A few days back, my mother heated up a kitchen knife to cut a plastic bottle for her gardening. Now she is insisting on using the same knife for chopping food (e.g. vegetables, fruits, etc.) despite me preventing it. Is it actually safe?
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I cut up raw chicken with this one chef’s knife. I only use that knife. But I don’t only use it on chicken. I use it to chop vegetables as well, and sometimes I’ll slit open a plastic bag.
Now, it would be terribly dangerous if I did all of these things simultaneously without washing the knife in between. But I’m very diligent about cleanliness in the kitchen. Warm soapy water does wonders for the blade as does honing before using.
Your mom’s probably a stickler for cleanliness as well, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
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Yes it’s safe, has no one ever did a science class????
Metal in not permeable to hot plastic. Hot plastic molecules are too large to get into the pores of carbon or stainless steel. Even if the plastic were dropped into liquid metal, they will not mix, the temperature would ash the plastic leaving only carbon and the rest would leave as various toxic vapors and be gone from the metal forever. Clean the plastic smear off the blade, and just wash it like any other food prep tools.
worry more about the microbes and what not in your water or last nights leftovers, I guarantee you they are more dangerous.
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As long as it’s clean it’s fine. I’d be pretty upset if one of my kids tried to tell me I couldn’t use my knife, do you think you’re in charge of your mom?
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I can’t see why it wouldn’t be safe. I’d make sure the knife was washed, but I certainly wouldn’t worry about it.
My concern would be that heating a kitchen knife would make it blunt. But I don’t even know if that’s the case. Personally I wouldn’t heat my kitchen knives because I wouldn’t like to damage them. But that’s nothing to do with hygiene.
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I’m sure it’s safe but me personally I dont like to use my kitchen utensils for anything else except for cooking. I’ve seen people use forks and butter knives for screwing things on and off, using utensils for scraping things and then reusing them. I think that is so disgusting. I also wouldn’t use my knife to burn on the stove and damage it. What are you afraid of to think that it would be unsafe? I’m hoping she would wash it for fear of bacteria or whatever plastic bottles are made of would be on the knife.
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Peace be on you.
When hot knife cut through a plastic bottle, sometimes lines of molten plastic stick on both sides of the knife and if not cleaned quickly (e.g. with old folded newspaper etc), it quickly dries on metal. If it is the case with your knife, please clear it first (maybe by again heating). It will be better to buy for her a separate knife for such works.
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We have separate old knives for use in workshop and garden – e.g. to cut things made of plastic, covered with paint or glue etc. Similar with other tools – no problem to pick some discarded kitchen tools (old aluminium spoons, forks or butter knives, similar with old worn out knives).
If it was common PET bottle then it should not be harmfull in any way but first I consider this quite disgusting and second, heating might ruin the blade steel.
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