Living with knife-ignorant people

[Thorgrim]

As others have mentioned, a big question is what THEIR use preferences are. Do they enjoy using properly sharp knives, or do they have bad habits that will make the knives more of a detriment than a benefit? If the former, get yourself a good coarse stone and use it for making the sharpening fast and easy, and consider the work an act of love without expectation that it be appreciated beyond the fact that you restored their baseline function. My family has gradually learned over the years that certain materials damage edges, so they take less damage than they used to, but also I told them not to worry about it too much 'cause I don't want the improved state to be an annoyance rather than a pleasant gift. If they dull, I just sharpen 'em up again when I notice it. Be sure to only gift blades you aren't gonna' be upset about getting beaten up, and be happy when you see them dull because it means they were being used.

We have a good dozen cutting "surfaces" (some are very thin plastic), what I haven't seen is a good cutting block made of end-grain hardwood. Those have worked for me in the past.

Actually, I misspoke - except for the teenager, the 55 year-old Mom and her mid-30's son both profess to be able to sharpen - I suspect they're just too lazy to do so. I have an almost identical "hand" to sharpening the kitchen knives as their late mother/grandmother, but being just a live-in BIL I can't get by with scolding them for incorrectly using a knife. The shame is that although the son is a decent cook and his mom is OK if it's grub or a casserole, they both hate to cook as they've made it a duty instead of a pleasure. I could take some load off of them as I'm a more than decent cook myself and could give them a change of scenery menu-wise, but by the time I can clear off room to do prep (any flat surface uncovered here is instantly converted to storage) and sharpen one or two of the froes they use as knives, my shitty back is busted and I can't finish preparing the meal.

I've tried teaching them how to quickly sharpen a kitchen knife (and hear "yeah, year, I know that") and how to cut without ruining the blade ("yeah, yeah, I know that, too), but that's about as hard as I can press them and preserve harmony in the house. You can lead a horse to water ...

I guess I just wanted to grouse about people abusing blades for no good reason. I'd love to be able to go into the kitchen, pick up a sharp knife out of the nice but abused knife rack in the drawer, and make something to eat without having to start at square one.

 

[highcoast56]

I get pretty much all of those reactions from my family members, word for word. I also get "hey, gimme your knife. I need to open this thing" just as often...

When i get that I always just do the cutting for them. I never trust someone with my knives haha...

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

We have a good dozen cutting "surfaces" (some are very thin plastic), what I haven't seen is a good cutting block made of end-grain hardwood. Those have worked for me in the past.

Actually, I misspoke - except for the teenager, the 55 year-old Mom and her mid-30's son both profess to be able to sharpen - I suspect they're just too lazy to do so. I have an almost identical "hand" to sharpening the kitchen knives as their late mother/grandmother, but being just a live-in BIL I can't get by with scolding them for incorrectly using a knife. The shame is that although the son is a decent cook and his mom is OK if it's grub or a casserole, they both hate to cook as they've made it a duty instead of a pleasure. I could take some load off of them as I'm a more than decent cook myself and could give them a change of scenery menu-wise, but by the time I can clear off room to do prep (any flat surface uncovered here is instantly converted to storage) and sharpen one or two of the froes they use as knives, my shitty back is busted and I can't finish preparing the meal.

I've tried teaching them how to quickly sharpen a kitchen knife (and hear "yeah, year, I know that") and how to cut without ruining the blade ("yeah, yeah, I know that, too), but that's about as hard as I can press them and preserve harmony in the house. You can lead a horse to water ...

I guess I just wanted to grouse about people abusing blades for no good reason. I'd love to be able to go into the kitchen, pick up a sharp knife out of the nice but abused knife rack in the drawer, and make something to eat without having to start at square one.

What I find works well for those purposes is to have a knife or two that are designated as "the good knives" that are kept separate from the general use knives. You just tell 'em to only use 'em in a "break glass in case of emergency" situation so they're not the first line of defense they go to for general knife use. The "special" knives are only to be used if you're willing to use them on a wooden or plastic cutting board, hand wash 'em, and put 'em away when you're done. If you aren't willing to do that, you don't use the good knives, you use one of the convenient knives. This greatly reduces the abuse they experience and makes their edge last much longer as a result, meaning you have less sharpening work to do since it's limited to those good knives and the wear on them is less.