Personal Knife Sharpening Information

[MichBill]

I steel mine before every use and sharpen them once a month on an electric shaprener. I find that the electric sharpener does a really professional job.

[Sam Salmon]

1. How often do you sharpen your knives?2.What method do you use to do so?

A few passes with a DMT Diamond Hone-the fine/red one every usage or so.

Water stone a couple times a year.

This thread reminds me of a sharpening steel that hasn't been used for ages.

[D & R Sharpening]

I want to thank everyone who posted here. I really appreciate your honest answers and great information.

Thanks for your time....

Dave Martell

[Marco_Polo]

Hi Dave,

To keep an edge on our knives, I use a small knife sharpener that consists of two criss-crossing steels - I'm sure you know what I mean - you simply insert the blade in the gap and draw the knife across. It doesn't really sharpen the knife, just restores the edge.

About twice a year or so, I have all our knives resharpened professionally by an itinerant knife sharpener who comes to our small town, sets up by the town quay, and with a grindstone mounted in the back of his mini-van, sets up for an hour or two, sharpening the chef's knives from the surrounding restaurants and pubs. I think he charges a pound (UK) per knife, and it's really worth it as the knives then stay sharp for months.

Herea little story about it.

MP

[Mallet]

I use a 1000X followed by a 4000X waterstone about once a month for everything (chef, paring, and my big scary cleaver looking thing I got in China for cheap), interspersed with some touchups on the 4000X. I never got the hang nor have felt the need to learn how to use a steel properly.

[Moopheus]

This is reminding me that I need to sharpen a couple of my knives. I just do them when they seem to need it, since one or two knives do most of the work. I use an EdgePro sharperner; I definitely think it was worth the price.

[kalyson]

I use ceramic sticks for home sharpening, and about once a year I get them professionally sharpened. I'm now sending them to The Knife Guy. He ships a safety box to the customer and the customer fills it with knives and ships the box back to him. He sharpens them and sends them back.

[Shalmanese]

I don't steel, I figure I'm willing to live with sharpening more often just so I don't have to steel the damn knife every time I pull it out.

I sharpen maybe once every 3 months on a whetstone.

[TJHarris]

My knives hit the steel about every hour they are in use.

We get to the oilstones about every week for the more often used knives. Some of the lesser used blades may only see the oilstones every four weeks.

[jayt90]

I use a 1000X followed by a 4000X waterstone about once a month for everything (chef, paring, and my big scary cleaver looking thing I got in China for cheap), interspersed with some touchups on the 4000X. I never got the hang nor have felt the need to learn how to use a steel properly.

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I could never do the fast swashbuckling steeling show, either. But the suggestion from Leonard Lee, to press the tip of the steel onto a cutting board or non slip surface, vertically, and applying firm strokes, has worked well for me.