The tools of the trade are tools that you need in order to carry out a particular job properly. For a kitchen to function, it requires a variety of cookware and tools in order to be able to prepare and cook food. Two underrated tools in any functioning kitchen are scissors and knives, which are often underappreciated when they become dull and no longer cut it.
Scissors and knives, in particular, should never have a lifespan yet, how many knives have you put away in a kitchen draw because the knife edge was so dull you couldn't even cut the atmosphere anymore? Luckily, there is a lifesaver for knives, in the form of knife sharpeners that can bring back to life a cutting edge to even the bluntest kitchen knife!
One of the most effective, safest and easiest knife sharpener you can buy is a suction based knife sharpener like the AnySharp Pro knife sharpener, which sticks into place without having to hold it. The Pro knife sharpener can sharpen any steel bladed knife via a simple sharpening procedure that consists of gliding the edge of the knife from heel to tip in a backward motion.
The knife has to be held upright between the sharpening teeth and, slid back towards yourself before lifting up the knife and starting the same procedure again as many times as you need to. A few passes (5 or 6) is all you will need to get the knife sharpened. The sharpening process, literary, takes less than a couple of minutes and results in an absolutely razor sharp knife edge.
You won't really need to buy an expensive knife anymore if you own one of these knife sharpeners because the AnySharp Pro sharpens each side of the edge to 20 degrees, which creates a total angle of 40 degrees. The higher the sharpening degree angle, the more durable but less sharp the knife blade will be (i.e. 30 degree angle of an axe). A lower sharpening degree angle makes a sharper but weaker edge like the edge of a razor blade, which has an 8-degree angle.
You can also sharpen classic serrated bread knives but you need to make sure not to apply too much downward pressure or the serrated knife won't budge because the serrated blade will lock between the sharpening teeth of the AnySharp Pro. The sharpening teeth (or grooves) have a perfect 20-degree angle and are made of tungsten carbide, which is said to be the most scratch resistant metal on earth.
The base of the AnySharp Pro has a thick rubber suction cup that is activated by pulling down on the built-in lever while applying pressure down on the sharpener. The force of the suction is so strong that it will not come right off until you manually lift the lever up. The top section of the Pro sharpener, including the suction mechanism is made of rubberized hard plastic. The bottom section is made of metal alloy.
It's worth pointing out that every time you sharpen a knife you are, essentially, creating a new bevel edge, which is achieved by grinding down the knife edge. The more times you sharpen a knife, the faster the knife edge gets eroded.
Often times, a knife edge doesn't require sharpening and just straightening (or honing). When the edge of the knife gets too jagged and blunt where you cannot cut through a soft vegetable, that is when you need sharpening.
When you have a nice sharp blade, the knife has an even bevel angle on both sides from the heel all the way to the tip. When cutting things with a knife, it inevitably wears away the edge, turning the bevel angle flatter (or rectangular), causing the knife to be blunt.
Aside from a blunt edge, burrs or wire jagged edges can also form on the knife edge, which can easily be removed by honing the knife edge with a honing rod (also known as sharpening steel), which is literary a metal rod with a coarse grit. If you watch cooking channels, you probably have seen a honing rod as most chefs use them before and after they use their knives.
Aside from suction based knife sharpeners, there are also sharpening stones or whetstones and electric knife sharpeners. Sharpening stones require special oil when sharpening and electric knife sharpeners are bulky, taking too much space in a kitchen.
The AnySharp Pro knife sharpener is ideal because of its small size, measuring 6cm long, 6cm wide and 7cm tall and weighing just 135 grams. As long as an edge will glide between the sharpening teeth, you can use any type of knife with the Pro sharpener.
Moving onto another underappreciated tool, namely a pair of scissors. The AnySharp scissors aren't your run-of-the-mill scissors as they are multi-functional so, you can use them in and out of the kitchen for any odd job around the house.
You can easily cut meats, cable wires, crush bones, crush garlic, crack nuts, strip cable wires and even cut through a textile floor covering.
The versatility of the AnySharp scissors comes down to the hardened blades, which have a gunmetal grey finish. The AnySharp scissor blades have a similar curve to that of garden scissors, providing a better, more comfortable cutting angle.
The curved blade design integrates serrations on one side, which prevents the blades from sticking, as well as help to keep your hand away from getting caught up in anything you are cutting.
Speaking of hands, you can use the AnySharp scissors with either hand, thanks to the ambidextrous design of the finger holes so, even lefties can use them!
The finger holes are made of ABS plastic with a soft rubber grip finish so, you can apply a decent amount of force without hurting your fingers.
The tensioning of the blades can also be adjusted, which is neat because the tensioning of even brand new scissors can come too tight or too loose from factory. Being able to manually adjust the tensioning yourself is useful since loose blades can make scissors appear to be dull.
The AnySharp scissors can be cleaned by wiping them with a tea towel and washed under a tap of running water or inside a dishwasher. The dimensions of the AnySharp scissors are 8 inches long and 4 inches wide.
The blades alone measure 4 inches long. The total weight of the AnySharp scissors is 151 grams. Both the AnySharp scissors and AnySharp Pro knife sharpener are backed by a 10 year guarantee, making them superb value for money.