Knives Recycling

We understand, getting new knives is exciting. But then, what should you do with your old knives? If you google search"how to dispose of kitchen knives", you will get a list of sites telling you to wrap them and put them in the bin. Or maybe your Council will accept kitchen utensils, maybe they won't.

 

Quality knives that are well maintained can literally last a lifetime. But too often we get cheap knives that don't feel worthy of the sharpening cost. We get that question all the time, if certain knives are worth sharpening. And the answer is always the same: of course it is, and they will get as sharp as any more expensive knives - they may not keep a good edge as long or be built with high quality materials, but they will get very sharp.

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Sharpening knives, fixing their chips or bent tips is easy to do and will extend their life. Sharpening by hand on whetstone only removes a minimum of edge, just above any dents, and will keep your knives going for a long time.

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People buy large set of knives with a wide range of lengths and serrated knives. It is generally because once a knife gets dull, then there are others to pick up from the knife block. Serrated knives become a first choice because they never get too dull - even if never as sharp as a straight edge - as they hack their way through food.

 

It is worth investing in a few good quality knives, just a few is enough, such as a chef, a utility and a paring that will see through all your cutting needs. A serrated bread knife is only useful for hard crusty breads, while a sharp straight edge will slice soft bread far neater.

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I would highly recommend 3 good Japanese or German knives (chef, utility and paring knives) and a lower quality serrated bread knives. A simple honing rod (butcher steel) used frequently means you won't have to get them sharpened often. A soft chopping board, in plastic or end-grain wood, will help keeping the edge sharp longer.

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So, when all maintenance options have been exhausted and you need to dispose of some knives, we can help you. Here is what we do:

• knives that can be salvaged, repaired or reshaped will be donated through charity organisations for a second life

• knives that can't be salvaged will have their handle dismantled, and the metal sent to a recycling centre.

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All knives are collected free of charge around melbourne, or contact us for shipping, and we'll make sure no more valuable resources are ending up in landfills.