The Cool Knife Subscription You (Probably) Haven’t Heard Of

published Mar 31, 2021
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Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: Brett Regot/Kitchn

I would venture to say most of us don’t hone or sharpen our knives enough. Myself included! Because sometimes I just get tired, or lazy (or both!).

But you know who really never sharpens their knives? My parents (love you guys!). Living with them for the majority of this past year reminded me of that every time I went to chop an onion, mince a bunch of cilantro, or break down a chicken.

“Can we just, maybe, buy an electric knife sharpener or take them to a professional to sharpen them?” I’d ask.

“No,” my dad would respond. “They’re plenty sharp.” Which was, of course, a lie. And so, after months and months of using too-dull knives, I was incredibly excited to learn about Togu Knives.

Credit: Togu Knives

For $24 a month, Togu delivers a sharpened Santoku and paring knife to your home every two months. When your new knives arrive, you simply replace the old knives with the new ones, put the old ones into the reusable shipping packaging, and add the pre-paid shipping label. Then you can just drop it off in any mailbox!

Of course I had to subscribe. And after using the knives for months, I’m here to tell you it’s a game-changer for those who are plagued by too-dull cutlery.

Credit: Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm

Both the Santoku and paring knives arrived super-sharp (as in, they sliced cleanly through a piece of held-up printer paper, which is always my baseline test for knives). And they stayed sharp overtime. I used the Santoku knife to dice onions and mince parsley, trim chicken thighs and cut carrots, cube potatoes and slice celery. The paring knife made quick work of segmenting oranges, deveining shrimp, coring tomatoes, and even just slicing cheddar cheese. The knives were comfortable to hold, too, with a smooth handle that felt nice in hand.

And just when I thought maybe the knives were dulling slightly, the new knives arrived! So, there was never a dull knife to deal with. But the real question is, did my parents notice a difference? Well, while my dad might not admit this, but I watched to see which knife he opted for whenever he ventured into the kitchen. And it was always a Togu knife. Because — who would’ve thought? — sharp knives really do make all the difference.

Would you join a knife subscription? Tell us in the comments!