The steel sharpener is a vital party of every butcher’s arsenal. It is incredibly important to ensure that the butchers knives are always in pristine condition and working to their fullest potential to maintain consistently high quality cuts of meat.

Without maintaining a high level of butcher knife sharpness, the quality of cuts can suffer and your produce will be received unfavourably. Maintaining a high level of cuts is paramount to maintaining customer loyalty and can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful enterprise. Therefore, well cared-for steel sharpeners are incredibly important, here are a few tips helping you maintain these important tools.

Clean After Use

Always clean steel sharpeners after use, much as you would butcher knives. Steel sharpeners are just as liable to suffer from food particles and mould as knives. Leaving food particles on steel sharpeners could lead to the steel weakening and their effectiveness decreasing. Always clean the steel sharpener with anti-bacterial solution and warm water after use and dry thoroughly.

Only Use with the Intended Knives

Steel Sharpeners are designed specifically the sharpen the steel blades of knives and this is exactly how they should be used. Using them to sharpen items made out of other materials could lead to reduced usefulness and could hinder the sharpening process in the future. This means that you must resist the urge to sharpen wooden or plastic implements. Likewise other pieces of kit must never be used with the steel sharpeners even if they are steel, this includes the blades on butcher meat mincers.

Store Safely

There are two main benefits of correct storage; protecting the steel sharpeners from adverse conditions and then protecting untrained hands from the steel sharpeners - the second benefit is particularly pertinent when the steel sharpener is in a home environment that houses young children. Steel sharpeners should be stored in a cool, dry place that is not subject to too many natural conditions or extreme temperatures.

Additionally it is important to keep the steel sharpeners out of the reach of children and untrained hands. The sharpener itself is quite sharp and can be potentially dangerous to those handling it without protection or knowledge of the tool. Furthermore, small steel filings are often present on the face of the knife sharpener which can cut or irritate the skin. This can be ensured by keeping it within a sheath or a drawer.