Owning Knives vs. Rental/Sharpening Services
It is no secret that restaurants operate on very thin margins. Owners and chefs strive to make sure every dollar counts in their operation. Knife rental services are an alluring option to replace knife ownership in the kitchen, but they may also have some pitfalls that make the total cost far more than originally proposed.
A few things to consider before using rental knives:
Lower Quality Knives
These dull quickly and cannot be maintained very well in the kitchen. This can affect your food cost, as ragged cuts can end up in the trash or on a plate.
Safety Concerns
Lower quality knives pose a safety risk - as we know a sharp knife is a safe knife, and a dull knife can seriously injure. Less experienced chefs or those waiting for newly sharpened knives may run the risk with a dull blade.
Hidden Costs
Deep in the fine print the rental service will charge you full list price for any knives lost or stolen. $40 per paring knife can really add up in your budget.
So what are the benefits of knife ownership?
Minimal waste, more efficiency!
Lower loss prevention
Anyone can easily sharpen and maintain the house knives. Better steel, better edges! Knives stay up to 3x as sharp.
Ownership pays for itself compared to rental services. An in house sharpener can sharpen even a serrated blade.
Boston Showcase Company sells knives and sharpeners from numerous vendors including Mercer Culinary. They offer a full line of high quality, high carbon, value priced knives for every application and their diamond electric and manual sharpeners need only minutes of training to operate. Other prominent vendors are Dexter-Russell, Mundial and Victorinox.