Knife Sharpening Thread

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Many thanks!!! I generally sharpen 2-3 times a year and hone on each use. They are still extremely sharp. Would it be enough just to use the 1000? I never use the 240 on the Wusthof, just the 1000 and the 3000.

Below 500ish and you're into hitting heavy territory. Unless you need to do a decent amount of thinning, profiling or bevel work a 4-600 hundred stone can do it quicker than just a 1k. If all you have is a 1k, its the only stone you'll need- but a touch more time to do it.

But it sounds like you're doing right by your knives and taking care of them so keep on keeping on. But a 200 or 400 stones are at least on the cheaper side of the spectrum as compared to buying an 8/12/finisher Jnat...

 

[cotedupy]

Many thanks!!! I generally sharpen 2-3 times a year and hone on each use. They are still extremely sharp. Would it be enough just to use the 1000? I never use the 240 on the Wusthof, just the 1000 and the 3000.

Yep, as CJB-a said above - a good 1k is going to be all you need. Stones above 1k can actually take the edges on things like old Sabs backwards, and I would certainly never finish one as high as 6k. The steel is different to Japanese steels, and reacts differently to high grit stones.

If ever you need to do heavy thinning or repair work then you can always switch down to the 240 Wusthof you already have.

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I've become much faster at repairing dull, chipped blades. My edges are getting sharper, and still holding up to rough use.

In the last week of August, I went to two friends' houses and sharpened a bunch of their knives. For the first friend, I was a little anxious that I'd screw something up or just not do a good job. I knew I'd make his blades better, but I wanted to make them GOOD.

He wanted to cut paper, and cut his finger pretty quickly by mishandling the blade.

"****! That's SHARP!"

It made me feel pretty good!

He wanted to try to sharpen, and it was really cool to be able to see that his angles weren't right, and know what to say to correct them. He got that knife a little sharper, but I went at it afterwards and made it sharp.

I was very confident at the second friend's house. Five screaming sharp blades, one happy couple.

This is such a fulfilling hobby

 

[lakinxo]

I have a dull combat knife that needs to be sharpened. Instead of using a whetstone, I used sandpaper to sharpen this combat knife. Similar to the whetstone, I choose the 220 to 320 grit sheets of sandpaper; I think they may be the best when it comes to sharpening. The ideal sharpening angle is between 20 and 25 degrees.

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I have a dull combat knife that needs to be sharpened. Instead of using a whetstone, I used sandpaper to sharpen this combat knife. Similar to the whetstone, I choose the 220 to 320 grit sheets of sandpaper; I think they may be the best when it comes to sharpening. The ideal sharpening angle is between 20 and 25 degrees.

How did you do it? Did you tape the sandpaper to a flat surface or something?

I haven't used sandpaper for sharpening yet but I've used it to polish blades. Clamp knife, rub paper over knife, switch grits and direction, repeat.

 

[lakinxo]

I lay the sandpaper flat on the table and hold the surface with my weaker hand. Then I grabbed the handle of the knife with my dominant hand. Start sharpening the knife by slicing one side of the blade onto the sandpaper at a 20-degree angle.

 

[rodrigaj]

Don't know if there are KME sharpening system users here, but that is what I use.

After decades of hand sharpening, I bought the set with the 4 diamond stones and added the 50 grit stone and the base.

The key is to not put pressure on the stone, practice on inexpensive knives, and understand that the limit is probably no more than an 8" kitchen knife. Results are crazy sharp and touch ups are a breeze. Email questions to the owner are answered within 12 hours. I'm very pleased with the results.

I pooh-poohed diamond stones for many years but I'm now a convert.

 

[kayvee]

Last night, I sharpened a kitchen knife freehand on a soft Arkansas. It’s not gonna win any prizes or perform any parlor tricks. But it cut vegetables cleanly and sharply this morning.

 

[Legion]

Last night, I sharpened a kitchen knife freehand on a soft Arkansas. It’s not gonna win any prizes or perform any parlor tricks. But it cut vegetables cleanly and sharply this morning.

That's all it needs to do.

If you want to refine the edge a little from the soft Ark you can give it a few licks on a fine stone, but not so much you remove all the teeth. That can be a nice compromise for kitchen work.

 

[kayvee]

I was most pleased I was able to keep a consistent angle freehand. However the angle was too small. I want to try for an angle closer to 20 if I could.

 

[Legion]

I was most pleased I was able to keep a consistent angle freehand. However the angle was too small. I want to try for an angle closer to 20 if I could.

Do you know the trick where you fold paper into a 22 degree angle for a visual guide?

 

[kayvee]

Do you know the trick where you fold paper into a 22 degree angle for a visual guide?

Not really. Please share

 

[Legion]

Not really. Please share

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I have been eyeballing that since I started freehand sharpening. This would have been so very helpful when I was starting out! That's such a good trick!

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I repaired and put new edges on a couple knives yesterday.

The first was a Wustof Gourmet chef knife. It was my friend's day driver for several years, until I gave him a larger F Dick I restored. It was easy to get the little chips out, easy to reprofile, and easy to put on a new edge. It's nice & sharp, and now he has a suitable substitute for when his bigger blade's edge needs some attention again.

The second was a Forged in Fire paring knife. It's branded for the knife forging show, but as far as I know, not made by any of those makers. It seems like a cash grab for people that don't know about knives, but want to feel like they have something good.

It is not good.

Such junk! Too chunky of a blade, steel chips like crazy, I got tired of removing edge steel and reprofiling only to have it chip with every new edge I put on it, so I stopped. There is one tiny chip near the tip of the blade. That is a significant improvement. He doesn't use that blade, and told me it felt like a trashy Walmart knife when I took it, so it'll probably just sit in the block when returned.

Even though that little knife was frustrating, I still very much enjoy this stuff

 

[cotedupy]

Well, yes... I suppose if you've got a load of paper lying around that you want to use up, and particularly enjoy origami. But also...

 

[jj_sharp]

Lately, table knives get a Mexican fine Norton India stone. I don't use much pressure, and after a few years, the stone still feels like it has proud grits on the surface.

Despite the extreme coarseness, I like the stone. If the india side ever fines out, the course crystalon side is on standby for heavy grinding.

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I'm jonesing for a new stone, but I don't need one.

King 300 is good enough for a low grit, but a couple of recent repairs have me wanting something even more aggressive. That's not for my own knives, so I could probably just charge my friends next time I have those jobs and use that for a new coarse beast.

What's a good enough, inexpensive choice? Manticore? DMT?

Side note: I've used concrete and bricks when the King 300 was taking too long. The feedback of the bricks is okay, but the concrete slab has too many large particles to be reliable. That's expected, but I'd like a real tool for that job.

Naniwa pro chosera 1k has been great. I love how clean that stone feels during sharpening.I love the edges I get from it. I love how little it dishes. It's a beautiful green. 10/10 stone to me, but I haven't used many.

I don't need a finer stone, but wouldn't it be cool to have a finer stone?!

Suehiro Ouka is at the top of my list. I'm not scared of soakers, I just happen to have all s&g's. Is the Ouka far enough away from the Chosera 1k to notice a difference? Should I bump up to the Rika? I'd probably love a chosera 3k or higher, but those are so much more expensive, I'm not ready to buy one.

I'm not interested in oil stones at this time. I recently used some at a friend's house, and I do not like the cleanup.

 

[Legion]

I'm jonesing for a new stone, but I don't need one.

King 300 is good enough for a low grit, but a couple of recent repairs have me wanting something even more aggressive. That's not for my own knives, so I could probably just charge my friends next time I have those jobs and use that for a new coarse beast.

What's a good enough, inexpensive choice? Manticore? DMT?

Side note: I've used concrete and bricks when the King 300 was taking too long. The feedback of the bricks is okay, but the concrete slab has too many large particles to be reliable. That's expected, but I'd like a real tool for that job.

Naniwa pro chosera 1k has been great. I love how clean that stone feels during sharpening.I love the edges I get from it. I love how little it dishes. It's a beautiful green. 10/10 stone to me, but I haven't used many.

I don't need a finer stone, but wouldn't it be cool to have a finer stone?!

Suehiro Ouka is at the top of my list. I'm not scared of soakers, I just happen to have all s&g's. Is the Ouka far enough away from the Chosera 1k to notice a difference? Should I bump up to the Rika? I'd probably love a chosera 3k or higher, but those are so much more expensive, I'm not ready to buy one.

I'm not interested in oil stones at this time. I recently used some at a friend's house, and I do not like the cleanup.

I was going to say a Norton India combo, until I saw you didn’t want an oil stone. Personally I never found the cleanup an issue. Wipe it down with a paper towel and put it away.

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I was going to say a Norton India combo, until I saw you didn’t want an oil stone. Personally I never found the cleanup an issue. Wipe it down with a paper towel and put it away.

Oil stones work well, but I don't like getting the oil on my hands and counter. Maybe I'd be less messy with time, but I don't want to go that route. I also don't want to deal with storing them separately from my water stones.

I like just rinsing water stones and wiping off the counter. I'm sure I'll want one of everything when I have a place for it all though!