Knife sharpening

[scubadoo97]

Forgot about this one.   I was in the acquisition phase quite a few years ago.    Now I tend to use the four pictured on the cutting board above   I do have a clever which is a Joyce Chen 
 

[weinoo]

Acquisition phase is what I appear to be in on a daily basis.

 

Forget to mention that I sent 5 rarely used knives (1 cleaver) to Knife Aid.  Total turnaround time, from me dropping off at the post office, was 6 days - kind of amazed me, since they're going to California and back.

 

They came back razor sharp, with probably a little more metal removed than had I done them on an Edge Pro, which might've taken as long as the turnaround time.

[blue_dolphin]

20 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Forget to mention that I sent 5 rarely used knives (1 cleaver) to Knife Aid.  Total turnaround time, from me dropping off at the post office, was 6 days - kind of amazed me, since they're going to California and back.

 

Your mention of shipping to CA prompted me to look them up and I see they are just down the road a piece from me.  I've got a few knives I should either get re-habbed or get rid of and wouldn't mind supporting a local business. 

[scubadoo97]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@scubadoo97  

 

nice.   very nice .

 

is that a circular magnifying glass in the box ?

 

yes it’s a magnifying lens used to view the retina.    It was one I rarely used in my office.   The optics are excellent.   

Edited September 21, 2020 by scubadoo97 (log)

[paulraphael]

Many years ago I had the bright idea of sending knives to a local sharpening service ... the kind of place that butcher shops hire. Luckily these were cheap Chicago Cutlery knives. The place just threw them on a bench grinder. They all came back with several millimeters of steel gone, and a concave bevel. They were basically shop knives at that point. Beware!

[scubadoo97]

@paulraphael   Thanks for the public service announcement.   They use the same tools  to sharpen axes and pruning shears 
Certainly  not where you want to take your kitchen knives 

[rotuts]

in the NE town I live in , on 'the Commons '  

 

a NE thing :  if way back when you didn't have pasture for your

 

' Milk Cow '   you walked her down to the Common , for pasture 

 

the farmers market over time has more crafts than veg , but i didn't mind

 

then they had a person that sharpened knives :  w a car battery etc

 

it was not that expensive , and he seemed to know what he was doing

 

but , any knife at or above a Henckels or above  might have been ruined 

 

probably not the Henckels  , as its SS

 

no matter , people had sharp knives !  might be for the first time !

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, scubadoo97 said:

@paulraphael   Thanks for the public service announcement.   They use the same tools  to sharpen axes and pruning shears 
Certainly  not where you want to take your kitchen knives 

Well, Knife Aid doesn't sharpen those, so you'll have to go to the grinder.

[AlaMoi]

my kids don't get all too excited when I break out the Edge-Pro....seems doing it right is a problem for them.

 

so I made the a simple concave sharpening "block" - based on Chad Ward instructions:

some maple, a cut up mouse pad - all stainless hardware.

provided basic instructions, a variety of wet/dry grits cut to size.

as a added feature a side bar to assist in 'getting the right angle'

 

the gadgets are getting rave reviews from all two kids and one son-in-law....

 

[barista]

For those who has the Chef's Choice 1520, how does it compare to an average sharpening on stone? I try, but am not terribly good at getting a good edge. If I can get better than that with the 1520, I'll probably get one. I do hone my knives before use.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, barista said:

For those who has the Chef's Choice 1520, how does it compare to an average sharpening on stone? I try, but am not terribly good at getting a good edge. If I can get better than that with the 1520, I'll probably get one. I do hone my knives before use.

 

I used to sharpen my knives on stones.  One occasion my younger son brought home a friend from college.  Her family was in the restaurant business.  She was happy to help cook.  She admired my knife collection and expressed she was sure that they were sharp.  After a few moments she said:  "Well, maybe not."  I have never been more humiliated.  I now use a 1520.

 

[barista]

21 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I used to sharpen my knives on stones.  One occasion my younger son brought home a friend from college.  Her family was in the restaurant business.  She was happy to help cook.  She admired my knife collection and expressed she was sure that they were sharp.  After a few moments she said:  "Well, maybe not."  I have never been more humiliated.  I now use a 1520.

`

😄😄😄OK, that's vindication enough for a 1520.

 

[paulraphael]

Sharpening on water stones is a skillset, just like using knives. It's hard to master. But it's pretty easy to become competent, and if you're competent you'll have sharper knives you will with a sharpening machine. And you'll have sharper knives than you had when they were brand new, and you'll have sharper knives than most pro cooks ever use (outside of Japan). 

 

I don't think it has to be such a daunting process. Just start with 2-sided combination stone (say, 2000 and 6000 grit or similar) And a beater knife that you don't mind scratching up—ideally carbon steel, because it tends to be faster and easier to sharpen. It's a longer learning curve than using gadgets, but you'll get so you can touch up a knife really quickly. 

 

I also keep a big butcher's steel around for the western knives that I want to keep a fat toothy edge on—my German chef's knife and my Forschner utility knife. Those knives only see the stones once every few years. 

 

If you get obsessive, you can end up with a big collection of stones, but this is absolutely optional.

 

I'm a fan of a strop for finishing and quick touch-ups. It's a flat block with a strip of smooth hide that sticks on with a magnet. You treat the hide with a bit of very fine abrasive compound, and it puts a wicked finished edge on any knife you've  sharpened to a mirror finish. A few seconds of stropping gets the edge back to crazy sharpness. I only hit the stones when this doesn't work anymore. The strop takes less skill to use than a finishing stone. I can get a better edge with it than I can with a stone. The guy who taught me to sharpen can get a better edge with a stone, so it probably has to do with your skill level. 

[barista]

On 10/13/2020 at 12:07 AM, paulraphael said:

Sharpening on water stones is a skillset, just like using knives. It's hard to master. But it's pretty easy to become competent, and if you're competent you'll have sharper knives you will with a sharpening machine. And you'll have sharper knives than you had when they were brand new, and you'll have sharper knives than most pro cooks ever use (outside of Japan). 

 

I don't think it has to be such a daunting process. Just start with 2-sided combination stone (say, 2000 and 6000 grit or similar) And a beater knife that you don't mind scratching up—ideally carbon steel, because it tends to be faster and easier to sharpen. It's a longer learning curve than using gadgets, but you'll get so you can touch up a knife really quickly. 

 

I also keep a big butcher's steel around for the western knives that I want to keep a fat toothy edge on—my German chef's knife and my Forschner utility knife. Those knives only see the stones once every few years. 

 

If you get obsessive, you can end up with a big collection of stones, but this is absolutely optional.

 

I'm a fan of a strop for finishing and quick touch-ups. It's a flat block with a strip of smooth hide that sticks on with a magnet. You treat the hide with a bit of very fine abrasive compound, and it puts a wicked finished edge on any knife you've  sharpened to a mirror finish. A few seconds of stropping gets the edge back to crazy sharpness. I only hit the stones when this doesn't work anymore. The strop takes less skill to use than a finishing stone. I can get a better edge with it than I can with a stone. The guy who taught me to sharpen can get a better edge with a stone, so it probably has to do with your skill level. 

 

😪😪😪skill level is definitely lacking here...

 

I realise that I may have been using less pressure than needed. After the recent post, I went back to try again, but with slightly firmer pressure and indeed the result was better than previous attempts. 

 

Another that has me stumped is how does one manage a boning knife that has a slight S-shaped edge from tip to bolster? Tried Googling and YouTube, but I can't find anything on it.

 

[rotuts]

@barista

 

for a curved knife like a boning knife

 

you rotate the knife as you hone, to keep the contact points  parallel to the store

 

back in my Stone Age  i had a piece of leather that i glued to a block of wood

 

and used a green ' sock ' on it to deposit rubbing compound

 

on the leather      the stick had a binder + rubbing compound mixed in

 

razor sharp was the result  the rubbing compounds were color coded so to speak.

 

fun at the time for years    now EdgePro takes over for me w excellent results

Edited October 14, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[AlaMoi]

search

"how to sharpen recurved knife"

 

multiple approaches.....

[barista]

On 10/14/2020 at 12:47 PM, rotuts said:

@barista

 

for a curved knife like a boning knife

 

you rotate the knife as you hone, to keep the contact points  parallel to the store

 

back in my Stone Age  i had a piece of leather that i glued to a block of wood

 

and used a green ' sock ' on it to deposit rubbing compound

 

on the leather      the stick had a binder + rubbing compound mixed in

 

razor sharp was the result  the rubbing compounds were color coded so to speak.

 

fun at the time for years    now EdgePro takes over for me w excellent results

Oh, so instead of the one smooth motion from point to bolster, I need to basically do it in "sectors" to keep contact points?

 

[barista]

On 10/14/2020 at 9:53 PM, AlaMoi said:

search

"how to sharpen recurved knife"

 

multiple approaches.....

Oh, I didn't know it's called "recurved". I searched for "how to sharpen boning knife", but those were not of the S-shaped knife edge type.

[rotuts]

you move the knife based on the curve of the blade

 

as you advance it down the stone.

 

hard to explain 

[barista]

16 hours ago, rotuts said:

you move the knife based on the curve of the blade

 

as you advance it down the stone.

 

hard to explain 

OK, I think I get the idea.

[paulraphael]

On 10/14/2020 at 12:18 AM, barista said:

 

😪😪😪skill level is definitely lacking here...

 

I realise that I may have been using less pressure than needed. After the recent post, I went back to try again, but with slightly firmer pressure and indeed the result was better than previous attempts. 

 

Another that has me stumped is how does one manage a boning knife that has a slight S-shaped edge from tip to bolster? Tried Googling and YouTube, but I can't find anything on it.

 

 

Sharpening a knife with that many curves sounds a bit ... advanced! Have you practiced on a more boring knife? Getting the basic moves and feeling with a regular chef's knife, including the ordinary curve at the tip, is the important part. I think once you're comfortable with that, the adjustments you have to make for an oddball knife will be more intuitive.

 

That said, I don't really understand how you'd sharpen a blade that had a really concave belly on a regular stone.

[AAQuesada]

my two notes would be on a boning knife most of the time you are really using the first 1/3 of blade. just worry about the tip and flat. note 2 would be if you reallllly want to get that back part - save your broken pieces of stone for that (I call them finger stones) then work it with that smaller piece.

[Vapre]

Anybody use the Work Sharp Ken Onion edition? It uses belts of various degrees of abrasiveness. I’ve been pretty happy with the results.

[AlaMoi]

by tradition, every year prior to (USA) Thanksgiving I go thru my knives and decide which need attention.

the heaviest used are a 7" santoku and the 8" chef.  DW likes the 6" chef.... so I gave that a complete edge re-do.

note:  I use a steel at just about every extraction from the block.  basically my knives rarely get to a 'dull' stage....but the finish angle does morph over time - and does benefit from a "complete" re-grind/re-set now and then.

 

today I dragged out the Edge Pro - printed out my 'sharpening log' for reference....

used the 220 grit to re-establish the basic edge, + 600 grit to polish - or in the case of the chef knives - double bevel the edges. 

the santoku I re-ground and polished down to 18 degrees.  don't stare - it'll cut you....

this whole escapade took roughly 20 minutes per knife.  the drive to post office takes longer....

 

if one is serious about knife care and sharpness, 'doing-it-yo-self' is highly recommended.  it's not hard, it does not take long.

note:  I don't do or recommend or think about "motorized" sharpening.  just isn't necessary - and can be grossly harmful.

[barista]

On 10/18/2020 at 7:43 AM, paulraphael said:

 

Sharpening a knife with that many curves sounds a bit ... advanced! Have you practiced on a more boring knife? Getting the basic moves and feeling with a regular chef's knife, including the ordinary curve at the tip, is the important part. I think once you're comfortable with that, the adjustments you have to make for an oddball knife will be more intuitive.

 

That said, I don't really understand how you'd sharpen a blade that had a really concave belly on a regular stone.

Because it's the only boning knife I have. The rest are standard chef & slicing knives.