Sharpening Knives

[Rob Babcock]

Tonite I used the last two stages of my Edgemaker's to put a shaving-sharp edge on a couple of Dexter Russell's at work. It took me 20 or 30 seconds each to take them from really dull to pretty darned sharp. You can't go wrong for the price.

[justplainbill]

Nice thing about some of those Dexters is that they sharpen pretty easily but don''t stay sharp all that long. For those that know how to bring a Dexte'rs edge back they're pretty good knives for the money.

[sage™]

I have the Chef's Choice 2 stage electric sharpener and it works great for me. Simple and fast.

[CyberSlag5k]

I bought a stone at a hardware store the other night, but I don't think I'm using it entirely right. I'm getting a decent edge on the blade. It's sharp, but I'd like it to be sharper. I find that one side of the blade looks good, but the other does not.

Here is what I do:

Wet the fine side of the stone
Angle the blade at roughly a 20 degree angle with the stone
Starting at the tip of the knife on the edge of the stone nearest me, run the knife all the way up until I reach the edge of the blade near the handle
Flip to the other side and repeat

However one side of the blade has a nice, tapered look on the edge, and the other looks flat. Obviously I'm not doing one side properly, though I try and use the same angle and the same pressure on both sides of the blade. Which side, assuming my description is adequate, am I not doing properly, and do you have any suggestions on how to make sure they're even? And any suggestions on how to get a finer edge on the blade would be suggested. As I said, they're definitely sharp, but I'd like them to be razor sharp.

Lastly, I alternate sides with every swipe. Is this the proper technique? I started out doing 5 swipes per side, but I found that only exacerbated the unevening problem.

Thanks!

[justplainbill]

Most times draging from handle end to tip works better than the other way. IE trying to cut thin slices from the sharpening stone is the preferred method (unless you are using a soft stone). Final sharpening should be done on a hard stone.

[DrThunder88]

If your bevels are uneven, doing an even number of strokes will do little to even them out. I'd suggest you focus on one side until you raise a burr, and then switch to the other side until the burr switches to the other side. Switch sides again, feeling after every stroke until the burr seems to disappear.

Also, what kind of knife is it? Some Japanese knives are only beveled on one side.

[Rob Babcock]

Originally Posted by CyberSlag5k

I bought a stone at a hardware store the other night, but I don't think I'm using it entirely right. I'm getting a decent edge on the blade. It's sharp, but I'd like it to be sharper. I find that one side of the blade looks good, but the other does not.

Here is what I do:

Wet the fine side of the stone
Angle the blade at roughly a 20 degree angle with the stone
Starting at the tip of the knife on the edge of the stone nearest me, run the knife all the way up until I reach the edge of the blade near the handle
Flip to the other side and repeat

However one side of the blade has a nice, tapered look on the edge, and the other looks flat. Obviously I'm not doing one side properly, though I try and use the same angle and the same pressure on both sides of the blade. Which side, assuming my description is adequate, am I not doing properly, and do you have any suggestions on how to make sure they're even? And any suggestions on how to get a finer edge on the blade would be suggested. As I said, they're definitely sharp, but I'd like them to be razor sharp.

Lastly, I alternate sides with every swipe. Is this the proper technique? I started out doing 5 swipes per side, but I found that only exacerbated the unevening problem.

Thanks!

That's a common problem freehanding with a stone. If one side is a lot sharper than the other, either the bevel isn't being ground accurately or you have some burr on the blade. Freehand sharpening takes a bit of practice; many people find guided systems work better for them. Sure, you'll get an incredible edge with waterstones...once you know how to do it.

Something like the Spyderco Sharpmaker might be the solution for you. It's a very simple matter to get a good quality knife to near-scalpel sharpness with that little gizmo.

[Jeekinz]

Knife Sharpening

[miniman]

Thanks for your comments everyone.

[Hawkeye16]

I just bought a system today but I can't remember the name off the top of my head...

It has a guide with 30, 25, 20 and 17 degrees for sharpening. Any recommendations on which two to use for a bevel? I have just some standard Chicago Cutlery knives

[DrThunder88]

Lansky. I use the 17 setting (the angle measurements are not particularly accurate) for all my knives. On my cheaper knives, specifically those made with 420 steel, I used the 20 degree setting because the edge had a tendency to roll easily with a sharper angle. I also use the 20 degree setting on my Joyce Chen Chinese chef's knife since the blade is so darn deep.

Just make sure you move the clamp on longer knives. Five inches is about as long as a blade can be without the Lansky making the edge bevel look out of whack.

[Corey123]

I have a Chefs' Choice knife sharpener and it does wonders for sharpening kitchen knives!

[justplainbill]

I've seen scores of knives which were screwed up by a variety of people using electric knife sharpeners.

[Corey123]

Chances are, they didn't know what they were doing.

[GB]

Actually Corey, it has nothing to do with knowing what they are doing. Those electric sharpeners are great for knives you don't care much about. They do get them sharp, but it comes at a cost. They remove a lot of metal which is something I do not want to do with my good blades.

[Corey123]

Which is why I wait until the knives are so dull to the point where they won't even cut or slice tomatoes. That is one of the toughest foods to cut with a dull knife.

Also, I've been told many times, especially in the culinary arts training course I was in, that a dull knife is the most dangerous knife to use, for it could slip off the food that you are trying to cut and you could get a nasty cut.

Would you concur with that?

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by Corey123

...Also, I've been told many times, especially in the culinary arts training course I was in, that a dull knife is the most dangerous knife to use, for it could slip off the food that you are trying to cut and you could get a nasty cut.

Would you concur with that?

I don't agree. The reason most knife cuts happen is because people are being caeless with their knives. Dull or sharp may impact the nature of the cut, but if you are careful, either dull or sharp will work.

If you are using a dull knife, you automatically adjust your stroke and handling of the knife to accommodate the changes in the blade.

[Corey123]

I have a Chinese clever that I often like to use for cutting and slicing veggies and fruits. So I try to keep it sharp.

Was going to use it last night, but to save time and get out of the kitchen sooner, I cheated and used the food processor instead. Haha!!

Since it was getting late, I doctored up some Stove Top Stuffing. But I'll never use that again because it has a high sodium content!

[GB]

I agree with Andy. I do not think a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one for the reasons he pointed out.

Corey, if you believe that a dull knife is more dangerous then you are not being as safe as you could be based on what you said in post #36. If you feel it is so dangerous then why would you purposely wait until your knives are so dull they won't even cut a tomato? according to what you believe, that is the most dangerous thing you can do. Wouldn't it make more sense to use a sharpening system that does not remove so much metal that you need to wait until the knife is dangerously dull (according to what you believe) instead of using an electric sharpener that removes so much metal that you feel it necessary to wait so long before you use it?

[Hawkeye16]

Originally Posted by DrThunder88

Lansky. I use the 17 setting (the angle measurements are not particularly accurate) for all my knives. On my cheaper knives, specifically those made with 420 steel, I used the 20 degree setting because the edge had a tendency to roll easily with a sharper angle. I also use the 20 degree setting on my Joyce Chen Chinese chef's knife since the blade is so darn deep.

Just make sure you move the clamp on longer knives. Five inches is about as long as a blade can be without the Lansky making the edge bevel look out of whack.

Thats the one! Thanks for the advice :) Perhaps I'll do a 17 and then a 20 just to get a bevel.