Sharp knife, chef's best friend

That is truth and nothing but the truth. Sharp knives are and always will be chef's most important tool. We decided to make some sushi for honor of Sunday, so had to prep a little in advance. I keep my knives usually sharp AF, i'm obsessed that way. I also am the one who sharpens everybody else's knives at work. Mainly because nobody else have no courage nor skill to use sharpening stone. But it's fine for me, i like the job.

^{Canon EOS 450D, Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, 1/15 f/5,6 135mm iso 100}

I prefer Japanese knives, mine are from Yaxell. There is nice cost-quality ration in them. With Japanese knives there is a few things to know and remember:

1. NEVER EVER drop them! Japanese knives are made from carbon steel so they are really hard, but also extremely fragile, because of carbon.
2. NEVER EVER put your knives in dishwasher! This concern all knives basically, because pressure of detergent water in dishwasher makes your knives dull, it is almost like abrasive blast for your knife. Also you shouldn't use chemicals to clean, hot water is usually enough.
3. NEVER EVER bend your Japanese knives! For the same reason you don't drop them, carbon makes steel hard, but if you compare it to stainless steel, carbon steel isn't flexible.
4. ALWAYS dry the knife after washing! You don't want to have rusty knife...
5. When sharpening your knives, use the right angle! For Japanese knives this is usually from 8-15° depending on knife. (compare to European knives the angle is approximately 20°)

^{Canon EOS 450D, Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, 1/20 f/5,6 135mm iso 400}

I like to use smallest angle possible to make edge of knife extremely thin, and therefore sharp AF. In the video I use sharpening stone 1000/3000. It's enough for basic use, if you need to go extreme there is also fine stones up to 8000 grit.

When i sharpen my knives i know the right angle from the sound the knife makes when i slide the blade against the stone, often i do this my eyes closed for concentration, before you learn to sharpen your knives just by listening them the rule of thumb is that backside of knife needs to be 1 cm from the stone (this with bigger knives like chef's knives) and approximately 0,5 cm from stone with smaller knives.

With love and care your knives can be almost forever. If you neglect or abuse it, it won't last a week. Cooking with proper equipment makes the job much more enjoyable, but be careful if you like your fingers...