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When you treat your knives well, they return the favor. A clean and sharpened blade will slice through delicate tomatoes and gristly chicken tendons easily, saving you from struggling and — more importantly — protecting your fingers from errant cuts. (Dull blades have an awful tendency to slip and slice exactly where we don’t want them to.) So, if you don’t already have a place to safely store all your chef’s knives, bread knives, and paring knives, I urge you: Please, get one ASAP.
Wooden knife blocks are foolproof when it comes to protecting the integrity of your blades, but they eat up a lot of counter space and can dull your blades over time. Magnetic knife strips are a nice small-space-friendly approach, but you usually have to drill them into a wall (unless you find one that’s self-adhesive). Knife mats are better, but they also monopolize your drawer space. The easiest solution, and one that works in every kitchen, are these simple knife sheaths. They protect every single one of your knives — no matter how you store them.
This set includes 10 sheaths in six different sizes, giving you enough options for all the knives you own today and the knives you’ll add to your collection in the future. They’re lined with felt on the inside to be gentle on your blades, and their outside is made of a durable plastic that prevents knives from being scratched by other utensils. With these sheaths over your knives, it doesn’t matter if you, like me, stack them randomly in a drawer or even store them in a utensil crock with whisks, tongs, and other dulling hazards. The blades will always be safe.
Each sheath has a slit along one side that makes inserting and removing knives easy, and once you start using them, you’ll probably find that you won’t have to sharpen your blades as often — so they save you time and effort!
Of the more than 1,800 Amazon shoppers that gave these a five-star rating, many explained how simple and effective the sheaths are to use. “I know these are just knife covers but I am extremely impressed with the quality,” one reviewer wrote. “These things are going to last for years.” Another reviewer, who said his wife has a habit of throwing knives into drawers, found these to be a quick and easy fix: “These guards offer the knives a good level of protection as they get knocked about in the drawer. Drawers are not the most ideal set up but the guards help to make it work.”
With these sheaths in your kitchen, your knives will be one less thing for you to worry about. And, even if you replace or upgrade knives over time, you can keep using these universal blade protectors for years and years. Like the old saying goes: happy knife, happy life!
Buy: 10-Piece Universal Knife Guards, $25.75