The last tip relates to the first: if you should use a sharp knife, what do you do when it’s dull? Well, a honing steel is a must for your kitchen drawer. It does exactly that; helps hone a knife and keep its edge. But when a knife is truly dull, no amount of honing will sharpen it. To sharpen, you need a proper two-sided sharpening stone. It’s really not difficult to use, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t have one years earlier. It was my guilty realization of the evening.