John in NM
My wife was recently visiting her sister, who admonished her for putting knives in the dishwasher (it seems dish detergent dulls knives in whatever universe Martha Stewart lives in - she was the source of the advice). Jean politely pointed out that this was twaddle, although bumping into other utensiles during the wash probably doesn't do any good. Sharpening is so easy, Martha would do better to have monthly demonstrations than to dispense such silly advice.

I agree that kitchen knives are made of horrible steel. Soft buttery stuff that never rusts but takes forever to knock the wire edge off and then dulls in the blink of an eye. My favorite kitchen knife is an old carbon steel butchers knife that I used to keep in a camping kit. Not pretty enough for home use (I don't decide these things ), but I use it in the kitchen at work where the knives are the cheapest of the cheap. The thing is so sharp it slices bread cleanly, and has kept that edge for months with only minor dressing.

Opinel makes carbon paring knives if you can find them. I think I paid $6 for mine Good steel is well worth developing the habit of hand drying the knife or brushing off a little rust before use. Stainless has been in use so long that I notice many people now think that carbon steel is "dirty" and somehow poisonous Maybe in Martha's world it is indeed both.