified – at the extreme dullness of virtually all of my knives.
What’s that? I should have sharpened them…ever?
Please, that would be far too responsible of me.
You’ll notice that I said “a couple of years ago” in that first paragraph. Which I’m sure begs the question: “Of course you’ve sharpened them in the 36 intervening months though…right?”
Please.
Here, because I’m certain you’re wondering, is my problem with sharpening knives. The pole-type thingy that my dad is always trying to get me to use is terrifying. The drag-through countertop thingy doesn’t work. And sometimes (in pre-Covid days, anyhow), I’d be wandering through some Farmer’s Market and see someone with a knife sharpening stand offering to sharpen your knives while you shop, and I’d always think, “Well isn’t THAT a lovely idea,” and then, immediately afterwards, “…and who, exactly, is it that’s toting their dull knives along to the Farmer’s Market?”
TL;DR: My knives are awful, and despite the fact that dull knives make cooking both far more difficult and exponentially less safe, I am too lazy to do anything about it.
Until! (You knew that was coming.) I was introduced by a friend to the company Knife Aid, and – this is not an ad, although I did get to try out the service gratis (with no guarantee of posting) – it is the actual solution for all my sad-knife problems. They’re a mail-in sharpening service that removes virtually every excuse you have for not getting your knives sharpened – you just pack off your knives to them, and they do the rest.
How Knife Aid Works: You get your envelope in the mail, wrap up your knives (and/or scissors!) in the super-safe packaging, and stick it back in your mailbox (postage is pre-paid). Within 4-7 days, you have your knives back (again in super-safe packaging), all sharper than the day you got them – guaranteed. And yes, you can get serrated knives sharpened as well – they have techniques for every type of blade, and can even repair dings and broken tips.
What’s It Cost? $59 for 4 knives, with less cost-per-knife the more knives you send in for sharpening.
Verdict: It wasn’t until I got my knives back that I realized just how terrible they’d been – the difference is ridiculous. Beyond the safety factor (dull knives = slippage = cuts), it’s so much more fun to cook with knives that actually…you know…cut.
Check out Knife Aid here.
