OT - Anyone sharpen their own knives? Looking for advice.
- Thread starter Oneheadlite
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Oneheadlite
New member
Thanks! Really glad to hear you think it looks like a solid system.
I like how the stone slides on a rod set in a spherical bearing as opposed to just a rod sliding in a hole - seems like it would set you up for much more repeatable results. I figure even if I find out that it has some shortcomings (is a little wobbly, blade clamping issues, etc), it`s a solid base that I should be able to use some mechanical thinking to upgrade and dial in.
I`ll absolutely share when I get a chance to put stones to metal. My coworker mentioned he`s got a block of knives he doesn`t care about that was given to him that has some blades that could use some love, so I`ll likely *hone* my skills with those to start.
Where do folks stand on Stropping? I`ve seen it mentioned quite a bit in my poking around I`ve done thus far, but am not sure what to think yet. I`ve seen people mention it dampening the fresh edge they just sharpened, but I`m sure like the rest of the process angle/technique are critical.
For those that do strop, is it a dry process or do you add some sort of liquid abrasive?
*Update before I even finished typing this all up - The sharpener showed up at my work so I got a chance to check it out. Really happy with initial impressions. Everything locks in nicely and feels quite sturdy. The elite kit puts everything in a nicely thought out carrying container. Really excited to give it a go!
Also, the 165mm Nakiri I ordered showed up as well.
That`ll be a present for the Mrs while I figure out how to bring life back to our knife block! I`ll add a pic from tapatalk after I post this.
Oneheadlite
New member
For whatever reason Tapatalk was being fussy about letting me upload any pictures. Finally think it’s cooperating- here’s the recent addition to the knife block as well as a picture of my new sharpeners.
While I’m at it, here’s a Chicago Cutlery knife a coworker brought for me to use as a practice knife. He got it in a mismatched block of knives for free, and it’s easy to see why. This is after I gave it a thorough clean, it was dull/stained/the rivets were funky looking. Just went after it with some q-tips and small paper towels pieces using baking soda dabbed with a little water as the abrasive. Surprised the rivets brightened up as much as they did.
Should be able to put stones to metal tomorrow, I’m excited to see how it goes!
While I’m at it, here’s a Chicago Cutlery knife a coworker brought for me to use as a practice knife. He got it in a mismatched block of knives for free, and it’s easy to see why. This is after I gave it a thorough clean, it was dull/stained/the rivets were funky looking. Just went after it with some q-tips and small paper towels pieces using baking soda dabbed with a little water as the abrasive. Surprised the rivets brightened up as much as they did.
Should be able to put stones to metal tomorrow, I’m excited to see how it goes!
Accumulator
Active member
oneheadlite- AH, that looks very similar to my older EdgePro! I bet it`ll serve you very well, good choice
FWIW, I don`t do things like stropping (let alone use a steel) as I`d botch up the hard-earned edge due to user-error. The EdgePro has "polish tapes" that`re like ultra-fine stones and I use those when I want to be all Autopian about it. But once I have the edge I want, I leave it alone until it requires actual sharpening.
YOU, OTOH, might enjoy developing the ability to strop/etc. You`re already thinking about "new hobby" and heh heh, this might be another one of those Rabbit Holes that we Autopians tend to go down
FWIW, the kitchen knife that cut my wife so cleanly was one of those (generally crappy) Chicago Cutlery ones! It needed sharpening every two minutes, but it would take a good edge. Maybe your test-case will prove similar.
FWIW, I don`t do things like stropping (let alone use a steel) as I`d botch up the hard-earned edge due to user-error. The EdgePro has "polish tapes" that`re like ultra-fine stones and I use those when I want to be all Autopian about it. But once I have the edge I want, I leave it alone until it requires actual sharpening.
YOU, OTOH, might enjoy developing the ability to strop/etc. You`re already thinking about "new hobby" and heh heh, this might be another one of those Rabbit Holes that we Autopians tend to go down
FWIW, the kitchen knife that cut my wife so cleanly was one of those (generally crappy) Chicago Cutlery ones! It needed sharpening every two minutes, but it would take a good edge. Maybe your test-case will prove similar.
hawaiidude
Member
Hmm, the work sharp looks cool! I might have to buy one.
Some other thoughts:
Stropping: I`ve wanted to get a solid leather strop to finish my knives but I saw a video where the guy ran his knife backwards on his whetstone and it served the same purpose as stropping. Seems to work for me. Not sure how effective it is.
Flattening stone: For anyone using a whetstone you absolutely need to get a flattening stone. It`s a stone that flattens your whetstone. I didn`t realize how important a completely flat stone is. It`s great, when you start using it, you see how unlevel your whetstone is.
Oneheadlite: check out the Dalstrong knives. They have been really great for me, goo entry level Damascus knife
Some other thoughts:
Stropping: I`ve wanted to get a solid leather strop to finish my knives but I saw a video where the guy ran his knife backwards on his whetstone and it served the same purpose as stropping. Seems to work for me. Not sure how effective it is.
Flattening stone: For anyone using a whetstone you absolutely need to get a flattening stone. It`s a stone that flattens your whetstone. I didn`t realize how important a completely flat stone is. It`s great, when you start using it, you see how unlevel your whetstone is.
Oneheadlite: check out the Dalstrong knives. They have been really great for me, goo entry level Damascus knife
Oneheadlite
New member
Got a chance yesterday to try out the new system. Started with the guided sharpener; having never sharpened anything in the past I wanted to get some time getting used to the process before jumping to the whetstone.
Yeah, definitely happy with the Precision Adjust! Really impressed with how beginner friendly it is. I`ll confess it was more of a filling-time-between-things session vs a sit-down-with-intention-to-master, but it was quickly apparent that I`m going to comfortably be able to get the kind of results I was hoping for.
I should have tried to get a good close up picture of the blade on that Chicago Cutlery knife before I started, but it`s safe to say on a scale from 1 (butter knife) to 10 (scalpel) it was about a -2 (folded up take-out menu).
Started with the coarsest plate (220) and brought a uniform edge back to life. One thing I deviated from the instructions was regarding raising a burr - I kept checking for a burr, but not knowing how pronounced with was supposed to feel I really just focused on staying even between the sides and making sure I was getting any imperfections out. The guided system is really awesome about bringing a nice even bevel, despite starting with such a worn blade.
From there I switched to the finest plate on that abrasive rod (400) and made a few passes to smooth out the edge. Switched to the next rod and did 800 and the ceramic. I kinda sped through the second rod as Mom and Daughter were about through making brownies, so I wanted to be back to available.
Did a quick paper test, it can slice through for sure, but you can tell the edge is still on the coarse side. Tried slicing some carrots and it breezed right through them (side note, my daughter then requested more wafer thin carrot slices with lunch... ) - 100% back to being a serviceable knife even if it`s not something you`d post on youtube.
After removing the fear of screwing up a nice knife now that I`ve seen how easy it is to use, I think the Mrs` Wusthof Santoku daily driver is up next. This one I`ll spend some more time with for sure.
I was also thinking I`ll set up a bit of a knife sharpening diary; this way I can keep track of how certain blades responded to which plates as well as documenting exactly where the blade clamp was set to promote the most even sharpening during future sessions.
Yeah, definitely happy with the Precision Adjust! Really impressed with how beginner friendly it is. I`ll confess it was more of a filling-time-between-things session vs a sit-down-with-intention-to-master, but it was quickly apparent that I`m going to comfortably be able to get the kind of results I was hoping for.
I should have tried to get a good close up picture of the blade on that Chicago Cutlery knife before I started, but it`s safe to say on a scale from 1 (butter knife) to 10 (scalpel) it was about a -2 (folded up take-out menu).
Started with the coarsest plate (220) and brought a uniform edge back to life. One thing I deviated from the instructions was regarding raising a burr - I kept checking for a burr, but not knowing how pronounced with was supposed to feel I really just focused on staying even between the sides and making sure I was getting any imperfections out. The guided system is really awesome about bringing a nice even bevel, despite starting with such a worn blade.
From there I switched to the finest plate on that abrasive rod (400) and made a few passes to smooth out the edge. Switched to the next rod and did 800 and the ceramic. I kinda sped through the second rod as Mom and Daughter were about through making brownies, so I wanted to be back to available.
Did a quick paper test, it can slice through for sure, but you can tell the edge is still on the coarse side. Tried slicing some carrots and it breezed right through them (side note, my daughter then requested more wafer thin carrot slices with lunch...
) - 100% back to being a serviceable knife even if it`s not something you`d post on youtube.After removing the fear of screwing up a nice knife now that I`ve seen how easy it is to use, I think the Mrs` Wusthof Santoku daily driver is up next. This one I`ll spend some more time with for sure.
I was also thinking I`ll set up a bit of a knife sharpening diary; this way I can keep track of how certain blades responded to which plates as well as documenting exactly where the blade clamp was set to promote the most even sharpening during future sessions.
Accumulator
Active member
Hey, great point! SO glad you mentioned it as we`d somehow managed to overlook that
I had to order mine from a Japanese woodworking tool Co., only place I could find one back then. There *is* the sand-on-glass plate method, but the flattening stones are better IME.
Oneheadlite- So glad (but not surprised
) to hear how well it`s going!What "paper" are you using to test? I generally use a page from an old phonebook, but eventually I switch to a single sheet of newspaper; idea being to cut it`s whole length without any "sawing", and to get a nice straight cut. Not that you need it that good for most kitchen tasks...
Accumulator
Active member
Oh, and has anybody else noticed that today`s *disposable* scalpels aren`t all that sharp?!? My EDC folder is a lot sharper than my Dermatologist`s scalpels; I teased her that she oughta trade those in on a #11 Xacto knife, which would sure be an upgrade (hey, I`ve done *very* minor surgery on myself with a sterilized #11 and it was much better than letting her do it with her junk!)
jrock645
New member
I’m a professional chef by trade. There’s a lot to potentially discuss here. I’m a fan of the water stones myself. Just recently picked up some stones made by Gesshin to match my knives. That said, I had a 1000/6000 grit combo stone I got on Amazon that worked pretty well. Watch a few videos to get a handle on the technique. It’s not complicated per se, but it does take some practice. With some regular use, it shouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to sharpen a knife unless it’s in really bad shape.
Oneheadlite
New member
...
Oneheadlite- So glad (but not surprised
What "paper" are you using to test? I generally use a page from an old phonebook, but eventually I switch to a single sheet of newspaper; idea being to cut it`s whole length without any "sawing", and to get a nice straight cut. Not that you need it that good for most kitchen tasks...
So far just whatever paper’s closest!
Honestly for the (sad) condition our knives are in, for a test after I’ve just been slicing carrots to see how they feel.
Went through the process on the Mrs’ daily driver yesterday. Hers unsurprisingly took longer than the Chicago Cutlery knife I started on.
Taking the paint correction approach of wanting to start as mild as I could, I started with the 400 plate. Again, hers had been roughed up by a drag through sharpener, so I ended up going one plate further to 320. Was able to get the cutting surface refaced, then worked through the 600, 800 and ceramic plates to refine the edge. I still had a little… I guess I’d call it tearing? left on the edge, but after a few “oh, what the hey” passes with the included strop I was happy with the end result.
Still just a bit of unevenness, but huuuugely better than it was. I also feel like it may work out after some use and upkeep now that I’m able to do so.
Oh, and it cuts carrots see-through thin now. :laughing:
Paper test on a post it note (again - it was closest) - had to hold the paper just-so to get the cut started, but once you were in it would glide through.
More importantly, when dicing onions making dinner last night it just breezed right through. I would argue the edge is at least as good as when it was new.
Overall really really happy with this system.
Long term I might play around with aftermarket add ons where you can use 1x4” stones instead of the included plates, but there’s nothing right now that makes me feel like I have to.
Some pictures:
Sad Before (don’t judge!)
During:
After:
Sorry for the terrible photo quality, my 5 year old phone tried its best.
Oneheadlite
New member
Any videos you`d recommend? I`m definitely due to sit down and do some video research at this point as I`d like to try the actual whetstone next.
Hawiidude - I`ll keep the Dalstrongs in mind. Having just added the Nakiri, and being able to restore proper function to the rest of our knives soon, I`ll probably hold off on more acquisitions, but theoretically I also had enough LSP`s on the shelf before...
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
I wish I could say I`m a stranger to "razor-blade surgery".
Oneheadlite--my apologies but I can`t read this thread anymore...because then I`m going to start thinking about knife sharpening and I have no room left in in my head!
Accumulator
Active member
Oneheadlite- Gee, starting with 400 is indeed following the "use mildest.." dictum! I`ve pretty much just hogged off steel when I`ve had something really nasty to do
This could lead to, uhm...interesting discussions that I suppose we don`t need to have!
Heh heh, if I keep seeing such nice equipment I`ll be tempted to upgrade what doesn`t need improved myself! Yeah, sharpening can indeed be another Rabbit Hole.
This could lead to, uhm...interesting discussions
that I suppose we don`t need to have!Heh heh, if I keep seeing such nice equipment I`ll be tempted to upgrade what doesn`t need improved myself! Yeah, sharpening can indeed be another Rabbit Hole.
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
This could lead to, uhm...interesting discussions
Not really, just to get a splinter or metal sliver out.
hawaiidude
Member
Oneheadlite
New member
Sorry, didn’t mean to make it seem like I was ignoring your suggestions - they’re in the queue.
My initial round of research on anything I always do a lot of reading first as it’s easy to fit into the in-betweens of life. Then I’ll try to dedicate time to watching videos.
Oneheadlite
New member
Thanks again for sharing these. Sat down and watched them on my lunch break, they`re a good pair for someone starting off. Really helps remove some of the mystery and intimidation of doing whetstone sharpening.
I think I`m going to work on correcting the edge profile on my grocery store knife in the WorkSharp, then complete the sharpening process on the whetstone.
Having the WorkSharp also really helps cut down the intimidation of trying the whetstone - even if things don`t go splendidly, I know I can bring back a really solid edge using the guided system.
I let my coworker borrow the Precision Adjust yesterday, and he came over after sharpening his pocket knife on his lunch break - "That`s a pretty nifty machine you`ve got there."
He hadn`t done any sharpening on his cheap pocket knife yet, and he showed me before starting how you could see the profile of the blade wasn`t even the whole length. Nice and uniform when he was done.
Oneheadlite
New member
This is what I’m up against with my grocery store knife -
It’s the knife on the right. You can see where the high traffic area has worn down.
Any recommendations for this kind of situation? Or just start focusing on the edge on either side of the flat spot before proceeding with sharpening as normal?
The down side of that knife is it’s obviously on the softer side, but hopefully that means it’ll be easier to correct as well.
It’s the knife on the right. You can see where the high traffic area has worn down.
Any recommendations for this kind of situation? Or just start focusing on the edge on either side of the flat spot before proceeding with sharpening as normal?
The down side of that knife is it’s obviously on the softer side, but hopefully that means it’ll be easier to correct as well.
hawaiidude
Member
Ok full honesty, I would throw those knives away. But, you are right, it`s good practice.
If this were me, I would start with a coarse stone, get a solid bevel and then work from there. The workshop will be good at setting the edge.
If this were me, I would start with a coarse stone, get a solid bevel and then work from there. The workshop will be good at setting the edge.
Oneheadlite
New member
The one on the left is the one that came back cutting like new. (that`s just a water spot in the picture, not any kind of etching).
For the grocery store knife on the right: I can see where it might seem silly to want to save something so cheap, but I like how it feels in hand. Heck, even if I just sharpened it with it`s current goofy profile I`d probably still reach for it every time. Bobby Flay I`m certainly not...