A service every home cook needs
By Michelle Madden

 Slicing into an onion, knife gliding like hot metal on butter, the vegetable submitting to its master… This is the feeling you can only get when your knives are sharp. “Most people’s aren’t,” says Cristobal Aguirre, owner of Cuchillos. “And they have no idea. It seems counterintuitive, but a sharp knife––one that won’t slip–– is also a safe knife.”

Aguirre was born in Spain, and came to Washington when he was two. Working in food service and using beautiful knives is what led him to his vocation. He is largely self-taught, and picked up the trade by watching chefs who cared for their instruments like a violinist caring for their Stradivarius. “I know as soon as I pick up a knife what needs to be done to it,” says Aguirre. On a given knife, he uses five pieces of equipment, including a diamond stone, three different ceramic stones of varying grit, and a leather strop to polish.

What began in his garage has now moved to Watertown, where he shares space with To the Gills Seafood and New Curds on the Block. The business is still young, but he’s already picked up restaurant clients in addition to home cooks. 

Could you just do this on your own? Sure, but if you’re using the steel rod that came with your knife set, that’s not for sharpening––it just straightens the metal fibers. Buy a whetstone, and then practice. A lot. Or hand your blade over to the pro: $2 per blade-inch is a small price to pay for serenity.

 900 Main St., Watertown, or Saturday Farmers Market in Washington Depot—@cuchillossharpening