It’s once again tomato season in the Greater Patapsco Drainage Basin and, in kitchens throughout the region, knives are being put to the test, and most of them are probably failing.

We’ve all had that experience: You stand near the sink to slice a fresh tomato for a tomato sandwich and discover, once again, that your knife is dull and not up to the task. It presses against the tomato skin and even bounces back a little. You push harder and, instead of surrendering to a tidy, surgical slice, your luscious red Beefsteak pops open and bleeds.

That’s a “first-world problem” maybe, but a common experience of Maryland households every summer.

Tomato slicing frustration (TSF) exists, however fleeting, for mainly two reasons: A lot of people, perhaps most, hardly ever bother to sharpen their kn

See Full Page