Whether you’re the designated carver for a Sunday night roast, dicing some daikon or trying your hand as a sashimi master, these four tips — according to the maestro Mike Bernard of Mikes Mobile Knife Sharpening — will keep your carving instruments as sharp as a tack. The sharper the knife, the better the outcome.

1. Never store them in a draw
Unless you have a non-slip lining the knives will knock against everything else in there and thus dull the sharp edge.

2. Don’t put them in the dishwasher
Along with banging around with all your other kitchen tools, dishwasher detergent is very abrasive. You wouldn’t wash your hands with it, so why hurt your knives with it? (Plus, it’s not safe for those stuck with the task of unloading either)

3. Wooden blocks are okay…
So long as you slot them in spine up as opposed to sharp end down.

4. The best place for them is a magnet
But same principal applies; place them spine first so the sharp end is the last part of the knife to hit the magnet.