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Nice method for touch up on kitchen knives and perhaps folding knives.

Nice method for touch up on kitchen knives and perhaps folding knives.

I have already posted this link in another thread but as I find it being
a well working method a thread is worth making.

For a faster touch up Ryky( Burrfection) simply "strop" on a sharpening stone or a pasted leather. Doing alternating edge trailing strokes on a stone is perhaps more correct terminology than stropping on a stone but I will write the latter.
“Daily Knife Edge Maintenance With Strop”
In the above link Ryky "strops" on a 3000# Naniwa for touch up and compares it with touch up by stropping on a pasted leather.
He mentioned that a honing rod might work better doing touch up on knives with HRC below 59.
Anyway the "stropping" on stone works well for me and I think most of my knives are below 59.
How to strop a knife
In the link above just the technique.

Stropping vs Whetstone Sharpening
In the link above Ryky is testing to bring the edge back with stropping.
“Stropping vs Polishing Your Knife”
In the above video Ryky concludes that stropping on leather works, "stropping" on stone for repeated touch up works even better and stropping on both stone and then leather works best for him regarding sharpness and edge retention.
He has a diagram where we can see how the different edges perform after touch up and after cutting rope. Rather interesting.
My experience
is that a knife that still cuts paper ok but not eagerly is a perfect candidate for this touch up.
However I´m not as skilled and spend longer time stropping.

I "strop" on a 2000# Naniwa Chosera with light force and end with very light strokes.
And then on a 4000# Shapton professional followed by a DMT 3 micron pasted leather strop and sometimes also a 1 micron leather strop.

But it also works fine for me just "stropping" on stones and skipping the pasted leather. In this case I follow up with a "~6000#".
I have not used this method for a very long time and will probably make changes in the progression with time.

This "stropping" is easier work than creating a new burr on a coarse grit stone and less messy.
It removes less material and I get the stropping stroke well trained.

My kitchen knives is used most for cutting "soft" food on a soft plastic cutting board. Someone that cuts in bones and on a hard cutting board and keeps the knife mixed with other cutlery and dishes the knife in the machine might be disappointed with the method.

That said it is very satisfying to sharpen on coarse grit and create a feelable bur on a very blunt and chipped knife but it's also harder work that creates more mess and might not be needed for a touch up.
 
I cook for the homeless and I'm not taking my good Asian knives or Atoma diamond stones to work so I just use the bottom of the plate or mug and I'm good to go.
 
If you are at an Air BnB and the kitchen blades are no bueno, you can sharpen them on the bottom edge of smooth, unfinished coffee mugs.

Works well enough for general use. Even light carving.
 
If you are at an Air BnB and the kitchen blades are no bueno, you can sharpen them on the bottom edge of smooth, unfinished coffee mugs.

Works well enough for general use. Even light carving.
It might be more fun to bring some stones and leave them lazar sharp for the next guest👹.

Once on an outing, I was showing someone my pocket knife when a mutual friend, upon seeing what was happening, warned the person to be careful not to cut himself.
 
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It might be more fun to bring some stones and leave them lazar sharp for the next guest👹.

Once on an outing, I was showing someone my pocket knife when a mutual friend, upon seeing what was happening, warned the person to be careful not to cut himself.
I buy these all steel Chinese kitchen knives from a master and I gift them out to people. He hand finishes every knife when you buy it- come back later kind of thing. I warn my giftees that they need to be careful. They have a giant razor blade ;p
 
I once brought my stones to a Thanksgiving gathering figuring that it would guarantee that I would be happy doing the carving, also the people who were interested were the same people that I would want to be talking to at the gathering anyway. I was greeted with an early stainless carving knife that wouldn't take an edge and a German cleaver that was decent steel, but very dull. I did a lot of work with a course Crystolon to get started. Once the cleaver was sharp I carved with that. The next Thanks giving at the same home I brought my stones and MY carving knife. I ended up just using my knife and leaving my stones in the car.

When showing one of the guests the sharpness of my knife I learned how some people are really freaked out by sharp edges. I experienced this again on a camping trip when I was shaving with a straight razor and one of my friends had to go on a short hike before I was finished.
 
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