Knife Sharpening Advice Please...

Keep your fingers away from the sharp side. ;)
 
CrazyRussianHacker on Youtube, Tried several tips, All failed, Except, Sharpening your knives on the bottom of a coffee cup, I'll try that one, Cue, One blunt steak knife and ceramic mug, Swish swish half a dozen times one way, Then half a dozen times the other way up, Now what can I test it on? Lone tomato in the fridge? Fantastic! really worked! wafer thin slices of tomato, But now what to do with dead tomato? Cheese and tomato sandwich, Uses sharp knife to cut the cheese, Handle breaks off. Bugger.
 
srichards said:
I use one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00009R5OY

It made the nasty cheap useless knives I had quite acceptable.
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I have one of those. It is OK. You need to place it somewhere it cannot slip (which it does easily).

I use one of these now http://www.amazon.co.uk/AnySharp-Gl...sbs_201_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0G2K4GNEVJQHGV5F6X6K

It is a fierce sharpener. Two or three strokes then finish off with a steel to get a fine finish. Remember to wash the swarf off the knife before use.
 
I've always used a fisherman's hook sharpener. It's just a flat stone really.
Works better than all the sharpening gadgets like those linked to above that I've tried.
 
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I still have an oilstone.whetstone which belonged to my dad. I use it to sharpen chisels and knives and put a drop of three in one oil on the stone for chisels and olive oil for kitchen knives. It seems to work fine and has loads of life left in it after fifty years.
Pity really because I like the look of that one in the first post.
 
Lots on the web and utube about using wet & dry sandpaper- scary sharp method?
 
arclight said:
That looks like it overcomes the problem with oilstones - they eventually clog up and become less abrasive.
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I remember reading that you were only supposed to use oil to clean the stone, either sharpen dry or use water but I suppose different stones/different methods.
 
After watching this video I ordered the whetstone linked in the first post. He gets the knife very sharp but it seems to take a long time, half an hour or more. I feel that sharpening the knife in the direction it cuts makes sense, the 'all in one' solutions sharpen at a right angle to the cutting motion and tend to wear out relatively quickly according to a couple of reviews I read.

View: http://youtu.be/rTKV5-ZSWcE
 
MickG said:
Stick with the butcher's steel, all those butcher's can't be wrong.
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They work, but they're in constant use, the problem is most people won't sharpen their knives every time they use them. Which means they take more effort to sharpen when we get round to it, so something more abrasive than the steel is necessary.
 
MickG said:
Stick with the butcher's steel, all those butcher's can't be wrong.
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I read somewhere that a steel was used to straighten the edge rather than specifically sharpen it. When I use my steel, it does sharpen the blade but only to a certain extent, I can't produce a really sharp edge such as I had when the knife was new for instance.

You can never find a tinker when you need one these days (n)
 
Cartus said:
I read somewhere that a steel was used to straighten the edge rather than specifically sharpen it. When I use my steel, it does sharpen the blade but only to a certain extent, I can't produce a really sharp edge such as I had when the knife was new for instance.

You can never find a tinker when you need one these days (n)
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I think as Phil V says, they need to be used regularly. I just got into the habit of sharpening each knife before they were put away.
 
Phil V said:
They work, but they're in constant use, the problem is most people won't sharpen their knives every time they use them. Which means they take more effort to sharpen when we get round to it, so something more abrasive than the steel is necessary.
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We all use a steel in the kitchen, and as Phil has pointed out correctly, most people don't use it properly or enough. We do send our knives off to be sharpened every few months though.
 
Cartus said:
I read somewhere that a steel was used to straighten the edge rather than specifically sharpen it. When I use my steel, it does sharpen the blade but only to a certain extent, I can't produce a really sharp edge such as I had when the knife was new for instance.
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A steel doesn't really sharpen the blade at all. It resets the edge, which gets microscopically damaged and deformed in use, and restores its condition. You'll still have to sharpen it eventually, but using a steel regularly extends the intervals between sharpening.

You can buy sharpening steels too, which are far more abrasive, but I find them too aggressive for normal use.
 
I have more than a dozen stones and wheels. They each have their own uses.
Sharpening kitchen knives is a two stage process from blunt.
Re form the edge with a wheel or diamond stone.
then straighten and smooth the edge with a steel on a regular basis.
properly used a steel barely, if at all,removes metal. It simply reforms and straightens the edge.
It is useless on a blunt knife.
I use a stone every couple of years or so. A stone does remove metal and eventually uses up a knife.

The easy way to use a steel is to hold it vertically and firmly on a cutting board.
Then make slicing cuts along the steel from heel of the knife to the tip as if cutting donner kebabs .
If the knife is in good condition three or four slices each side is enough to bring it back to near razor sharp.
 
MartynK said:
A steel doesn't really sharpen the blade at all. It resets the edge, which gets microscopically damaged and deformed in use, and restores its condition. You'll still have to sharpen it eventually, but using a steel regularly extends the intervals between sharpening.

You can buy sharpening steels too, which are far more abrasive, but I find them too aggressive for normal use.
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True an abrasive steel actually cuts away the sharp edge and leaves it rough and blunter than you started.

I bought my steel (a Prestige), in 1960 when I got married. I still use it almost every day. I have bought others but all proved pretty useless metal eaters, and ended up at boot fairs or the bin.
 
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Terrywoodenpic said:
I have more than a dozen stones and wheels. They each have their own uses.
Sharpening kitchen knives is a two stage process from blunt.
Re form the edge with a wheel or diamond stone.
then straighten and smooth the edge with a steel on a regular basis.
properly used a steel barely, if at all,removes metal. It simply reforms and straightens the edge.
It is useless on a blunt knife.
I use a stone every couple of years or so. A stone does remove metal and eventually uses up a knife.

The easy way to use a steel is to hold it vertically and firmly on a cutting board.
Then make slicing cuts along the steel from heel of the knife to the tip as if cutting donner kebabs .
If the knife is in good condition three or four slices each side is enough to bring it back to near razor sharp.
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Good tip Terry, thanks.
 
arclight said:
I have one of those. It is OK. You need to place it somewhere it cannot slip (which it does easily).

I use one of these now http://www.amazon.co.uk/AnySharp-Gl...sbs_201_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0G2K4GNEVJQHGV5F6X6K

It is a fierce sharpener. Two or three strokes then finish off with a steel to get a fine finish. Remember to wash the swarf off the knife before use.
Click to expand...

I use a similar one as required and between using this a few strokes with a steel keep the edge for quite a time.
 
I also use a similar one to the amazon one but I got mine at TK Max, keep it in the drawer with your knives and use it often.
 
ronnieboy said:
I also use a similar one to the amazon one but I got mine at TK Max, keep it in the drawer with your knives and use it often.
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Which brings us to the related point of knife care:- where do you store them.

A knife drawer has to be something very custom made if it's to work properly. (Don't let them hit each other)


I use a magnetic rack.
 
I've had my Henkels knives for around 10 years and have only ever used a steel (one my second but it could do with replacing) and they are still super sharp - they can all cut ripe tomatoes without squishing them easily which is a tough test.

I'll admit that the ends aren't quite as good - suppose they wear out a bit more from the rocking action?

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My wife has just bought me a Wustof santoku knife, looking forward to using that but do I use a steel on that or should I get a stone?
 
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I use an old oil stone that works a treat, it soon has my knives nice and sharp :)
 
Phil V said:
Which brings us to the related point of knife care:- where do you store them.

A knife drawer has to be something very custom made if it's to work properly. (Don't let them hit each other)


I use a magnetic rack.
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I have a couple Mac knives and some cheap ones that my wife uses - store them in a universal knife block like this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Horwood-Universal-Knife-Block/dp/B005A5YGXC (not that particular one)

As long as the knives are dry before they go in, seems to work well.
 
I use Henckel 4* knives and sharpen them with a 'Chantry' knife sharpener. They don't need sharpening every use (like a butcher or chef would), but regular top-ups seem to work better than recovering a blunt blade, so I can see why heavy users sharpen a lot.

I store my knives on a magnetic rack - better for the knives (and safer) than a drawer.
 
I use a knife block to keep my best knives in, and rather than sharpen them after I have used and washed them, I sharpen and clean the blade before use.
 
andy700 said:
I use a knife block to keep my best knives in, and rather than sharpen them after I have used and washed them, I sharpen and clean the blade before use.
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Don't you then have a lot of crap on the knife longer?
 
Llamaman said:
I use Henckel 4* knives and sharpen them with a 'Chantry' knife sharpener. They don't need sharpening every use (like a butcher or chef would), but regular top-ups seem to work better than recovering a blunt blade, so I can see why heavy users sharpen a lot.

I store my knives on a magnetic rack - better for the knives (and safer) than a drawer.
Click to expand...

I have Henckels 4* and they are fantastic, as said earlier they are about 10 years old and going strong which was a real boon for me given I'd previously sharpened (or rather 'honed', as I now know) cheaper knives into nothing within a year or so.

I had no problems using a steel and was happy with their sharpness but on the back of this thread I bought a whetstone and OMG they are totally transformed!

When they were new I sliced through the nail and took the end of my thumb off (only a small bit - I was drunk at the time), it was like a hot knife through butter and healed perfectly due to the clean-ness of the cut, they now feel that sharp again - well worth the £12 spent.
 
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I received my stone yesterday, 2000/5000. There's a knack to it I think but I've 'rescued' s couple of old knives that were pretty useless and rejuvenated a few paring knives so far. A bit more practice and I'll be sharpening like a boss!

Whetstones rule! :cool:
 
OMG! Who knew that knife sharpening was such an art! I'm amazed at all the different methods used. I use the same contraption as Arclight above, when I remember. Got me thinking of my Dad who has long passed, he used to open the front door and sharpen the carving knife on the stone step every Sunday Thanks for stirring up memories guys.
 
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