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Posted (edited)

I have run my knives through the dishwasher without ill effects (one wooden handle notwithstanding) for 47+years.  However, I do so with the understanding of  what not to put in, and how to position them to avoid damage. I've never had a blade deteriorate

 

I have 2 knives that never go in: a 10" slicer with a rosewood handle and a 10" chef's knife with a rosewood handle. 

 

I'll never own Damascus steel knives. They are beautiful but would require more care than I wish to put into them.

 

My knife block is filled with western-style knives. I have Forschner, Victorniox,  Wusthoff, Henkel, and others. After I retired from participating in Ren Faires as a volunteer I stopped pursuing one of my hobbies, finding quality brand knives in thrift stores that were donated because the edges were dull and the owner didn't choose to deal to with them.  Bringing them back life and giving them to friends was a pleasure.  There are a few of those that made it into my knive block or knife roll that I use when traveling. 

 

My best "test case" is my 9 1/2" chef's knife that my Sweetie gave me for Christmas 1982. Just this year, for the first time, I had to smooth its wooden handle and then put 6 coats of polyurethane on it. The blade itself still takes and keeps an edge. I use an Edge Pro.  I actually found egullet when I wanted to learn to properly sharpen knives; thank you Chad Ward.

 

I position all knives so that the edges CAN NOT hit anything else.

 

I fully understand that the prevailing wisdom is never, ever put kitchen knives in the dishwasher. If that is how you care for knives I have no argument with what you do in your kitchen.  My choice to put them in the dishwasher is solely my own choice.

 

I do not wish to engage in debate over my choice.  I simply wanted to share my perspective and personal experience. 

Edited by Smithy
Corrected title spelling (log)
  • Like 4

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

Posted

I don’t have lots of knives so I prefer to keep my limited selection at the ready. I don’t run the dishwasher after every meal so washing them by hand suits me. 

 

  • Like 1
Posted

It takes seconds to hand wash a knife after use and is a lot less wasteful of water and energy.

  • Like 2

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Posted
1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

It takes seconds to hand wash a knife after use and is a lot less wasteful of water and energy.

 

But if he's running a dishwasher load anyway, it actually saves water and energy -- albeit a very small amount each time, but over 47+ years, it adds up.

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Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, Alex said:

 

But if he's running a dishwasher load anyway, it actually saves water and energy -- albeit a very small amount each time, but over 47+ years, it adds up.

 

The only energy my washing by hand uses is supplied by me, apart from a tiny amount from a gas-fired water heater for a tiny amount of hot water.

 

I  don't possess or want a dishwasher. They are unknown here.

 

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Posted

I avoid putting anything with a wooden handle in the dishwasher. That means my Japanese knives, several crappy old knives, and my cheap as chips Kiwi. I'd put the Kiwi in if it had one of the newer plastic handles. I probably wouldn't put the Victorinox chef's knife in, but I don't have final say on all the matters. I wouldn't put my carbon steel or stainless clad knives in, even if they didn't have wooden handles. I have several knives we keep around just because we can abuse them and not worry about things like the dishwasher. 

 

So it is complicated. Good knives that only I use, hand wash as soon after a task as possible. Cheap knives where anything goes. A couple of cheap knives that are hand washed because of their wood handles. I suppose those are the ones where my strategy is different from @Porthos so his post is well taken. The old club of a western chef's knife might be a good one to experiment with, since I have a similar plastic handle one if it dies.

 

If I have a pot of soapy water in the sink, I'll tend to just hand wash the knives so I don't end up cursing the fact that they are sitting in the dishwasher, dirty. But overall dishwashers are more energy and water efficient. 

  • Like 1

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

Posted
52 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

The only energy my washing by hand uses is supplied by me, apart from a tiny amount from a gas-fired water heater for a tiny amount of hot water.

 

I  don't possess or want a a dishwashers. They are unknown here.

 

 

 

Your situation isn't really relevant to the topic, then. I think we can assume the question of what to put in the dishwasher is only applicable to people who have one.

  • Haha 1

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

Posted (edited)
36 minutes ago, haresfur said:

 

Your situation isn't really relevant to the topic, then. I think we can assume the question of what to put in the dishwasher is only applicable to people who have one.

 

My situation is very relevant. The reason I don't have a dishwasher is that they are wasteful. The topic is about cleaning knives and I still have knives which I clean in a more efficient and less wasteful way.

 

i did have a dishwasher in England 30 years ago and didn't put.my knives in it then, either. My choice.

 

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Posted

The energy that goes into extracting the materials to build the machine, manufacturing and shipping it, and then disposing of it at the end of its life far outweighs any minimal savings in hot water or soap that you might save over the average life of the machine. I have an old dishwasher, use it all the time, but I don’t kid myself that I’m saving energy with it. Living without a dishwasher clearly saves energy. 

  • Like 3
Posted
5 hours ago, haresfur said:

So it is complicated. Good knives that only I use, hand wash as soon after a task as possible.

This...I only use "good knives" and they are immediately wiped with a wet rag after any task and ready for the next task.  If there's no next task, the can readily be put back onto their storage space...if I've cut anything that would involve washing them down, that's what happens anyway.  In other words, there's never a dirty knife lying on a cutting board...(as Taylor would say) like...ever.

  • Like 1

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