My first quality knife set

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I'm complete new to this but I looked at that electric sharper and my instincts said noooooo. How often should I sharpen the MAC? I must learn the way of the stone but am scared to ruin the knife.


Sharpen your Mac when It doesn't cut like it used to anymore.

I don't use stones. Too much chance I'll screw up the angle. Here are two sites that offer quality sharpening systems. I use the Lansky Deluxe 5-Stone System. I'd go for the Edgepro if I could justify the price.


Edge Pro Knife Sharpeners - The Best Sharpening System for Knives

Lansky Knife Sharpeners | Knife Sharpening Systems | Diamond Sharpeners
 
The electric sharpener is safe to use on any western style knife. You just let it float in your hand as you draw it through the slot and if you put too much pressure on it, the machine stops. If you are afraid to sharpen the knife yourself, ask your butcher who sharpens his knives. It's a trick question because butchers usually sharpen their own knives, and if you are a good customer, he'll ask you to bring it in and sharpen it for you.
 
I would not attempt to sharpen any J knife on a slot sharpener. The angles are wrong, the steel is too hard, and you lose a lot of metal to the sharpener. And, you will never get a blade as sharp as a Mac out of the box.

Better to learn to use a good set of water stones or send the knife to a very good sharpener. I think there are a couple who hang out here occasionally. JMO.

I'm complete new to this but I looked at that electric sharper and my instincts said noooooo. How often should I sharpen the MAC? I must learn the way of the stone but am scared to ruin the knife.

Ain't necessarily so. The Chef's Choice electric I have is the only electric sharpener recommended by Wusthof. It's a three stage sharpener, but I've only ever used the second and third stage. The first stage is fairly aggressive, intended for knives which have been virtually ruined previously and require significant metal removal to have any chance of recovery. The second and third stages are for light edge restoring and honing. Like Sir Loin above, I use it at most a couple of times a year to restore the edge, then hone with my steel the rest of the time.

While manual sharpening may be right for some people, that doesn't make it the only right way. Some people just don't get along well with whetstones, so it's good that there are alternatives.
 
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Ain't necessarily so. The Chef's Choice electric I have is the only electric sharpener recommended by Wusthof. It's a three stage sharpener, but I've only ever used the second and third stage. The first stage is fairly aggressive, intended for knives which have been virtually ruined previously and require significant metal removal to have any chance of recovery. The second and third stages are for light edge restoring and honing. Like Sir Loin above, I use it at most a couple of times a year to restore the edge, then hone with my steel the rest of the time.

While manual sharpening may be right for some people, that doesn't make it the only right way. Some people just don't get along well with whetstones, so it's good that there are alternatives.

Not my knife, but I do use similar knives. This is not a western style knife. It is Japanese through and through. The sharpener will work only on Western angle knives. Wusthoff claims a Rockwell of 58. Probably the Wusthoff is slightly less, 56 maybe. Depends on the series. The Mac is more like 60 or 61. In addition, and extremely important, is the cutting edge angles. Wusthoff claims 14 degrees. Can't find the Mac angles, but they will be considerably steeper, possibly slightly biased, which means running through a wheel grinder will completely alter the knife, and not in a good way.

Yardley, you have purchased a fine tool, one that will treat you well for a lifetime if you treat it well.

Andy is correct, if you intend to purchase other fine blades, the Edgepro is highly recommended. But it is pricy. I'm not that familiar with the Lansky. The Edgepro is easier to use than a stone. I elected to use a very good professional and touch up on a King 8000 stone. He is on this board, and far more knowledgeable than I am. Maybe he will come along.

Chef's Knives to Go has a review/tutorial on its site. Worth a look, and I've found them willing to help if you have questions.
 
I've purchased succeeding lines of these "Chef's Choice" type sharpners and no matter how much the guide or magnets grab your knife, in order to be sharpened as designed, there's always that little bit of play when swiping them.

Each years model I tried, improved upon that a little, without much noticeable improvement.

As a side note for laughs...I bought the "Drill Doctor" for $99. "Sharpen all your old drill bits, sharp as new!"
That ended up being only so so too. :(
 
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You can find numerous youtube videos that show proper knife sharpening technique. Myself, I use two whetstones, one at 600 grit, then one at 1200 grit to finish. This won't get my knife as sharp as some of our knife gurus want, but sharp enough to slice through a tomato with no pressure applied but the weight of the blade.

There are a number of edges that can be used, depending on what the knife will be used for. Multiple bevels can be used to strengthen the edge, or you can create a convex bevel which creates a very sharp, and strong edge. A chisel bevel is cutting food such as sushi, or anywhere that you want the slice to be straight vertical. While normal bevels can also be used to make straight, vertical cuts, you have to angle the knife slightly to get it to track straight, and no wander out of the food.

A compound bevel on both sides is usually made by sharpening at around 15 to 17 degrees initially, then 20 degrees on the edge, creating a steeper and stronger bevel that won't turn over as easily.


there are people who sharpen at extremely shallow edges to create razor-sharp knives, using no greater than 6 to 10 degree angles. These knives (like a straight razor) are used for special purposes that don't subject them to chopping, or cutting through hard materials, such as winter squash, rutabagas, etc.

Though harder steels retain there edge longer, they are more brittle and are susceptible to edge chipping, and so they still need to have a steep enough edge to give them strength.

Here is a good URL that talks about sharpening knives - Detailed Discussion on Knife Sharpening Angles

Here's another one that explains the advantages of a convex edge over a straight edge, it's a bit long. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZSjeqGeo7Q

Lastly, her's another explanation of knife grinds from Lansky - Lansky Sharpeners :: Knife Edge Grinds and Uses

My knives all have convex edges and cut very well, except for my Chicago cutlery knives that came with a hollow grind. they are good for slicing, but perform poorly if I'm cutting something with a hard rind, or skin.

That's my take on knife sharpening, for what it's worth. Others will agree or disagree based on their own experience, and what they use their knives for.

Oh, and once established, the hollow grind knife is most easily sharpened on a leather strop, where the strop is impregnated with a shapening compound, and the knife edge dragged backward against the strop. The soft leather naturally forms a convex edge on the blade edge.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I hone my knives frequently (I don't always remember to do it every time I start cooking) and I take them to the butcher at the grocery store a few times a year; they sharpen them for free while I shop. They are better at it than I will ever be.
 
I've purchased succeeding lines of these "Chef's Choice" type sharpners and no matter how much the guide or magnets grab your knife, in order to be sharpened as designed, there's always that little bit of play when swiping them.

Each years model I tried, improved upon that a little, without much noticeable improvement.

As a side note for laughs...I bought the "Drill Doctor" for $99. "Sharpen all your old drill bits, sharp as new!"
That ended up being only so so too. :(

I've never been able to sharpen a knife properly on a stone, but I can sharpen a drill bit on a bench grinder by hand with no problem, just using a drill gauge (image below) to get the angle right at 118° and center the chisel. I was a machinist for 33 years and putting a quick edge on a small drill was a necessary skill.

DELA.1952.00.jpg
 
While I don't disagree with the other replies, personally I find that there are
6 knives that I use regularly in the kitchen. A couple of more special purpose like the carving/slicing knife and bread knife and don't get used every day but they are important for me to have.
I do agree that it is best to buy individually rather than a set. Set's generally don't have all of the knives that you want and often have at least a couple that you don't want and that is a waste of money.
 
While I don't disagree with the other replies, personally I find that there are
6 knives that I use regularly in the kitchen. A couple of more special purpose like the carving/slicing knife and bread knife and don't get used every day but they are important for me to have.
I do agree that it is best to buy individually rather than a set. Set's generally don't have all of the knives that you want and often have at least a couple that you don't want and that is a waste of money.

Um, this thread is about knife sharpening and sharpeners.:rolleyes:
 
Look at the thread title - "My First Quality Knife Set".

+1

I went back to the first post. Though the op titled the thread - "My First Quality Knife Set", the first post was asking questions about being able to find a good knife set, one of comparable quality to Wusthoff brand knives, but at a better price. So, the thread is indeed a question asking for info about purchasing quality knives at a good price.

RP, and CharlieD, you are correct.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
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Guess you felt it necessary to point that out after Charlie did.:ermm:

Was just backing Charlie up, not trying to be the expert, or upstage anyone, though I might understand how it could be seen that I was beating a dead horse.

To +1 another post is generally regarded as a good thing around here. Sorry if you took offense. I didn't mean to ruffle feathers.

And Crag, I've been known to back you up on occasion as well.

Charlie and I have both been known to back up another post, or even each other's posts.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
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Chief, look at the quote in my reply. It was not directed at you.
 
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