knives and dishwashers...

[Rick Moore]

I have read on here many times that you all don't put your good knives in the dishwasher...why? Rust? Lose their edge? Just curious - I just got my Wusthof Classic set and don't want to mess them up this soon!!

 

[Jim Minion]

Heat and handles, the heat of the drying cycle cause you to lose the edge much quicker and the water is hard on the wooden handles.
jim

 

[Guest]

Rick I have lost a couple of knives to the ravages of the dishwasher. The wood handles just fell apart.

 

[Dwain Gleason]

For the blades themselves, you don't want them to be jostled around - that can cause nicks in the teeth of the blade. That's also why you should not keep knives in a drawer - they should be in a block, wrap or on a magnetic knife rack. My dishwasher has strong enough jets that I can hear silver in the cutlery boxes banging around sometimes.

If you have wood handles, they shouldn't soak too much in water. They're usually sealed but the hot water and strong detergents will eventually eat through and cause the wood to expand along the grain. I've had a couple of sharpening steel handles come off because of this - it's especially bad for knives that don't have a full tang.

If you have full-tang knives that don't have wood handles they can probably do OK if you don't have them near other cutlery in the dishwasher, but I just don't risk it for my good knives, personally. The el-cheapo steak knives and stuff, sure, but not the good ones. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Personally - and this is just IMO - a good knife is an investment and should be treated with care. I keep mine honed before each use, professionally sharpened once a year, kept in a nice block and washed by hand. I've had a couple of nice knives last over 12 years this way, and I hope they'll last another 12 or more, they're as sharp now as ever. And they sure make it much easier to slice my 'que!!! (Late entry on-topic course correction...)

 

[Brian H]

I'm with Dwaine on this one. I have owned a set of Chicago Cutlery since I was married 9 years ago (only gift I asked for). They have never seen the inside of my dishwasher and I send them out for sharpening every year the week before Thanksgiving. I also apply vegetable oil to the handles every few months. They look and perform as well as when I received them.

 

[Guest]

The points above are great. But I may be correct here with an additional point: some dishwashing detergents may react to a minor extent with metal, I don't know for sure.

If that's correct the very fine, fine edge of quality knives may be eaten away slightly by automatic dishwashers. Or, if dishwasher detergents like Cascade have a little abrasiveness to them, blasting an automatic dishwasher spray against the microns thick edge can only dull. The effect of prolonged, moist heat on handles has arlready been discussed.

For the last word on this consult the original info that came with the knives. Or, go to the Web sites of Chicago Cutlery, Wusthoff, Henckles, Sabateur et. al.

Dave

 

[John W.]

Another minor disagreement. I have always thought mineral oil is a better choice for wood handles, butcher blocks, etc, as it can't get rancid like vegetable oil...

 

[Brian H]

Interesting. I have not experienced any rancid smell's in my handles. I dont use to much though, maybe thats why?????? I'll keep a nose on this. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Jim Pye]

I have some 20+ year old Wustoff's and the ones that we put in the dishwaher, before we knew better, have had significant handle damage. Wustoff says that their knives should not go in the dishwasher and based on the damage, they are right.

 

[Bob McFadden]

John,
I've never looked for mineral oil, where do you buy it?

 

[Rick Moore]

Thanks for all the great reasons for not putting these knives in the dishwasher! And to think I was only looking for 1 good reason /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif Now I have many reasons to go the extra step to ensure long lasting knives!

Hoping to hear the word on where to get mineral oil...

 

[John W.]

It should be in the drug store. It has some medical use. There is also butcher block oil at Home Depot, which is the same stuff I think.