##General Care

  - Always use a cutting surface made for a knife, particularly a wooden chopping board/block. **Avoid** contact with hard surfaces such as metal, glass, or stone; these will quickly cause dulling or even chipping of most knives.

  - Use the *dull end* ("top") of the knife for scraping food off surfaces, or use a scraper or spatula instead. Knives are meant to cut straight, *along* the edge; scraping one sideways across any surface will misalign the edge very quickly.

  - Wash or rinse knives promptly after use. The moisture in many foods can be acidic and/or corrosive to the metal (fruits, onions, etc.).

  - Dry knives immediately with a soft cloth or towel. Stainless steel is resistant to rust and corrosion but not immune. This goes for all metal but especially knives, because even an imperceptible amount of rust along the edge will drastically hinder its ability to cut. Air-drying may also leave you with stains or "spots" due to salts and other trace minerals in the water.

  - Store knives in a dry, open area, if possible, so that moisture doesn't accumulate.

  - [Do not put a knife in the dishwasher][1]. A knife in a dishwasher is subject to impacts, corrosion, and warping of the wooden handle/joint. Quality knives should be hand-washed.

##Honing

Honing a knife is a good way to restore a *slightly* dull knife. You will need an [honing steel][2] (sometimes misleadingly referred to as a *sharpening steel*), which can be bought inexpensively. Note that [there are differences between steels][6]; the best value tends to be in the $30 (USD) range.

Honing is *not* the same as sharpening. Honing helps to *align* the existing edge, which becomes skewed or "curled" after regular use. It will *not* help to create a *new* edge if the knife is damaged, e.g. if it is corroded or chipped due to not following the "General Care" advice above.

To hone a knife:

 1. Keep the honing steel vertical.
 2. Hold the knife at a slight angle to the steel.
 3. Stroke downward and towards yourself.
 4. Alternate strokes, and do an equal number of times on both sides.

Here is a [video illustrating the technique][8].

##Sharpening

[Knife sharpening][3] involves a whetstone (AKA [sharpening stone][5]) and is an art unto itself. [Some knife manufacturers do explain the process][4], however, the technique takes a long time to master and most home cooks will prefer to leave this to a professional.

If you find that regular honing is no longer effective at maintaining a knife's edge - and if it's been well-maintained, this should take several weeks or months - then it's time to get the knife sharpened.

An alternative to professional sharpening (or learning to use a whetstone) is to use a good-quality motorized electric sharpener, such as the [Chef's Choice][7]. This will obviously not yield the same result as a professional sharpening, but it is very convenient and fast.

Some people believe that all electric sharpeners will damage your knives. This may still be true of the cheaper, single-stage sharpeners, because they do a lot of grinding and generate a lot of heat. However, the more modern, higher-end sharpeners operate very quickly, have precise angle control, and use multiple stages mimicking the manual process (grinding, steeling, stropping).

The "grinding" stage on a multi-stage sharpener should only be used if the knife is *already* badly damaged, and will actually create a new edge. If your knife is in reasonable shape, then it's fine to use a good sharpener on a semi-regular basis as long as you don't grind too much. (Honing should still be your primary form of maintenance).

  [1]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/1804/41
  [2]: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=honing+steel
  [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_sharpening
  [4]: http://www.yoshikin.co.jp/w/maintenance/maintenance_01.html
  [5]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpening_stone
  [6]: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/9231/41
  [7]: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004S1B8/?tag=stackoverfl08-20
  [8]: http://www.epicurious.com/video/technique-videos/technique-videos-knife-skills/1915458779/knife-skills-how-to-sharpen-a-knife/1915433332