Bless their little pea pickin' hearts...

[Michael Mills]

This ever happen to you?
You want a nice ‘mater sandwich for lunch. You try to slice it and you have to puncture the skin with the point just to start a cut. It winds up mushy and with juice all over the place.
Of course your bride won’t let you sharpen the knives because she might cut herself.
The compromise. Select two (of the eight) and sharpen them to your standards (Wilkinson comes to mind). Take the little bungee things for your grand daughters ponytails and wrap them around the handles so they can’t me missed.

Life is again harmonious.

[Mark Engel]

Sharp is always safer than dull.

[John Pratt]

More people have been cut or hurt by dull knives than sharp ones. Dull knives take to much pressure to function. However, there is such a thing as too sharp. I remember a summer job working in a meat packing plant where the knives were so sharp that they would actually fall through the meat when cutting and were actually too sharp to function properly.

[Jim Rimmer]

Have you tried resawing on your BS? :p However, the acid might not be so good to the tabletop. :eek:

[Brett Baldwin]

If your wife is scared of cutting herself with sharper knives, suggest to her that the handle might be the better place to pick it up by.

Don't forget to duck. :)

[David G Baker]

Do a search on the net for Rada cutlery. Rada makes the best knives I have ever used. I have a couple of the tomato slicing knives that I use for cutting fruits and vegetables that need sliced. I use their bread knife for cutting melons.

[Jim Koepke]

I have my knife and my wife has hers. She did complain once when I sharpened the knives. Later she said it was because she didn't know they had been sharpened.

She usually uses a serrated knife for slicing tomatoes. She can make a real mess of them at times.

I almost always sharpen my knife just before cutting tomatoes. Able to slice right through them with thin or thick slices as wanted.

My feeling is a dull knife is much more likely to slip instead of cut.

jtk

[Jim Becker]

I like keeping our Global knives as sharp as possible and I do that frequently. I do a large part of the cooking and I absolutely hate dull knives. Not only do they mess up certain kinds of cutting, but as already stated in the thread, they are more dangerous due to their increased propensity to slip since more effort is required to cut.

And there is nothing like a really sharp knife when it comes to slicing tomatoes!!

[Mike Wilkins]

My wife used to cut herself each and every time I sharpened the kitchen knifes. Now I just don't let her know when I sharpen them.
Nothing like a fresh 'mater samich with mayo. Wonder if folks up North know anything about this.

[Bonnie Campbell]

It's not a good 'mater sammich unless you need to stand over the sink eating it LOL

[Brian Elfert]

My only problem with decent knifes is the cost of them. A good set of knives can be well north of $100. The $30 set from a discount store is almost always serrated which means you really can't sharpen them.

So far I haven't been able to justify the cost of a good set of knives even though I grumble any time I have to use my knifes a lot.

[Michael Mills]

I only brought it up because a few weeks ago the guys were talking and the subject came up. Three of four had the same situation. One stated he gave up and just went out and got his Rapala fish fillet knife as needed.
But today, I go into the kitchen and my bride is cutting up a watermelon with a “sharp” knife. ;) She said it was a lot easier. I just smiled (to myself) but reminded her to not place it in the sink or dishwasher.
Our knives are not expensive either but they can be made razor sharp quickly.

[Rod Sheridan]

My wife used to cut herself each and every time I sharpened the kitchen knifes. Now I just don't let her know when I sharpen them.
Nothing like a fresh 'mater samich with mayo. Wonder if folks up North know anything about this.

Absolutely Mike, however the mayonnaise is a regional taste item in my opinion.

Nice bread, butter, some fresh ground black pepper and a tiny bit of salt..................Boy, now I wish had one!.

Regards, Rod.

P.S. On the regional issue, I'm a tea drinker, and often drink Earl Grey, black of course.

This week I'm in Virginia on business, twice I've ordered tea, and received iced tea, followed by "Oh, you mean hot tea?"..................Like I said regional.

[Belinda Barfield]

Absolutely Mike, however the mayonnaise is a regional taste item in my opinion.

Nice bread, butter, some fresh ground black pepper and a tiny bit of salt..................Boy, now I wish had one!.

Regards, Rod.

P.S. On the regional issue, I'm a tea drinker, and often drink Earl Grey, black of course.

This week I'm in Virginia on business, twice I've ordered tea, and received iced tea, followed by "Oh, you mean hot tea?"..................Like I said regional.

Butter? Hmmm . . . never tried that one, but then I don't really like 'mater sammichs. If I do have one I prefer my aunt's homemade mayo on it. Pineapple sammiches - now that's another thing.

Sharp knives - a necessity. I can't remember the last time I cut myself with a knife. Of course, having made that statement I'm sure I'll do so today. My mother has the sharpest knives of anyone I know. It never fails if I pick up a knife in her kitchen she says "Watch out now, that knife is sharp." She's been telling me this for about 30 years now. Maybe she thinks I'm just slow to understand such things. LOL

Completely unrelated to anything other than Rod's tea comment - Rod, I have a cat named Earline. When she was a kitten and I thiought she was male I named her Earl Grey after my favorite tea.

[Jim Koepke]

My only problem with decent knifes is the cost of them. A good set of knives can be well north of $100.

A good set? My wife and I spent well over $100 just for two knives. 15 years later, we still think it was worth it.

I do have a couple of paring knives I use all the time that were much less expensive. There is also an occasional use of the old kitchen knife I bought for about $10 back in the late '60s.

One can buy a quality knife for under $50. If the quality was the only consideration, then that would be the end of it.

Other things to consider is the balance and feel. I have had some knives that just do not have the right feel in my hand and using them to chop vegetables would leave sore hands after any serious kitchen time.

Some handles just do not fit my fingers and actually cause blisters with continued use.

If there are kids or others in the house who do not take washing things seriously, then stainless steel is important. Most of my carbon steel blades ended up rusted because the kids or wife wouldn't wash after use or wipe them dry after washing.

jtk

[Ole Anderson]

Sharp is always safer than dull.

and "More people have been cut or hurt by dull knives than sharp ones."

I keep hearing that and wonder if it isn't one of those sayings that kind of makes sense, but doesn't? Any facts to support those sayings? Might be a good topic for the MythBusters. I have cut myself plenty of times with a sharp knife, but hardly ever with a dull one. Maybe I am knife challenged. Maybe it cuze I'm not a 'mater sammich fan.

Oh, but for cutting fresh bread, I use one of those wooden bow bread knives that uses a commercial power bread slicer blade. Works great.

[Eric DeSilva]

Absolutely Mike, however the mayonnaise is a regional taste item in my opinion.

Nice bread, butter, some fresh ground black pepper and a tiny bit of salt..................Boy, now I wish had one!.

I'm OK with the mayo, myself. As long as it is also garnished with bacon and lettuce.