Can You Put Knives in the Dishwasher?

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It’s one of the most common kitchen arguments: someone loads the good chef’s knife into the dishwasher, and someone else pulls it back out. The person pulling it out is usually right, but it’s worth understanding why, and when it doesn’t matter as much.

In my workshop, the things that ruin tools fastest are impact, heat cycling, harsh chemicals and moisture left sitting on metal. A dishwasher manages all four in one cycle. Here’s what actually happens and what knife makers say.

What knife makers say

I checked what several brands on this site say about the dishwasher:

Wüsthof’s care guide says not to put knives in the dishwasher, to avoid damage from high heat and from knives rubbing together during the cycle. Mercer’s product pages say cutlery should never be washed in a dishwasher. Shun’s retailer listings say to hand wash. Victorinox lists its Fibrox Pro knives as dishwasher safe.

What the dishwasher does to a knife

It dulls the edge. Water jets push items around. A knife edge that touches a plate, a glass, another knife or the rack gets nicked and rolled. Over many cycles, the edge dulls faster than it would in normal cooking.

It damages handles. Wood and some composite handles can dry out, crack, warp or loosen at the rivets with repeated heat and moisture. Even durable plastics can fade and roughen.

It can spot or rust steel. Stainless steel resists rust, but long exposure to hot water, salt, acidic food residue and harsh detergent can cause spots and pitting. Carbon steel will rust.

It can loosen construction. Heat cycling can stress the joint between blade and handle, especially on older or cheaper knives.

It’s a safety risk. A knife point-up in the cutlery basket is how people cut their hands while unloading.

Why some knives are labeled dishwasher safe

A knife can survive the dishwasher better when:

• The handle is a tough, non-porous plastic like Victorinox’s Fibrox, with no wood or glued joints.
• The steel is a softer, rust-resistant stainless that rolls rather than chips and is easy to sharpen back.
• It’s designed for commercial kitchens, where speed and sanitation matter.

“Dishwasher safe” means the knife won’t be destroyed. It doesn’t mean the edge will stay as sharp as it would if washed by hand.

Which knives should never go in

• Japanese knives with hard, thin edges (Tojiro, Shun, Mac, Misono).
• Carbon steel knives. They’ll rust.
• Wooden or pakkawood handles.
• Forged German knives like Wüsthof Classic, per Wüsthof.
• Damascus knives, whose etched finish can dull.
• Any knife you care about.

How to hand wash a knife in under a minute

1. Wash it soon after use. Don’t leave it in the sink, where food residue and acids sit on the steel and someone can reach in and find the edge with their hand.
2. Use warm water and a little dish soap. Wüsthof recommends warm water and mild dish soap.
3. Wipe with a soft sponge or cloth, from the spine toward the edge, with the edge facing away from your hand.
4. Avoid abrasive scrubbers. Wüsthof says abrasive sponges and cleaners can scratch blades.
5. Rinse.
6. Dry right away with a soft towel, including near the handle. Wüsthof says to dry knives immediately.
7. Put it away dry.

That’s it. It takes less time than unloading a dishwasher.

What about sanitizing?

People sometimes use the dishwasher because they want knives sanitized after raw meat. Hand washing with hot, soapy water followed by thorough rinsing and drying is the standard approach for knives at home. If you want an extra step after raw poultry, many home cooks wipe the blade with a food-safe sanitizer and let it air dry. Keep a separate knife or board for raw meat if that helps you feel confident.

If you use the dishwasher anyway

Some households will put knives in the dishwasher no matter what. If that’s yours:

• Buy knives the maker lists as dishwasher safe, like the Victorinox Fibrox Pro line.
• Lay knives flat in the top rack or use a dedicated knife holder, so they don’t knock into other items.
• Don’t put them point-up in the cutlery basket.
• Skip the heated dry if your machine allows.
• Remove and dry them as soon as the cycle ends.
• Hone more often, because the edge will roll faster.

Dishwasher safe knives on this site

From the products I’ve checked:

• Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8-inch chef’s knife: listed as dishwasher safe by Victorinox.
• Victorinox Fibrox Pro 7-inch santoku: listed as dishwasher safe by Victorinox.
• Victorinox Fibrox Pro 10.25-inch bread knife: listed as dishwasher safe by Victorinox.
• Victorinox Fibrox Pro boning knives: retailers list them as dishwasher safe.

Not dishwasher safe, per their makers: Wüsthof Classic, Mercer Millennia, Shun Classic, and in practice all Japanese and carbon steel knives.

What about steak knives and butter knives?

Table knives and inexpensive steak knives are a different category. Most table knives are made to go in the dishwasher. Many budget serrated steak knives are too. Check the maker’s guidance, and keep good steak knives with wooden handles out.

What about cutting boards?

Wood cutting boards shouldn’t go in the dishwasher either. They warp and crack. Many plastic boards are dishwasher safe and easier to sanitize. Whatever board you use, keep it wood or plastic: glass, stone and ceramic boards dull knives fast.

Common questions about drying

Can I air dry knives on a rack? It’s better than the dishwasher, but stainless can still spot where water pools, and carbon will rust. A quick towel dry is best.

Is it OK to dry with a paper towel? Yes. Wipe from spine to edge, with the edge facing away.

Should I oil my knives after washing? Not stainless knives for daily use. Carbon steel benefits from a thin coat of mineral oil before long storage.

How to remove spots from stainless knives

If your stainless knives already have spots or a cloudy film from the dishwasher, they can usually be cleaned up:

• Water spots and film: wipe with a soft cloth dampened with white vinegar, then rinse and dry.
• Light rust spots: a paste of baking soda and water on a soft cloth, rubbed gently along the blade (not across the edge). Rinse and dry.
• Stubborn stains: a non-scratch stainless cleaner like Bar Keepers Friend, used gently and rinsed well.
• Deep pits: cosmetic unless they’re at the edge. If they’re at the edge, sharpening past them is the fix.

Always wipe from spine to edge with the edge facing away from your hand.

How to restore a dried-out wooden handle

Wooden and pakkawood handles that have been through the dishwasher can look pale and feel rough.

1. Wash and dry the knife completely.
2. Lightly sand rough areas of a natural wood handle with very fine sandpaper, if the maker’s finish allows it. Skip this on pakkawood and stabilized wood unless they’re truly rough.
3. Rub in a thin coat of food-safe mineral oil or a board cream with beeswax.
4. Let it soak in for a few hours or overnight.
5. Wipe off the excess.

As someone who makes handles, I’d add: if a handle has cracked or the rivets have loosened, oil won’t fix it. That needs repair or replacement.

Kids, roommates and shared kitchens

Shared kitchens are where knives most often end up in the dishwasher. A few things that help:

• Keep one dishwasher-safe “house knife” like a Victorinox for everyone, and keep your good knives on a separate strip.
• Put a small sign inside a cabinet door: “Good knives: hand wash only.”
• Store good knives out of the drawer so they don’t get grabbed for every job.
• Teach the spine-to-edge wipe. Once people try it, most realize it’s quicker than loading the dishwasher.

The cost of the dishwasher over five years

A rough way to see it: a knife that goes through the dishwasher daily needs honing more often and sharpening sooner. If you sharpen twice as often, you remove twice as much steel over the years. On a soft, inexpensive knife, that may not matter. On a $150 Japanese knife, it means replacing it years earlier, or paying for repairs to chips and a cracked handle.

How dishwasher use shortens a knife’s life

Even when a dishwasher doesn’t visibly damage a knife, it means more sharpening. A rolled or nicked edge needs honing or sharpening sooner, and every sharpening removes steel. Over years, that adds up. Hand washing is one of the cheapest ways to make a knife last.

A one-minute knife care routine

If you want a routine that keeps knives in great shape with almost no effort:

• While cooking: wipe the blade on a damp towel between tasks, especially after acidic food.
• Right after cooking: wash with warm soapy water and a soft sponge, spine to edge.
• Immediately: dry with a towel, including the bolster and handle.
• Put it away: on a magnetic strip, in a block or with a blade guard.
• Every few cooking sessions: a few light strokes on a honing rod.
• Every few months: sharpen.

That routine takes less time than loading and unloading the knives from a dishwasher, and your knives will stay sharper for years.

What about the “sanitize” cycle?

Some dishwashers have a high-temperature sanitize setting. It’s great for plastic boards and dishes. For knives, it just adds more heat to the handle and more time for the edge to bounce around. Hot soapy water, a good rinse and a quick dry handle hygiene well for knives at home.

My take

Hand wash your good knives. It takes less than a minute and adds years to their life. If your household truly won’t, choose knives built for it, like the Victorinox Fibrox Pro, lay them flat on the top rack, and hone them often.