If you spend any time cooking at home, you know how much easier prep work becomes when your knives are sharp, balanced and in great shape. But even top-quality blades can take a beating if you’re not careful. A few common kitchen habits, ones you might not even realize are harmful, can dull or damage your knives fast.
Scraping food off a cutting board with the blade’s edge or tossing your knives into a drawer without a sheath might feel harmless, but both can shorten their lifespan. Even oversharpening, which seems like a good maintenance habit, can slowly wear down the blade’s structure over time.
Protecting your knives doesn’t require special tools, just a little awareness. By avoiding these sneaky mistakes, you’ll extend the life of your knives and make every slice feel effortless.
If you’re in search of a fantastic new knife, we’ve got great news. We’ve tried out more than 10 different options and put together a list of the best chef’s knives for 2025. If you already have a knife that’s your No. 1, continue reading to find out the most common mistakes people make that can ruin even the most high-quality knife.
Read more: Want Your Kitchen Knives to Stay Sharp for Longer? This Simple Trick Will Help
7 easy ways to ruin your favorite kitchen knife
1. Scrape it sideways on a board
Using your knife as a scraper is a hard habit to break, but the blade will thank you.
Knives are made to cut in only two directions, back and forth and not side to side, so try not to use your good knives in a scraping manner. It may be instinct to move and gather all that chopped food on the board with the blade of the knife but it will damage the edge over time. If you can’t break the habit completely, at least try and do it gently and without much downward force.
2. Use it on anything other than wood or plastic
Even one slice on a glass or marble surface can do irreparable damage to your chef’s knife.
There are boards and blocks made from all sorts of materials but many of them are not knife-friendly. Stone or marble boards and glass surfaces should be reserved for serving food, not preparing it (at least not with a knife) since they will dull your blade faster than almost anything else.
Bamboo and plastic are the softest — and often cheapest — cutting board materials and will be gentle on your blades. Most other types of wood cutting boards, however, have enough give not to damage the blade.
3. Store it freely in a drawer
Not only will this setup ruin your knife, but you’re bound to hurt yourself eventually.
This is probably the biggest mistake folks make with their kitchen knives. I’ve seen it more times than I can count and it hurts every time. Letting your knives clink around in a drawer with other knives and metal tools will dull or chip them over time. It’s understandable to not want a clumsy knife block on the counter, but there are some pretty sleek options these days like this and this
You can also buy in-drawer wooden knife racks or sheath your knives in plastic cases. The coolest option may be to store the knives on one of these magnetic knife racks and show off your shiny blades to dinner guests. Just be gentle when placing knives on and removing them from the magnet so as not to scrape the blade.
4. Let it soak in the sink or (*gasps*) put it in the dishwasher
Try to get that chef’s knife out of the sink and dry it off before you sit down to eat.
For several reasons, your knives should never be put in the dishwasher. It’ll likely damage the handles, and the blades should never be exposed to water for that long. Speaking of which, never let a knife sit wet in the sink or anywhere else, for that matter. That means no soaking, ever. When you’ve finished washing it by hand, dry it immediately, or the metal will become susceptible to rust and corrosion.
5. Cut nonfood items or use it as a general tool
Don’t use a good chef’s knife to open your Amazon boxes.
Good knives may seem like a multipurpose tool but they should only be used for food prep. Try not to cut any nonfood items like plastic, cardboard or other packaging. And don’t even think about employing your knife as a screwdriver or lever to pry open something stuck.
6. Use a metal scrubber to clean it
Steel wool is great for some dishwashing jobs but will ruin your knife’s edge in seconds.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that using metal or another rough material to clean your knife blade could lead to big problems. Instead, use hot water and a soft sponge or cloth. Your knives should never be so dirty that those aren’t enough to get them clean.
7. Oversharpen the blade
Sharpening is good. Oversharpening is bad.
There comes a point at which a knife blade can’t be sharpened anymore, and if you continue to pound it on a steel or whetstone, you’ll only be shaving off the blade itself and shortening the knife’s life span. Here’s a guide to sharpening your kitchen knives.
