Use a ceramic steel or a fine-striated steel, Solaegui says. Hold the handle of the steel in one hand, and let the other end of it rest on a table. Grip the knife in your other hand, and place its sharp edge perpendicular to the steel. Then tilt the top of the knife at a 45-degree angle and move it again to about a 20-degree angle. Slide the blade across the steel on either side of the knife a few times, just enough to smooth the edges of the blade.

It's not necessary to hone the knife every time you use it. Repeat this process only "when you can't cut tomatoes cleanly," Solaegui says.

After using your knives for a while, you'll notice that honing no longer smooths their edges. When this happens, it's best to bring the knives to professional sharpeners; electric sharpeners can render a knife misshapen.

For more information, call Solaegui at (559) 908-2191 or visit him at the Vineyard farmers market on Saturday mornings at Shaw and Blackstone Avenues.

How to seed a tomato and other tips

Now that you know how to care for knives, here's Carroll's advice for using them. Some of the tips, such as dicing an onion, julienning a carrot and stripping parsley leaves off their stems, are easier to understand by watching video. To see Carroll in action, look for this story on fresnobee.com.

Other tips are explained here, such as the "pinch grip" Carroll uses with her chef's knife to maintain control and prevent her arm from tiring.

To use this grip, first look at the back of the blade. You'll see the bolster, a thick strip of metal that weights the chef's knife and makes it easier to cut.

Place your thumb on one side of the blade at the bolster. Then place your index finger on the other side of the blade. Pinch the blade with these fingers, then curve the remaining three fingers around the handle.

Once you've mastered the pinch grip, use it while chopping and mincing herbs.

"It's much easier to chop a dry herb than a wet herb," Carroll says. She recommends drying the washed herbs in a salad spinner before cutting them.

To make a chiffonade (very thin strips) of a leafy green such as baby spinach, stack individual leaves atop one another, then tightly roll them up lengthwise. Using a chef's knife, cut the rolled bundle of leaves crosswise into thin slices. Unroll the strip, and use them as desired.

As for seeding that tomato, Carroll's technique requires a bowl, paring knife and serrated knife or sharp chef's knife. Using the paring knife, she cuts a circle around the stem and pulls it out. (Don't bother to core the tomato; you just want to pull out the stem.)

Next, place the tomato on the cutting board and slice it crosswise using the serrated knife or chef's knife. Pick up a tomato half, and hold the cut side over the bowl. Gently squeeze, letting the tomato seeds drip into the bowl. Repeat with the other half.

And here's one more tip that's easy to explain in words: To cut vegetables for stir-fry, hold the knife at about a 45-degree angle to the cutting board, with the edge of the knife facing away from you. Slice vegetables into equally thick pieces.

Cutting the vegetables at an angle creates more surface area on the pieces and allows for faster cooking.

"You want to cook in a stir-fry very quickly," Carroll says. "You want to make sure the cuts are consistent."

Panzanella with grilled chicken

Makes 10-12 servings

For the chicken:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, to taste