Care of Knives

Every Dexter product is designed to exceed the performance expectations of the end user. Each product is individually heat treated, and given the blade and edge geometry that has been perfected for the task at hand. From knives and turners to sandwich spreaders and spatulas, the professional user is always the focus of our efforts.

The performance of these superior products can be diminished, however, if they are not cared for properly. The cleaning and care of Dexter's products is critical to their long term performance. We recommend adherence to the following guidelines to maximize the performance of Dexter products:

  1. Cutlery should be hand washed in mild to medium strength detergent and towel-dried.
  2. Knives should not be placed in automatic dishwashers. The blade edges will be dulled from rubbing against each other, and caustic detergents will cause staining and pitting of the blade. For wood-handled products, heat and detergents cause the natural oils and pigments to be drawn out of the wood, resulting in the handle fading and splitting.
  3. Cutlery should not be soaked for long periods or submerged for cleaning. If a user insists on soaking cutlery in soap, bleach, or chlorine, soaking should be kept to a minimum, the products rinsed thoroughly and dried immediately.
  4. Knives of carbon steel should be washed and dried immediately after use to prevent rusting.

Chlorine and bleach products discolor and pit stain-free and high-carbon steel. If chlorine or bleach products come in contact with the blade, they must be thoroughly rinsed off immediately.

When cutlery is left to soak in aluminum pans or stainless steel sinks, Galvanic action, the transfer of electrons from one metal to another, may occur. Galvanic action may cause pitting on cutlery blades. To prevent it, avoid long periods of soaking, and remove cutlery from condiments such as mayonnaise when they are kept in aluminum or stainless steel pans.

Only frequent and prompt cleaning of cutlery after each use with non-caustic solutions and prompt towel drying will ensure the performance and beauty of Dexter's superior products.

Knife Guards

Side Guard - Protects the fingers along the side of the handle.
Bottom Guard- Protects the fingers along the bottom of the handle and stops the knife from pinching fingers between the knife handle and the cutting surface.
Combination Guard- Protects the fingers along the side and bottom of the handle.

How To Use A Sharpening Steel

For efficient performance always keep your Dexter-Russell knives sharp. Remember, a dull knife can be dangerous. Keep all knives in a rack or block to prevent direct contact with each other or other hard objects. Don’t toss them in a drawer or use to open cans, remove jar and bottle caps or cut string, cones, metal, or paper. Always use a cutting board or proper cutting surface when chopping, slicing, or mincing…never cut on metal, glass, or porcelain.

Kitchen knives demand constant inspection for efficient performance.  A fine cutting edge made from the best steel and the finest manufacturing know-how will turn its edge if used on a hard surface.
Ordinary slicing of meat will dull a good edge.  However, this doesn’t mean that the knife requires re-sharpening.  A few light strokes on a butcher’s steel will reset the edge and restore the knife’s keenness.  Eventually this keen edge wears off and the use of a steel will not restore it.  The knife must then be reground.

Careful grinding with a quality hand or motor-driven grinding wheel may be employed.  It is of extreme importance, when grinding, not to overheat the blade, as excessive heat will draw the temper, and the blade will no longer hold its edge.  A wet grindstone is the best possible protection against overheating.  A good lubricated stone can be used when steeling fails to bring the edge back.  With proper instructions, a person can become quite skilled at sharpening knives.

  1. Grasp the sharpening steel firmly with your left hand (if right handed), placing the thumb securely behind the guard.
  2. Place the heel of the blade against the steel at a 90° angle.
  3. While keeping the cutting edge against the steel, raise the back of the blade approximately 1/4" off the steel - or at 20°.
  4. Try to maintain this angle and apply constant, moderate pressure as you draw the blade smoothly across and down the full length of the steel in one continuous motion until the blade tip completes the stroke by passing off the steel near the guard.
  5. Repeat for the other side of the blade, only this time under the steel.

Basic Knives And Their Uses

Paring Knife
Four styles of paring knives are most common…curved, spear, sharp, and clip point.  Delicate pepper rings finely sliced or slivered olives or cherries, can be done with a curved or sharp point paring knife to dress up fancy salads.  A cook’s paring, or spear point knife, can be used to remove corn from the cob, break up heads of lettuce or cabbage, peel fruit or vegetables, cut beans, etc.  The clip point is used for eyeing potatoes, seeding, peeling, and pitting.

Utility Knife
A sharp 6” utility knife is most efficient for slicing non-solid fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes or squash.  For acid fruits, a stainless steel blade is preferred.  Useful for cutting large melon rings, cutting heads of lettuce into wedges, preparing cabbage for shredding, halving grapefruits and oranges, etc.

Boning Knife
Blades vary in length from 4” to 8”.  Many cooks simplify carving and get extra servings by boning out a roast when it is partially cooked.  For boning roasts, whole hams, lamb legs, veal legs, and filleting fish, a narrow flexible blade is best.  The wider stiff blade is used for cutting raw meat and many other trimming operations on less thick cuts of meat.

Butcher, Cimeter Steak Knife and Cleaver
For the odd jobs in the kitchen, the butcher and cimeter steak knives can be used for dicing salt pork, cubing cooled meats, cutting steaks or trimming raw meat.  Many cooks substitute the favorite forged cook’s knife for jobs normally done with these knives.  The cleaver is used for opening lobsters, cutting poultry and joints.

Cook’s Knife
Available in lengths for 6” to 12”, this knife has more uses than any other one knife in the kitchen.  The blade is wide at the handle and tapers to a point.  Deep choil protects knuckles when dicing or mincing celery, onions, nut meats, parsley, peppers, etc.  When properly used, the chef positions the point of the knife on the cutting board beyond the food to be diced or sliced and, without lifting the point, works the knife in a rocking motion to cut evenly and rapidly.  Used for carving hot roasts also.  The blade may be forged or not forged.

Slicers and Carvers
The most important carving knife is the roast beef slicer, most often used to carve rounds, boneless roasts, boiled briskets, pot roasts, butt roasts, and standing rib roasts.  The narrow cold meat slicer or ham slicer is used to slice ham or leftover cold roasts of all kinds.  The wide, stiff blade does a better job on hot meats, whereas the narrow, more flexible blade cuts cold meat more efficiently.  Although there are many patterns to select from, a slicer or carver should have adequate length to permit smooth slicing action.

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