How quickly will a dishwasher ruin a good chef's knife?

A

AlecWire

Joined
Nov 17, 2001
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I have a Wusthof Five-star 8-inch chef's knife, and my roommate ran it through the dishwasher. I know the heat from a dishwasher can take the temper out of steel, I'm just unclear on whether it's one cycle - kaput or whether the knife isn't completely ruined. Ruined = he's buying me a new one.

Any help?
 
Dishwasher temperatures are 140-180F. In contrast a really low temper on a knife is 325F so the heat isn't a problem. The major problem with a dishwasher is the corrosion.

-Cliff
 
It will hurt the fancy wooden handles on many of them, and if they are sharp, knocking around against other knives and silverware in the waterjets can nick the edges.
 
AlecWire said:
I have a Wusthof Five-star 8-inch chef's knife, and my roommate ran it through the dishwasher. I know the heat from a dishwasher can take the temper out of steel, I'm just unclear on whether it's one cycle - kaput or whether the knife isn't completely ruined. Ruined = he's buying me a new one.

Any help?
Click to expand...

Dishwashers mess up the wood handles. Still need figure what to do with the rosewood handled knives my wife put in the dishwasher.

I also don't like to have knives in the dishwasher with other hard objects. Tends to mess up the nice edge.
 
I personally don't think running a good stainless kitchen knife through the dishwasher once in a while is that big a deal. I think the problem is that if there is other hard stuff in there that gets jostled around it can nick the edge. Kitchen knives are so easy to clean that there shouldn't be much of a reason to put them in the washer i.e. not all sticky with dough and batter, etc. Just a little squirt of soap and hit it with a sponge. (though I've put them through enough myself ;) )

I know that dishwashers are hard on wood handled knives (cheapies) and I wouldn't think that carbon steel would do so well although if you took it out right away it might be okay. As much as I like carbon steel, its stainless only for the kitchen.
 
As mentioned above, the heat won't kill the temper.

But it will wreck havok with stabilitized wood and the epoxy holding it together.

My mom put the full custom santoku I gave her in the dishwasher.

It's never been the same since.

-j
 
Long-term, the corrosion could be a problem, as could incidental contact with other objects in the dishwasher. Short-term, the occasional run in a dishwasher shouldn't be too problematic, but only if it's stainless steel with a plastic handle (and the plastic is heat resistant.) Just remember that the edge is the first thing to show the signs of corrosion, and if you're using one of the "never needs sharpening" knives with fine serrations, this phenomenon can significantly reduce the lifetime of your knife.
 
it's worth noting that the stuff dishwashers use to clean things is very harsh on steel anyway even if the edge doesn't come into contact with other things. If you think what glass goes like over time then think that the knife edge will go like that far quicker
 
Andy_L said:
it's worth noting that the stuff dishwashers use to clean things is very harsh on steel anyway even if the edge doesn't come into contact with other things. If you think what glass goes like over time then think that the knife edge will go like that far quicker
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Good point. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks.
 
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