Sharpening Knives

[Roaniecowpony]

For decades, I have hand sharpened our family knives. I've used water stones, oil stones, and lately, a diamond lap steel. I was always seeking the standard 20 degree angle. I've gone so far as bringing a stone/lap with me to vacation rentals to sharpen the inevitable dull knives in the drawer.

I thought I was doing well until I bought my wife a Shun Dual Core with a 16 degree edge. Man that knife really works well. I also got her their sharpener to keep that angle.

So I was getting ready to touch up my go-to kitchen knife, a 7 inch Wusthof santoku. I thought why not try the 16 degree edge on this knife. It took a lot of time on the diamond lap to cut the edge back by hand. Once it was done, I used the sharpener for the Shun to finish it. Wow! It works really well. Very noticeable. It's been holding the edge well. I know a shallow angle is more delicate, but I take care (more than my wife) of knife edges, because I know what it takes to sharpen a beat up knife. Any of you with good steel knives might consider this. It really makes it like a different knife.

 

[cutplug]

I have a Ken Onion Shun and it has been the best knife. My wife and kid got it for me prob 10 years ago for Christmas. I have only ever used a steel on it and it is still scary sharp.
I should send it in for a recondition but then I would be without for too long!

 

[Gotbbq]

For decades, I have hand sharpened our family knives. I've used water stones, oil stones, and lately, a diamond lap steel. I was always seeking the standard 20 degree angle. I've gone so far as bringing a stone/lap with me to vacation rentals to sharpen the inevitable dull knives in the drawer.

I thought I was doing well until I bought my wife a Shun Dual Core with a 16 degree edge. Man that knife really works well. I also got her their sharpener to keep that angle.

So I was getting ready to touch up my go-to kitchen knife, a 7 inch Wusthof santoku. I thought why not try the 16 degree edge on this knife. It took a lot of time on the diamond lap to cut the edge back by hand. Once it was done, I used the sharpener for the Shun to finish it. Wow! It works really well. Very noticeable. It's been holding the edge well. I know a shallow angle is more delicate, but I take care (more than my wife) of knife edges, because I know what it takes to sharpen a beat up knife. Any of with good steel knives might consider this. It really makes it like a different knife. View attachment 3474

Doing a good job at sharpening a knife is an art unto itself. I have a few good "go to" knives that i use a steel on and then have them professionally sharpened as needed. We have a great kitchen shop near us that sharpens while you wait. I haven't tried it yet but there is also a service that you send your knives, prepaid shipping, and return within a week. Has had excellent reviews. Now that my kitchen store is closed I may give them a try. They were on Shark Tank. Here is the website ??

https://knifeaid.com

 

[ghuns]

I'm a toolmaker by trade. I can sharpen most anything with an edge by hand. But I'm also a freak about having perfectly centered, crazy sharp knives. I had a friend give me an Edge Pro knockoff he bought on Amazon. He said it was junk. He was partially right, the stones were junk. Not flat, varied in thickness, etc. I flattened the stones and bought a stop that takes care of the variable thicknesses problem. The thing works like a champ.

https://imgur.com/a/OzD2lyl

 

[Buttah Butts]

I have mostly all wusthof icon knives. I bring them to the family owned kitchen store from time to time to be sharpened they offer that service for free if you buy from them. In between I just use a steel to keep edge.

 

[bfletcher]

Well now I'm feeling inferior.

 

[spartanhuntr]

That makes two of us. No doubt in my mind I could use some training here. Christmas 2018 my wife gave me an expensive carving knife. First six months it made everything feel like butter. So much so i probably used it too much (on the wrong stuff). It is still sharper than our kitchen knives but there is a clear difference when cutting brisket or a thick ribeye these days . Or even the loin i cooked Thursday which takes just a little more effort to get through it.

Because it wasn't working as well i bought a boning knife (cheap one with 5 star rating on Amazon). It worked great the first couple of times but was dull within 3-4 uses.

Time for an education (or at a minimum to find one of those kitchen stores that will sharpen).

 

[Blues1]

That makes two of us. No doubt in my mind I could use some training here. Christmas 2018 my wife gave me an expensive carving knife. First six months it made everything feel like butter. So much so i probably used it too much (on the wrong stuff). It is still sharper than our kitchen knives but there is a clear difference when cutting brisket or a thick ribeye these days . Or even the loin i cooked Thursday which takes just a little more effort to get through it.

Because it wasn't working as well i bought a boning knife (cheap one with 5 star rating on Amazon). It worked great the first couple of times but was dull within 3-4 uses.

Time for an education (or at a minimum to find one of those kitchen stores that will sharpen).

I could use an education on kitchen knives too. Just bought a reasonably good knife. Much better than anything I've had so far. A big difference. The price of some knife sets are crazy.

 

[txpgapro]

I've had an Edge Pro for many years. I love it. Time consuming? Yes, but with worth it.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I could use an education on kitchen knives too. Just bought a reasonably good knife. Much better than anything I've had so far. A big difference. The price of some knife sets are crazy.

There are as many tools to sharpen knives as knives themselves. Regardless of how good a steel knife is, it will eventually need sharpening. How often a knife needs sharpening is based on so many things, it's near impossible to nail down, other than to say: when it no longer cuts as well as the first cut you made with it. Of course, that would be nearly impossible to maintain. But it's a high bar to seek. I have a long, straight, carving knife that I slice a lot of meat with. I can tell it needs a touch up after slicing one whole tritip, when carving it hot. It's not dull, but it doesn't fall through the meat as easily and the slickes have to get slightly thicker to stabilize and maintain a smooth cut. It just takes a few swipes across my diamond lap to make it slice incredibly again. When I'm using a knife, I may touch up the edge one or more times, especially when trimming, boning, or bulk slicing meats.

As to the mechanics of sharpening, the most common method is some type of bench stone or diamond impregnated steel lap, where the user must hold the knife at the precise angle by hand, while stroking the blade across the stone in a slicing motion. This takes quite a bit of skill for the user to hold the blade at the correct angle while doing this. There are aids to help maintain the knife at the desired angle, such as plastic wedges. Then there are sharpening sticks mounted in a V arrangement, and many other draw through powered and unpowered devices that can be from terrible to very good. Then there are fixtures/jigs like the Edge Pro that hold the knife and stone/lap in a precise relationship to get a repeatable angle on the edge.

My recommendation for the novice is to stay away from powered devices. You are more likely to damage the knife.

If you have good hand coordination, you might be good at using a bench stone. If you aren't good with things like this, maybe a quality draw through type of sharpener or a fixture/jig type. The latter type if you're particularly obsessed with seeking that perfect edge.

Watch some youtube videos.

 

[cutplug]

Price of knives... check out some Bob Kramer knives. Works of art.
I was thinking of just getting a bottle opener. $150 - glad they were sold out!
https://kramerknives.com/
and gallery images.
https://kramerknives.com/knives/gallery/

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Price of knives... check out some Bob Kramer knives. Works of art.
I was thinking of just getting a bottle opener. $150 - glad they were sold out!
https://kramerknives.com/
and gallery images.
https://kramerknives.com/knives/gallery/

Pretty amazing knives.

Here's my beer bottle/can opener. A Sapporo chrome plated cast iron opener that my first memory of was about 1960-61 when my father would open his beers in Japan, when he was stationed at Misawa Air Base. I wouldn't take 10 times the cost of a Kramer opener.