Professional Knife Sharpening?
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Sugarcreations
Assistant Cook
Do you have anyone in your area that does sharpening? I would advise looking in the local phonebook you might have some luck there.
Rgds Sugarcreations
Rgds Sugarcreations
whoda thunk it...joanns fabrics (right accross the street from my house!!) has a guy come in once a month to do it!
cost $4 per knife...does that sound about right??
also, can u sharpen to often? if i go every month...will my blade eventualy be no good?
cost $4 per knife...does that sound about right??
also, can u sharpen to often? if i go every month...will my blade eventualy be no good?
Sugarcreations
Assistant Cook
Don't know, guess it depends on how often you use it. I would talk to the guy that does the sharpening he maybe able to give you some tips on how often you should sharpen them. Then agian its going to depend on the quality of your knife steel if they are good blades they should not need it has often. I have several chef knifes that I have never sharpened and they are still razor sharp. As far as the costs it does not sound like a lot to keep one of your most important tools ready when you are.
Rgds Sugarcreations
Rgds Sugarcreations
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
If you have good quality knives and take good care of them, sharpening once or twice a year should be enough.
Check out cutlery and kitchen stores, too.
Check out cutlery and kitchen stores, too.
thymeless
Sous Chef
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2006
- Messages
- 638
Wiith a little practice, professional sharpening shouldn't be necessary. This FAQ taught me how to sharpen freehand. I hope it helps you maintain your edges yourself
http://www.knifeart.com/sharfaqbyjoe.html
thymeless
http://www.knifeart.com/sharfaqbyjoe.html
thymeless
Half Baked
Executive Chef
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2006
- Messages
- 2,927
Wow, JoAnne's Fabrics? $4 is really good. I pay $10 at the kitchen store.
Gorgonzola
Assistant Cook
I use S.S. Dexter Russell knives wich are pretty tough to put an edge on. I use a 2" X 6" "meduim" diamond stone and it puts an edge on these knives in no-time. These diamond stones are unbelievable! Like magic.
attie
Sous Chef
I like the diamond stones as well Gorgonzola and have a 1000 grit one. Here's a link to the way you can sharpen to the Japanese style. I do my knives this way now and found they work better for me, you can sharpen left or right handed. Perhaps try with an old knife first.
http://www.korin.com/knives/knife_sharpening.php
Wayne
http://www.korin.com/knives/knife_sharpening.php
Wayne
Poppinfresh
Senior Cook
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2006
- Messages
- 496
4 bucks a blade is a **** good price--so long as they do a proper job.
For the record, I'm not a big fan of home sharpening. I'm sorry, but I'd really rather leave the care of such expensive utensils to professionals with better equipment and experience.
For the record, I'm not a big fan of home sharpening. I'm sorry, but I'd really rather leave the care of such expensive utensils to professionals with better equipment and experience.
Loprraine
Executive Chef
I bring mine in once or twice a year. I got the name of a man from a kitchen store, $5.00 a knife.
Steve A
Senior Cook
As noted, there are many options. Personally I'd also check with restaurants who use knife services and grocery stores with butcher shops. Usually they have someone who comes around at a regular interview to swap out knives.
I'm lucky in that there's a guy who sets up shop at a local flea market during the weekends. He has his own business and sharpens for many major restaurants in our state's capital.
I think he charges me $4.00 for my long blades and will comp the short ones if I bring 'em in as a set or he'll charge me $1.00 a blade for the paring, tournet and other short blades.
A word of advice: some places that sharpen lawn mower blades also say they'll sharpen your knife blades. BEWARE! Lawn mower blades are much more forgiving with lousy work.
Ciao,
Ciao,
I'm lucky in that there's a guy who sets up shop at a local flea market during the weekends. He has his own business and sharpens for many major restaurants in our state's capital.
I think he charges me $4.00 for my long blades and will comp the short ones if I bring 'em in as a set or he'll charge me $1.00 a blade for the paring, tournet and other short blades.
A word of advice: some places that sharpen lawn mower blades also say they'll sharpen your knife blades. BEWARE! Lawn mower blades are much more forgiving with lousy work.
Ciao,
Ciao,
Last edited:
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
"Professional" sharpening can also be a disaster. There are a lot of incompetent people out there who claim to be pros.
I've had poor sharpening jobs done three times on different sets of knives. One by 'professionals' at a cutlery store and they all stink. I do them myself now.
I may ruin a knife but at least I'm not paying someone else to ruin it for me.
I've had poor sharpening jobs done three times on different sets of knives. One by 'professionals' at a cutlery store and they all stink. I do them myself now.
I may ruin a knife but at least I'm not paying someone else to ruin it for me.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
I know I wasn't asked, but I've had very good results using an Arkansa Stone of fine grit, along with a medium grit synthetic stone. My favorite knife (Japanese steel 10" Chef's knife) came very sharp. The original edge lasted me over a year with just steeling the knife before every use. When I first sharpened it, I used the medium and then fine arkansas stone under running water. I sharpened with about a 20 degree andle on both sides, creating a "V" edge. The knife was again very sharp and it didn't take long to do. However, this edge didn't last as long as the original. I then read, a couple weeks back, on DC, about creating a convex edge on the knife. So I did that, sharpening by moving the knife spine-first along the arkasas stone, with the spine nearly touching the stone. As I drew teh cutting edge section sown the stone, I slowly raised the spine to about a twenty degree angle. I repeated this process for the length of the cutting edge on both sides.
The convex shape has two main advantages. First, it is a stronger edge that is the straight "V" edge. It is more resistant to the edge folding over, therefore reducing the need to frequently steel the knife when in use. Secondly, it seperates the cut material slightly away for the knife edge, reducing friction ans the blade slides through, making the cutting job easier. This reduces fatique.
So though it takes longer to initially reshape the knife edge, it is now easier to sharpen than before, and requires less maintenance when in use. And my knife is used daily, on a hard-rock maple cutting board. And it sees a lot of use.
I am now converted to free-hand sharpening with a good arkansas stone to maintain a convex edge. I may make a strop one of these days, as it naturally creates the convex edge do to its soft nature. But carefull attention to the spine-lifting technique while drawing the blade accross the stone isn't difficult to learn. And it has made my knife substantially easier to use.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
The convex shape has two main advantages. First, it is a stronger edge that is the straight "V" edge. It is more resistant to the edge folding over, therefore reducing the need to frequently steel the knife when in use. Secondly, it seperates the cut material slightly away for the knife edge, reducing friction ans the blade slides through, making the cutting job easier. This reduces fatique.
So though it takes longer to initially reshape the knife edge, it is now easier to sharpen than before, and requires less maintenance when in use. And my knife is used daily, on a hard-rock maple cutting board. And it sees a lot of use.
I am now converted to free-hand sharpening with a good arkansas stone to maintain a convex edge. I may make a strop one of these days, as it naturally creates the convex edge do to its soft nature. But carefull attention to the spine-lifting technique while drawing the blade accross the stone isn't difficult to learn. And it has made my knife substantially easier to use.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
thymeless
Sous Chef
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2006
- Messages
- 638
I like convex edges a lot too. If you free hand sharpen, you eventually end up with a convex edge as you never get the angle exactly the same time after time.
Another way to convex sharpen involves wet/dry sandpaper and a resilient backing. Leather, as for a strop is quite popular, but you can do well with a pine board , some cardboard laid on a table or a FIRM mouse pad.
Lay the sandpaper on top of the resilient surface. I usually use a mouse pad, but it takes a finer touch to work well. Some like to clip it on but I can hold a sandpaper edge with my free hand.
Then you merely strop along the sanpaper using about 2/3 to 1/2 the angle you would normally, edge trailing. Use light pressure. The surface conforms to the shape of the blade, rounding the shoulder of the edge grind and tapering the edge itself. If you use too much pressure on a soft surface, you'll actually dull the blade.
Work to ever higher grades of wet dry sand paper for finer sharper edges. Don't let the knife get as dull as you would normally before sharpening, but strop it back to popping sharp occasionally on some fine sandpaper or even cardboard or charged leather.
You can charge the leather with a variety of specialty grit compounds available from places such as http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1&p=43072 , but you can also use various metal polishes such as Flitz that's more commonly available. But you might have to go to a sports store with a gun cleaning supply aisle...
Bark River Knife and Tool is planning a kitchen knife set of fully convexed blades available in 12c27 or n690co stainless or A2 carbon steel with your choice of handle material. Not just the edges, but the whole blade. The drawings currently look like this:
thymeless
Another way to convex sharpen involves wet/dry sandpaper and a resilient backing. Leather, as for a strop is quite popular, but you can do well with a pine board , some cardboard laid on a table or a FIRM mouse pad.
Lay the sandpaper on top of the resilient surface. I usually use a mouse pad, but it takes a finer touch to work well. Some like to clip it on but I can hold a sandpaper edge with my free hand.
Then you merely strop along the sanpaper using about 2/3 to 1/2 the angle you would normally, edge trailing. Use light pressure. The surface conforms to the shape of the blade, rounding the shoulder of the edge grind and tapering the edge itself. If you use too much pressure on a soft surface, you'll actually dull the blade.
Work to ever higher grades of wet dry sand paper for finer sharper edges. Don't let the knife get as dull as you would normally before sharpening, but strop it back to popping sharp occasionally on some fine sandpaper or even cardboard or charged leather.
You can charge the leather with a variety of specialty grit compounds available from places such as http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1&p=43072 , but you can also use various metal polishes such as Flitz that's more commonly available. But you might have to go to a sports store with a gun cleaning supply aisle...
Bark River Knife and Tool is planning a kitchen knife set of fully convexed blades available in 12c27 or n690co stainless or A2 carbon steel with your choice of handle material. Not just the edges, but the whole blade. The drawings currently look like this:
thymeless
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
With longer blades, you'll have to do them in sections. For a six-eight inch knife, place the blade clamp midway on the lower half of the blade and sharpen both sides with the first stone. Then move the clamp to midway on the other half of the blade and use the first stone on both sides of the blade.
Then switch to the next stone and do the second half-both sides, move the clamp back to the first position and do the first half-both sides.
Repeat this process until the entire blade is done with all the stones, ending with the finest grit stone. Then wash and hone the blade before you use it.
Then switch to the next stone and do the second half-both sides, move the clamp back to the first position and do the first half-both sides.
Repeat this process until the entire blade is done with all the stones, ending with the finest grit stone. Then wash and hone the blade before you use it.
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