Kitchen Knives Q+A: Can Kitchen Knives Be Too Sharp?

Every week we get loads of questions about, you guessed it, kitchen knives. Of course, we love to talk kitchen knives, which means we don’t mind going in depth about the ins and outs of each knife we make (and why we’re convinced they really are the best knives in the world). We also know, however, that not all of you have the time to call us and then hear us go on and on about our rather sharp love affair, which is why we’ll save you the time by answering some of your top kitchen knife questions right here on our blog.

First up, the always asked and still regularly debated in online forums question: Can kitchen knives be too sharp?

Great question!

But, before we answer, let’s go over another important and equally relevant topic: Why is it important for kitchen knives to be sharp?

1. When your knife is sharp, you actually decrease the risk of injury because the knife moves more smoothly through whatever you’re cutting. A lot of accidents in the kitchen actually come from using knives that are too dull - not too sharp.

2. The sharper your knives are, the better everything you create in your kitchen comes out. From that cut of meat to those diced onions, sharp knives keep your food looking good. Sure, we’ll still eat food if all it does is smell good, but how much better is the experience when your food looks and smells good? 

3. Cutting with a sharp kitchen knife is just way more fun! You can move more quickly and, oh, you get that incredible “chop, chop, chop” sound that chefs are addicted to.

So, now that that’s cleared up (i.e. you definitely don’t want dull kitchen knives), we can get back to the question: Can kitchen knives be too sharp?

The easy answer to this is no. Kitchen knives are meant to be sharp and the sharper they are, the better they work. Of course, if you are brand new in the kitchen, an incredibly sharp knife could lead to serious injury. There is definitely a bit of a sweet spot for most chefs when it comes to the sharpness of their knives - not as sharp as physically possible, but definitely more sharp than dull.

The more you get familiar with using knives, the more you’ll learn how you like your knives to feel and, most importantly, what you should be expecting from each type of knife. One of the most frustrating things that happens in the kitchen (aside from not being able to find the spices you need) is picking up a knife, knowing how to use it, and then being left disappointed with how it performs.

Want to never be disappointed with knife performance in the kitchen?

Yep, Schmidt Brothers Cutlery has the kitchen knives you’ve been looking for. (Go on, take a look!)