Kitchen

[bargainsgirl]

I have some really old knives that need replacing.  What is the best and safest way to dispose of the old ones?  Or what can they be used for otherwise?

[Tigriss]

If they are good steel, you may want to have them professionally sharpened. You won't be able to use dull knives for anything really. Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp ones as you are more likely to use more force to get them to cut. Might I suggest finding a chunk of styrofoam and stabbing the knives into it before disposing into a box. I would write on the box, damaged knives, careful.

[Still Raining]

I mostly have knives over 40 years old.  They were nice ones and I keep them sharp and ever so often have them done professionally.  They should outlast me.  Do yours just need sharpened?

i do have some which have retired.  I keep two in the kitchen for tough jobs and a couple in the garage too.  Handy to have some you do not care about.  They are handy to cover with a rag for cleaning things like corners and such.

Hum, that sounds a little OCD now I think about it 😂

[queendiva]

If you really want to ditch the knives you can wrap the blades with duct tape and trash them.

[aroc3435]

@Tigriss  Sur la Table runs specials at their stores occasionally where they have free knife sharpening for X amount of knives, and $5.00 apiece for each one thereafter, if I'm remembering correctly.

Some of the old fashioned neighborhood hardware stores still offer knife sharpening for a fee.  They usually don't have a staff person on hand all the time to do it, but have a schedule for when their expert comes in to the store to do this.

@bargainsgirl @queendiva @Still Raining As to knife brands I have Zwilling J.A. Henckels and David Burke.  Both have held up extremely well.  

My original Henckels chef's knife is at least fifteen years old.  I recently purchased a second Henckel's chef's knife--a larger one-- this summer and the quality is still there.  I bought the David Burke knife when he was briefly on QVC maybe eight years ago and it is a very good chef's knife too.

I make certain to keep them sharp since that is the best way to avoid injury and to get quick, consistent results when cutting food.

[Eileen in Virginia]

As others have stated, if they’re good knives (or even pretty good knives), try having them professionally sharpened before you toss them. Good/decent knives are an investment. Sur La Table occasionally sharpens knives for free for the first knife and for $5 for each additional knife. You could check to see if they sharpen knives on a regular basis. Other higher end kitchen stores probably sharpen knives, too. Serrated knives are trickier than non-serrated ones. I’ve got all kinds of knives, but the ones I reach for on a regular basis are a couple of decent ones that my brother gave me over 30 years ago. I wouldn’t use a dull knife.