Note to self: stop volunteering to sharpen stuff...

[Rob Babcock]

Originally Posted by buzzard767

Ha haaaa haa haaaaaa. Oh man I hear you. Even the less expensive lines from Wustof, Henckels, and Forschner will fairly well handle a 15* edge, so if the friend's/neighbor's knife is going to be used strictly for veggies and boneless meats, that's what I give it.

I know for a fact that Anthony & his wife don't really know much about sharpening or maintainance, so I left the bevel around 22-23* per side, and no crazy polishing. I figured a sturdy, somewhat toothy edge would probably serve them better. I'll probably give him a quick lesson in the care & feeding of a knife but who knows what his wife will do with 'em, so I don't wanna push the metal to the limit.

Originally Posted by buzzard767

The first time I do one of these for them I go (after reprofiling) EP 800 stone, 10k Naniwa, .5 micron CrO. When they get the knife back I first do a paper push cut demo and then give them a little lecture about knife handling, paying attention, etc.... You know the drill.

They all cut themselves within two days. No exceptions.

I love it.

I'm probably gonna get a 700 Bester and maybe a Naniwa before long, but I'm starting to get desperate enough to buy a Shapton GlassStone and take it up the the school and see if the Machine Tool guys can figure out how to cut it. I keep dropping hints at KF but nothing's come of it so far!

Yeah, I'll definately make sure to have him tell his wife to keep fingers & toes out from in front of my new edges. They're not screaming sharp compared to my personal knives (well, one of 'em wouldn't be out of place in my roll) but they're sharp enough that they'd better show them some respect!

[expatgirl]

whatever you're saying in your own knifelingo...if you can sharpen my scissors I will be forever grateful and will definitely pay you

[Rob Babcock]

I can sharpen them but I'm not very comfortable nor very experienced. Buzzard is right- Chico is your man, one of the best of the best. I'll hunt up his contact info soon as I get a chance.

[expatgirl]

thanks, Bob, whenever you have the time.....I know that you're busy with school

[buzzard767]

Originally Posted by Rob Babcock

I'm probably gonna get a 700 Bester and maybe a Naniwa before long, but I'm starting to get desperate enough to buy a Shapton GlassStone and take it up the the school and see if the Machine Tool guys can figure out how to cut it. I keep dropping hints at KF but nothing's come of it so far!

I enjoy using Ben Dale's EP stones, but I would pay the price to have 6X1" GlassStones mounted on the blanks. They would cut faster, last much longer, and polish better, and all with merely spritzing, no soaking required.

Ben and Shapton would have to get together on this one. The relatively low volume, at least at first, would be a tad pricey but I'd be glad to be a test monkey.

[Rob Babcock]

Originally Posted by buzzard767

I enjoy using Ben Dale's EP stones, but I would pay the price to have 6X1" GlassStones mounted on the blanks. They would cut faster, last much longer, and polish better, and all with merely spritzing, no soaking required.

Ben and Shapton would have to get together on this one. The relatively low volume, at least at first, would be a tad pricey but I'd be glad to be a test monkey.

Yeah, I'm getting a bit frustrated/impatient with the lack of progress. I have no complaint about the stone selection of the EP nor the performance, but it's in the nature of a knife geek to want to tinker with other stones. I'd love to be able to buy Shapton GlassStones for the EP for the wide array of grits available. And the fact that they don't need to be flattened very often is icing on the cake.

[Rob Babcock]

Originally Posted by Rob Babcock

BTW, Buzz- the class I'm hoping to get squeezed in is by Steve Bottorff. Everything I've heard about him is positive and Dave Martell has a link to him on his DR Sharpening site, iirc. There isn't much higher endorsment than that!

BTW, forget to mention- I just talked to Dad tonite and he reserved our spot in the class for late July. I'm stoked!

[expatgirl]

I don't know what the heck you're saying but it sounds like it needs a high five!!! High five coming at you

[Rob Babcock]

Originally Posted by expatgirl

I don't know what the heck you're saying but it sounds like it needs a high five!!! High five coming at you

There's a sharpening wizard & author named Steve Bottorff that gives sharpening classes. It's just him and the student, one-on-one. He has an option for two people to study with him and that's what my dad & I signed up for. He teaches you how to sharpen on a variety of different equipment, some of which I've never used.

I'm pretty proficient but you can never know too much. I expect to learn a lot in those two days.

Then I've gotta track Dave Martell down at a bladecon or something- his Kung Fu is strong indeed!

I'm tentatively considering throwing my hat in the ring and sharpening professionally. Not as a livelihood, more of a part time job while I'm in school. Obviously I don't view myself as competition to guys like Chico or Dave, just a guy who can work with local restaurants and foodies.

[expatgirl]

!well, I'll throw you some knives, figuratively, and pay you......