It happens to even the best-equipped cooks–whether you’re in a friend’s kitchen, or in a vacation rental house, you find yourself stuck with a horribly dull knife, and no sharpening stone or honing steel at hand.

Turns out there’s probably something in the cabinet that’ll work in a pinch–the unglazed bottom rim of a ceramic coffee mug. Just place your knife blade at a 20-degree angle to the ceramic edge, and draw it from heel to point several times on one side of the blade. Then turn the knife over, again at a 20-degree angle, and repeat on the other side. You’ll find the ceramic surface does a surprisingly good job of sharpening the knife.

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