Maintenance tips for a cutlery set. To maintain your cutlery set, never wash knives in the dishwasher and always use a cutting board made of soft materials like plastic or wood. The first thing I would suggest...
The first thing I would suggest is not putting good knives in the proverbial junk drawer with the rest of the kitchen utensils. A drawer like that is pretty harsh on knives. It beats them up and ruins the edges. A lot of times knives will come in a block, which looks great on the counter. A lot of places offer storage options like plastic trays for the drawer. They hold the knives in place to keep them protected and keep you protected. A big chef's knife in a junk drawer is just not safe.
The second thing is that most knives say they're dishwasher safe, but with any good quality cutlery set, the manufacture will suggest that you wash and dry them by hand immediately after use.
The food that you cut does not make your knives dull. It is the surface you're cutting on that dulls the knife. Cutting boards made of glass, metal, marble, china, and ceramic are bad. They are very harsh, especially on straight-edged knives. I recommend using a plastic, polypropylene, or wood cutting board that's more edge-friendly. Straight-edged knives can become dull especially fast. The recessed or serrated-edge knives have tips to protect the edge. It takes a little longer, but they will also dull eventually.
