Basically title but also:
— maybe this isn’t actually true
— yes, I know the dishwasher is bad for knives
In: Other
It really is the detergent that’s the problem.
In addition to the abrasives knocking down the blade edge, there’s this fun metallurgical phenomenon called hydrogen embrittlement. In short, metal atoms form a web that gives it its strength and flexibility. Hydrogen atoms are small enough to fit in between metal atoms in the web, which disrupts its strength and flexibility. Dishwashing detergents have a bunch of compounds built to react with food particles, and one of the results of those reactions is a bunch of hydrogen floating around, which can and will effect the steel of your knife
Now, there’s not enough hydrogen there to make your knife brittle enough to snap, but it is enough to weaken the edge of your blade. A weak blade edge won’t get as sharp and won’t stay as sharp.
The caveat to this whole thing is having a good knife to start with; a $5 knife from Walmart probably wasn’t very sharp to begin with and you won’t notice a difference putting it through the dishwasher.
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