Nooooo! Not the knives!

seebs · #1 04-22-2009, 11:37 PM

A while back (don't see the thread right now), I asked for advice on knives, and got some mid-range J. A. Henckels.

... Which I just found out the dishes roomie has been putting in the dishwasher for months.

Nooooooooo!

I guess we'll have to go get 'em sharpened again.

seebs · #2 04-22-2009, 11:54 PM

... and in irony-land, the dishwasher just broke.

godfry n. glad · #3 04-23-2009, 12:27 AM

Automatic dishwashers dull knives? I make sure to separate paring and other sharp knives from the remainder of the utensils, so that during the washing process, they are not battered against each other, dulling the blades. You cannot absolve yourself of sharpening them by just hand washing them.

Because, of course, use will dull them anyway. A whetstone and some quick online learning should allow you to sharpen your knives anytime. You can also get ready-made cutlery sharpeners at most kitchen outlets.

Even so, I tend to think that having a pro sharpen them every so often is a benefit.

seebs · #4 04-23-2009, 12:41 AM

Dishwashers use heavily alkaline liquid under high pressure, and cheap ones include particles that are functionally basically sand. They clean by abrading and dissolving. They are very bad for nicer knives. In particular, they can weaken the sharp part of the blade so you get more nicks.

And yeah, I actually have a knife-sharpeny thing or two around, so I can work on that. I had been thinking that the knives had been getting awfully dull awfully fast...

It's not that I object to having to sharpen them. It's that a month of light use shouldn't leave them as pointy-ended butter knives.

maddog · #5 04-23-2009, 01:49 AM

the dishwasher ruins the guy-dang handles, too.

I couldn't sharpen a knife if my life depended on it; I can't really tell the difference between a sharp knife and a dull one either. I have trouble with all knives.

#2181

Garnet · #6 04-23-2009, 01:53 AM

MT has most excellent knive sharpening skills. Before I lived with him, I really didn't know what a sharp knife was. Now I do and I can't stand using dull ones anymore.

Dingfod · #7 04-23-2009, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

You can also get ready-made cutlery sharpeners at most kitchen outlets.

I have one of those. And use it now and then.

godfry n. glad · #8 04-23-2009, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddog

the dishwasher ruins the guy-dang handles, too.

I couldn't sharpen a knife if my life depended on it; I can't really tell the difference between a sharp knife and a dull one either. I have trouble with all knives.

#2181

You could just use your wit.

Dingfod · #9 04-23-2009, 02:55 AM

Ooh, good one, godfry.

seebs · #10 04-23-2009, 07:04 AM

Repairing the dishwasher: Wayyyyyy too much work.

But better than trying to hire a repair guy. And sorta interesting.

viscousmemories · #11 04-23-2009, 02:06 PM

I highly recommend my brother's company for appliance repair advice and ordering parts.

Also, I don't put my nice knives in the dishwasher but I thought the banging around was the reason for that guidance. Never heard those other reasons.

godfry n. glad · #12 04-23-2009, 04:31 PM

Yeah, me, too.

Thanks for the reference, vm.

seebs · #13 04-23-2009, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

I highly recommend my brother's company for appliance repair advice and ordering parts.

NICE!

Feedback: My initial attempt to find the part I was looking for by narrowing a search failed, but once I went with "all plastic parts by this model number", I got it easily. Also, the picture for my particular part was sort of useless because it's an end-on picture of something that looks very different from the side.

On the other hand, I'm out twenty bucks including shipping and I'll have the part probably within a week or so, which is a bit cheaper than calling a repair guy.

godfry n. glad · #14 04-23-2009, 07:27 PM

For me, that would depend upon whether the workman could repair it upon arrival, or we were thrust into the workman's parallel universe...and had to wait at least a week for a part, like you will anyway.

How much of an imposition upon the household is the lack of dishwasher? I would think that could vary a lot, depending upon person.

seebs · #15 04-23-2009, 08:07 PM

We don't even lack a dishwasher. The part that's broken is cracked in such a way that:

1. One of its pieces fell down and got caught in the grinder. (Now fixed.)
2. It is slightly cracked.

Since it's just the widget that holds up the hose for the second-shelf-scrubby, the crack doesn't matter; it still does its job. I just want to fix it because it might cease to do that job at some future point.

Me, I don't really care about the dishwasher thing either way; I don't mind washing a few dishes.

Dingfod · #16 04-23-2009, 08:45 PM

I find the main reason not to wash knives in the dishwasher is what it does to the wooden handles. I've not noticed any significant dulling due to that method of cleaning mainly because I keep the larger knives separate from everything else, just lying flat on the upper dishwasher basket bottom, for safety reasons mainly. If they are dull, a few strokes on that ceramic sharpening tool and they're good to go.