We sharpen for more than 300 kitchens across Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. The busiest ones all run on the same short list of knives.
The core five
| Knife | What it's for | How many |
|---|---|---|
| 8" or 10" chef's knife | 90% of prep and line work | 1–2 per cook |
| Paring knife | Trimming, garnish, small fruit | 1 per cook |
| Boning knife | Breaking down chicken, trimming meat | 2–4 per kitchen |
| Serrated bread knife | Bread, tomatoes, cakes | 2 per kitchen |
| Slicer or carving knife | Roasts, brisket, fish | 1–2 per kitchen |
Butcher programs add cleavers and scimitars. Delis add a meat slicer, and that blade needs its own care (slicer blade tips).
Which knives take the most abuse
- House chef's knives. Everyone uses them, nobody owns them, and they end up in the dish pit.
- Boning knives. Bone and cartilage roll the edge fast.
- Bread knives. They last longer between sharpenings, but cooks use them on everything. We sharpen serrated knives ground on one side, which covers most bread knives.
Plan for spares
A rule of thumb: have enough knives that a dull one can come off the line without anyone waiting. That's the idea behind our knife swap service: we hand you a sharp set every week and take the dull one, so there's never a gap.
Keep them sharp without slowing service
- Hone every shift. Here's how.
- Sharpen every week. A busy line dulls a knife in days. Why weekly.
- Keep them out of the dishwasher and off glass or stone surfaces.
- Store them on a magnetic strip or in a knife bin, never loose in a drawer.
Need knives or sharpening?
We sell professional chef's knives in The Knife Case and sharpen on weekly routes across DFW and Austin.