Why your knife gets dull so fast and how to stop it

Common causes at a glance

Your cutting board

The cutting board is the most common cause. Every cut ends with the edge hitting the board. Glass, granite, marble, slate and ceramic are much harder than knife steel, so they roll or chip the edge fast. Bamboo is harder than most woods and the glue used in bamboo boards can be abrasive. Plates are just as bad; never cut on a plate.

End-grain and edge-grain hardwoods such as maple, walnut and cherry, softer woods like hinoki, and soft rubber or synthetic boards are kind to edges. See best cutting board for Japanese knives.

Technique: scraping, twisting and rocking

Scraping chopped food across the board with the edge is a very common habit. It pushes the thin edge sideways and rolls it in a few passes. Turn the knife over and use the spine instead, or use a bench scraper.

Twisting the blade to split squash or pry apart frozen items stresses the edge sideways. Hard Japanese edges chip rather than bend. Slamming the edge into the board in a hard rock chop has a similar effect. Push and pull cuts are much gentler; see how to cut with a chef knife.

Note.Bones, frozen food, pits and hard cheese rinds dull and chip edges fast. Use a cleaver or a softer Western knife for those.

Sharpening mistakes that make edges fail early

Our whetstone sharpening guide shows how to raise and remove a burr. If you prefer a machine, read electric sharpeners on Japanese knives first.

• Leaving a burr. A burr feels sharp at first, then folds over. Finish with light alternating strokes on a fine stone, or strop.
• Not reaching the apex. If you never raised a burr along the full edge, the old dull edge is still there under a new bevel.
• Angle too low for the steel. A very acute edge on soft steel rolls quickly. Match the maker's angle; see the sharpening angle finder.
• Coarse finish only. An edge finished at a coarse grit is toothy and loses its bite sooner. Refine on a 3000-6000 grit stone.
• Pull-through overuse. Coarse carbide slots can leave a ragged edge that dulls quickly on hard steels.

Honing: too much or the wrong rod

Honing realigns a slightly rolled edge. It works well on softer German knives. On hard Japanese knives, a grooved steel rod can chip the edge, and heavy or frequent honing at the wrong angle wears it down. Use a fine ceramic rod with a few very light strokes at the knife's angle, or do a few passes on a fine whetstone instead. See honing rod for Japanese knives.

Is it the steel?

Sometimes the knife really is soft. Inexpensive knives may be hardened below about HRC 55 and lose their edge quickly no matter what you do. German knives around HRC 56-58 need more frequent honing than Japanese knives around HRC 60-64. If you have fixed your board, technique and sharpening and the edge still fades fast, a harder steel may help. Compare steels in our Japanese knife steel chart and what HRC means.

Ready to upgrade? Our best Japanese knives for beginners lists hard-wearing stainless picks, and best whetstone sets covers the stones to keep them sharp.

Find a whetstone set to keep edges sharp →

A simple routine that keeps edges sharp

1. 1

   Cut only on wood or soft plastic boards.

2. 2

   Use push and pull cuts; scrape with the spine.

3. 3

   Hand wash and dry right after use.

4. 4

   Store in a block, on a magnetic strip or in a saya, not loose in a drawer.

5. 5

   Touch up on a fine stone or ceramic rod when the knife starts to skid on tomato skin.

6. 6

   Do a full whetstone sharpening, with proper deburring, every few months.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my knife get dull so fast after sharpening? Most often a burr was left on the edge, or the edge is hitting a hard board. Deburr on a fine stone and switch to a wood board.

Do glass cutting boards dull knives? Yes, quickly. Glass is harder than steel and flattens or chips the edge with every cut.

How often should a good knife need sharpening? With a wood board and good technique, a home knife often goes several weeks to a few months between full sharpenings, with light touch-ups in between.

Can honing make a knife duller? Yes, if you use a grooved steel on a hard Japanese edge or hone too hard and often. Use a fine ceramic rod gently.