A knife block is a storage device for knives. It has small rectangle spaces to fill in the knives. Most knife blocks are made of wood. This technology is efficient because you can identify blades quickly but has some cons. For example, ordinary knife blocks are dulling your blades each time the sliding process takes place. It takes about 70 slides for the blade to lose its edge. A self-sharpening knife block is the type of technology that increases the degree of sharpness every time you slide out your blade to use it. This helps blades maintain their quality for longer.
So, how does it work?
The angled slots in a knife block are lined with ceramic. Ceramic is a very hard material and can only be sharpened by diamond. With every drawing, the knife “bruises” along the ceramic noise to refine the edge. The knives do get sharp with each pull but it takes some time and effort to remove the chipping.
A self-sharpening block offers other advantages:
Easy handling
This device for slotting knives is easy to use because it has been labeled which type of knife enters the slot. This saves time on the choice of knife and reduces stress levels as you prepare your meal.
Lifetime maintenance
A sharp blade is easy to use and reduces the chances of slipping and causing injury. Also, a self-sharpening block carries the warranty of maintaining your blade for ten to five years. This can be cheap and convenient for someone who doesn’t like wasting resources. If you would like to understand the value of this technology, you should know that it replaces honing steel.
Cons
Like all good things, the self-sharpening block also comes with some disadvantages, chief of which is the chipping away of the steel with every draw.
Understand that every moment you draw a blade, a piece of steel chips away. It’s as simple as that. A self-sharpening knife block doesn’t give you the choice of sharpening. It trumps in automaticity. This is can punish your knives as they will lose steel when it is not necessary to do so. This will hurt because not every time a knife needs sharpening. All that needs to be done is to re-align the edge. Honing steel performs this function perfectly.
In the same line of thought, you can measure the amount of steel dust bypassing your index finger over the blade. Imagine what happens every time your draw a blade from a self-sharpening block. Remember, that you will have to wash the knife before use. This is worth mentioning as it may contaminate the ingredients to be prepared.