Are there any household gadgets you found unexpectedly useful after you'd gotten them?
Are there any household gadgets you found unexpectedly useful after you'd gotten them?
I was thinking about how I missed having an indoor thermometer that measures humidity. It's such a small specific thing, one I'd never think of getting unless pushed to it (which I was by one particularly dry winter). But I like having one now.
What are your small, "random" or "junk drawer" type of gadgets that you actually use or like having around?
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A quality knife sharpening system. It'll change your life. Keep your knives razor sharp at all times with minimal effort, and all of your cutting experiences will be far better.
Sharpener or edge-straightener?
Explain please. I use a work sharp electric sharpener which has basically sandpaper bands. I guess I have one of those metal rods with grooves but i don’t use it.
Nice! That's a great system. I have one too, but I only use it if a knife is really bad, or I have a lot of knives to sharpen. I usually use their diamond rod system. As you use your knife the edge gets folded over and malformed at a microscopic level. The honing steel doesn't actually sharpen (remove metal), but it re-aligns the edge so that it is straight again and cuts better. Ideally you should pass your kitchen knives over the honing rod before each use, which will get you more life in-between sharpenings, and provide better cutting performance.
The honing steel doesn't actually sharpen (remove metal)
Doesn't a honing steel also remove burrs?
It does not.
Ideally both, but I meant an actual sharpening system. Either a series of progressively finer stones, some crock sticks, diamond rods, or whatever works best for the individual.
I didn't know there were "systems", I use a Pyrénées slab that works like magic, but you do need some elbow grease. Is it a power tool you're talking about ?
I've used many different systems and the one that works best for me are the diamond rods with an angle brace. This is the one that I use, but there are several different brands available. I also have the Worksharp electric belt sander system, and that works really well too, but it removes a lot of metal, so I only use it sparingly. I used to have off-brand crock sticks and those are pretty cool, but they take a lot of time and still have a margin for user error. I used nothing but stones when I was younger, and that's a cool system that gives the user a lot of manual control, but good stones are expensive, you need several of them, they're bulky to store, and there's a lot of room for error. Any of these are good options, and there are more still that I didn't mention. It just comes down to personal preference.
Oh wow, that's some serious gear... Thanks for the recommendations !
Project Farm has done a few videos on knife sharpeners. His testing is usually pretty straight to the point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Lu71ewVSw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBINMUdlJ14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEDyYJJ6f9MI actually was just re-watching them as my whetstone has seen better days, and I'm pretty sure it's now too curved to continue on