I'm not saying it's not a good idea to sharpen knives, but a lot of people make it sound like you're a dangerous monster if you don't. And that just doesn't seem to be the case.
My parents are the same and honestly the sharpness is fine for how they use their knives. I don’t know for yours but theirs don’t cut just fine at all. They barely cut. It’s ok if you actually have to think and push through each cuts but a complete no go for any serious cutting.
It’s a huge waste of time because it prevents any kind of fast work but they don’t know how to safely work with a knife anyway so they don’t notice. My father immediately cut himself the only time I actually sharpened so I stopped trying.
Anyway an ultrasonic knife seems like a cool idea. The technology is common in industrial setting for cutting. I think it’s cool to bring it to a kitchen knife even if it always remains a gimmick.
As I understand it, that's technically stropping, not sharpening, but it should be sufficient to keep an already-sharp blade sharp over the long term as long as the blade doesn't see extremely heavy use.
That said, most people don't strip their blades any more than they sharpen them.
I don’t know, what do you call a previously perfectly fine knife which now is unable to perform any knife like action?
Dull knives are more likely to slip on whatever you're cutting (and cut you instead).
They're also more likely to need more force when cutting which means less control.
The knives I consider dull will absolutely cut me if I do something dumb, and I'm much less likely to do something dumb when the blade goes straight through what I'm cutting without having to use any force.
I guess it also depends how and what you're cutting. I sure wouldn't try to julienne carrots with a knife that doesn't easily slice through the carrot.
But - if the knife slips and a large force is applied at the same time - then you will get a large cut.
If the knife slips and a small force is applied, you will get a smaller cut.
If the probability of slipping is the same for sharp and dull knifes, then due to the forces applied, the cuts you get with a sharp knife are less dangerous.
It sounds like she literally has no idea how to use a knife.
Is she doesn’t want a knife which can cut things, Butter ‘knives’ are probably more her speed?
What was she even using the ‘knife’ for before if it couldn’t even cut her? Spreading jelly? Slicing cakes?
Not to be snarky, but it’s possible a couples class which covers things like how to use a knife safely might be a fun and enjoyable way out of this.
Zero chance of cutting meat, or 90% of vegetables.
Have you tried that or are you speaking in principle only?
