A dishwasher in Montreal showed me the real way to sharpen knives

Last month I was staging at this place in Montreal and the dishwasher just grabbed my knife and started sharpening it on the bottom of a ceramic plate. I thought he was crazy but he handed it back and it was razor sharp. Been doing it ever since for quick touch ups during service. Anyone else ever seen this trick work?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas29128d ago

Man, that plate trick is a lifesaver until you find out the hard way your plate is basically just painted cardboard. I tried it once on a fancy looking plate at home and ended up with a knife that felt duller than my sense of direction. Guess I should've checked if the bottom was real ceramic or just a decoration pretending to be useful. Now I just stick to my stone and save the plates for, you know, holding food.

pat_park29d ago

Whoa, hold up, that's a good one but I gotta point something out here. In my experience, that plate trick works great for a quick fix during service, but your mileage may vary depending on the plate's glaze. Some of those cheaper ceramic plates have a rough, unglazed ring on the bottom that acts like a real fine stone, while others are just painted on and will scratch up your blade without actually sharpening it. Take this with a grain of salt, but I've had a few plates where the "bottom" was just a thin layer of paint and it did more harm than good. It's a neat trick for emergencies, but not something to rely on long term.