Knife sharpening

[rotuts]

@FlashJack 

 

I used to .  I had a Makita rotary whetstone 

 

sharpening system , mostly for woodworking tools.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Makita-98202-Horizontal-Wheel-Sharpener/dp/B0000223JC

 

but it did knives very well

 

I made some thick circular plywood blanks , the same size as the

 

\three water stones .

 

I glued on leather , cut to fit :  smooth and ' rough '

 

I charged the rough w a green sharpening stick

 

and that worked very well.   some of my blanks were stolen

 

and i could not repack the , so that was that

 

 

[paulraphael]

13 hours ago, FlashJack said:

Have tried this from time to time. Just doesn't feel right to me.

 

It's worth getting used to, if you insist on steeling. You'll be able to hold a more consistent angle, and apply more consistent pressure. When you hold the steel pointed out into space, it's moving all over the place, because you're not a robot.

[jedovaty]

I'll be traveling outside my country (US) for about a month next year, staying at a furnished apartment.  Should I bring my edgepro, get a stone combo like what was linked to earlier, or get one of those sub $15 pull-through sharpeners?  The last time I stayed at a furnished place the knives were horribly dull and found that both dangerous and no fun at all.  Sharpening knives is a very mundane and boring task but I do it 1-2x per year at home.  The concern is losing the edgpro (and maybe its extra weight) if I take it, though I like the idea of not having to buy more crap.  The freehand stone combo thingy seems nice and minimalist but doubt I have the ability to do it correctly, never tried free-hand sharpening and I cannot drill or saw straight lines to save anyone's life.  The cheapo pull-throughs might work enough, but then it's more oddly-shaped junk to store at home.

[rotuts]

@jedovaty 

 

Id guess that a rental that includes knives 

 

probably has some terrible nives

 

if not to begin with , then eventually 

 

as its very unlikely they have been taken care of.

 

what is the pull through you had in mind ?

 

try :

 

https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-CCKS-2-Step-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00032S02K/ref=sr_1_16?c=ts&keywords=Knife+Sharpeners&qid=1670942916&s=kitchen&sr=1-16&ts_id=289867

 

or

 

https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-50185-Jiffy-Pro-Handheld-Sharpener/dp/B0051OYT2U/ref=psdc_284507_t3_B00032S02K

 

the later might be easer to hold and use.

 

 

[weinoo]

Buy a pair of those inexpensive knives made in Thailand, and just leave them when you come home.

[Dr. Teeth]

Mitch beat me to it.   Just buy a couple cheapos and leave them when you go.   The person renting the house may not think your running their knives through a cheap sharpener is a great idea even if it does put a fresh edge on them.   They may also be made of stainless steel and a pain to put an edge on.

[Anna N]

4 hours ago, jedovaty said:

The last time I stayed at a furnished place the knives were horribly dull and found that both dangerous and no fun at all. 

You may think you were doing a wonderful thing, but only once have I put an edge on someone’s knife. They promptly cut themselves with it! Not everyone appreciates sharp knives, strangely. So, if you do decide to sharpen existing knives, make sure to leave them a note that you have done so.

[dcarch]

49 minutes ago, Anna N said:

You may think you were doing a wonderful thing, but only once have I put an edge on someone’s knife. They promptly cut themselves with it! Not everyone appreciates sharp knives, strangely. So, if you do decide to sharpen existing knives, make sure to leave them a note that you have done so.

👍

 

dcarch

[jedovaty]

Buying the knives sounds like another idea, thanks.. however, I've looked up traveling with knives and I would be concerned they'd confiscate from my baggage so it's just wasted money.  The place I'm going probably has knives at the stores I suppose, but I don't want to gamble that they will be inexpensive.

Thanks for the tip on leaving a note.  Instead, I can just blunt the knife edges a bit before I leave.

[blue_dolphin]

55 minutes ago, jedovaty said:

I've looked up traveling with knives and I would be concerned they'd confiscate from my baggage so it's just wasted money.

I’m surprised at that. Kitchen knives in checked baggage should not be a problem. Sheath or pack in a knife roll labeled “sharp kitchen knives” so they won’t harm anyone searching the luggage. 
Knives in a carry-on?  No.  

[weinoo]

2 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I’m surprised at that. Kitchen knives in checked baggage should not be a problem. Sheath or pack in a knife roll labeled “sharp kitchen knives” so they won’t harm anyone searching the luggage. 
Knives in a carry-on?  No.  

Exactly.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I don't know what the destination is but I remember reading Japan, for one, does not allow knives to be brought into the country.

 

I could be mistaken.  If so, carry on.  Pun only partially intended.

 

 

[KennethT]

4 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Knives in a carry-on?  No.  

I did this once!! It was long before 9/11 and was my first time to Paris. I bought a chef's knife and a paring knife from Dehillerin but I was afraid of it getting damaged in the checked luggage so I figured it would be safest in my carry-on. They had corks on the tips and the package was wrapped at the store. Going through security, the guy x-raying my bag stops and looks at me and says - sir, take the knife out of the bag! It was then an amusing 10 minute conversation testing my barely passable French trying to explain my logic of why I have an ,8" knife in my carry-on. Anyway, they determined I was stupid but harmless and they allowed me to check the knives at the gate. Of course, what happened? British Airways put the knife package in a box with no packing material, so when I got home I realized that the chef's knife 's tip got bent as it rolled around the box. Completely my fault for being an idiot and not putting it in my checked luggage (surrounded by clothes) in the first place.

Edited December 14, 2022 by KennethT (log)

[liuzhou]

11 hours ago, jedovaty said:

Buying the knives sounds like another idea, thanks.. however, I've looked up traveling with knives and I would be concerned they'd confiscate from my baggage so it's just wasted money.  The place I'm going probably has knives at the stores I suppose, but I don't want to gamble that they will be inexpensive.

Thanks for the tip on leaving a note.  Instead, I can just blunt the knife edges a bit before I leave.

 

You can probably buy acceptable-for-a-month, maybe not ideal knives, wherever you go, somethng  you haven't mentioned. I'm more imterested in what you may cut than how and then what you do it with. Are you going to fret away your trip worrying about how you cut and not what you cut?

i've spent a month and more cutting with a well-travelled Swiss army knife. Dinner was great!     

[rotuts]

I do not follow the logic 

 

that leaving a sharper knife in the drawer 

 

of a rental is dangerous .

 

would it be safer to just dull down 

 

those knives ,, to begin with ?

 

leave a note in the drawer 

 

---  no doubt , they are loose in a drawer ?

 

that the knives have been sharpened ?

[blue_dolphin]

In my vacation rental experience, one reason the knives are crap is at least partly due to the lack of a decent cutting surface. I’ve seen glass, ceramic, hard plastic and nary a knife-friendly cutting board in some otherwise well-equipped kitchens. All the sharpening in the world won’t last long under those conditions. 

[AlaMoi]

in reality, , , the hand held pull thru V-notch style is not going to put much of a wicked edge on a knife. 

it'll be usable, and (much) better than the usual beaters found in rentals - I would not hesitate to pack/use one and leave the knives just like I "sharpened" them...

 

kitchen knives in checked bags is not a problem - as noted above, proper packing required.

country-of-destination regulations is a different issue than airline/USA Federal regs.

 

I traveled to Germany regularly, and used the opportunity to fill out my Wuesthof collection for reasonable $$s.

checking in (Lufthansa) at Frankfurt the roving questioning dude would ask a bunch of questions, including "any knives/ sharp objects in the bag" - and put a sticker indicating his 'approval' - so one trip I had purchased a 25cm slicer, had it packed along the spine of a fold-over bag to be checked.

the bag was 'decorated' with multiple different color stickers from prior trips . . .the dude went thru his spiel, finished - then I told him "you forgot to ask about knives, and I have a big one in the bag."  thought he was going to faint on the spot.

[btbyrd]

Knives in rental properties will be not only dull, but made of garbage steel that will be difficult to sharpen. I like the idea of buying an inexpensive knife like a Kiwi or even a Victorinox Fibrox and using that instead of trying to shine the turds that you'll find at your destination. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Honing?

 

I have always used the third stage of my Chef'sChoice sharpeners for honing.  Now I have two smooth steel honing rods, one round, one oval, and a leather strop -- as well of course as Chad Ward's book.

 

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

 

Where should I begin?  In particular I am not sure when to employ a round rod or an oval one.

 

 

 

[rotuts]

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

I not use the items you mentioned on any Watanabe,

 

rather  honing rod should be fine.  they work the same way

 

pick the one that is easier to  use.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, rotuts said:

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

I not use the items you mentioned on any Watanabe,

 

rather  honing rod should be fine.  they work the same way

 

pick the one that is easier to  use.

 

 

I've never tried to sharpen my Watanabe at all by any means!  I would have thought the strop shouldn't hurt?

 

[rotuts]

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

id not use the strop

 

you might get the acute angle wrong.

 

and the steel is relatively thin nd brittle.

 

EdgePro is the only way to go at home

 

unless you have very fine water stones and a very steady hand,

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

id not use the strop

 

you might get the acute angle wrong.

 

and the steel is relatively thin nd brittle.

 

EdgePro is the only way to go at home

 

unless you have very fine water stones and a very steady hand,

 

I have an antique Arkansas stone but no talent to use it.  I plan to try the steels and strop on my $30 knives.  But I could use more guidance on how to hone with a strop, as it is not something I have done before. 

 

[rotuts]

you use the strop in the same way you use a stone.

 

w the strop you use a paste on the material to get the fine grit you are after.

[Laurentius]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

you use the strop in the same way you use a stone.

 

You push your knife edge-first across a strop?  You must buy strops pretty often!