Use a Sheet of Paper to Make Sure Your Knife Is as Sharp as It Should Be [Video]

 We all know that a sharp knife is a cook's best friend, but beyond that, dull knives are flat out dangerous, and the cause for more kitchen injuries than sharp knives are. But how do you determine if your knife is actually sharp? The folks from America's Test Kitchen suggest grabbing a standard sheet of paper, and trying to slice through it, as shown in the video here. If your knife makes it, it's sharp. If not, it's time to hone that blade.

We've discussed how to hone a kitchen knife in the past, so if your knives fail the paper test, you can easily re-align the edge of the blade so it cuts more efficiently and won't give you unnecessary resistance when you try to slice through fruits and vegetables. More importantly though, with a sharp blade, the knife will go where you want it to go and won't behave unpredictably—which means it won't nick your hand or finger while you're trying to make dinner.

So head to your kitchen and give this one a try—just make sure you recycle the scraps of paper when you're done. Know this tip already? Have a better way to determine how sharp a knife really is? Let us know in the comments below.

60-Second Video Tips: Is Your Knife Sharp Enough? | YouTube via America's Test Kitchen (Google+)

Hide Your Knife Rack By Mounting It Under the Cabinet [Kitchen Hacks]

This clever solution for storing knives in the kitchen keeps them in easy reach and also frees up some space: Mount your knives under the top cabinets using a magnetic knife block.

Kaela's solution on her Local Kitchen Blog shows the handles facing out to make it easy to grab the right knife (it helps that she has uniquely-handled knives, though). This way of storing your knives makes more sense than using a wall-mounted knife rack, which makes you move things out of the way to get to your knives, or a knife block which takes up precious counter space.

Keep Canned Soups From Sticking in the Can with a Knife [Video]

 Many thicker canned soups such as tomato or cream of whatever soup have a tendency to stick to the inside of the can and must usually be scraped out with a spoon. Vimeo user Wes Kennedy found that once you remove the lid you can have these soups pour easily by puncturing the back of the can with a knife or other sharp object.

This allows air to release the vacuum between the can and the soup and results in a clean pour with no residue left in the can. Check out the video above for a demonstration.