Repairing/Tuning Old Dexter Carbon Chef Knife

[FarmerTan]

A recent commercial with emerill for his air fryer iirc had me shaking my head. He just looked off his game but i guess gotta make that bread.

Thread Derail Warning:

Just started looking at some higher end counter top ovens....

Good friend/lifetime neighbor hates her last Emiril purchase, says the air fry function stinks.

@OldSaw : brother, I love your new home/old place, not sure I ever told you. The lovely bride and I may actually do that to our 65 year old homestead here. Mostly just gut the insides and make a big open space.

Is that a conduction stove top I see? And was it you that was asking on here for advice/comments on purchasing it? My memory is shot.

My wife is a GREAT cook, and loves to do it. I'd love to get her the kitchen that she deserves.

Lol, I should have probably not derailed your thread and started my own! Sorry my friend...

 

[OldSaw]

Thread Derail Warning:

Just started looking at some higher end counter top ovens....

Good friend/lifetime neighbor hates her last Emiril purchase, says the air fry function stinks.

@OldSaw : brother, I love your new home/old place, not sure I ever told you. The lovely bride and I may actually do that to our 65 year old homestead here. Mostly just gut the insides and make a big open space.

Is that a conduction stove top I see? And was it you that was asking on here for advice/comments on purchasing it? My memory is shot.

My wife is a GREAT cook, and loves to do it. I'd love to get her the kitchen that she deserves.

Lol, I should have probably not derailed your thread and started my own! Sorry my friend...

The cooktop is induction and I am very happy with it. I probably asked, but it was a whirlwind of building, and researching, and buying. I highly recommend induction. Because of the remote area in which we live, we were advised NOT to get the very popular LG brand (due to poor warranty response outside of major metro areas). We were looking at GE Cafe and finally settled on Wisconsin based Wolf. It was slightly more expensive than the GE and requires a 40 amp dedicated circuit. Some of the other brands with lower amperage hookup cut back the power on some hobs if they are calling for too much. I have never had a reduction of heating capacity even with three running at or near high. I almost never use all four at once.

 

[FarmerTan]

The cooktop is induction and I am very happy with it. I probably asked, but it was a whirlwind of building, and researching, and buying. I highly recommend induction. Because of the remote area in which we live, we were advised NOT to get the very popular LG brand (due to poor warranty response outside of major metro areas). We were looking at GE Cafe and finally settled on Wisconsin based Wolf. It was slightly more expensive than the GE and requires a 40 amp dedicated circuit. Some of the other brands with lower amperage hookup cut back the power on some hobs if they are calling for too much. I have never had a reduction of heating capacity even with three running at or near high. I almost never use all four at once.

All I wanted to know friend.

 

[Gabby Hayes]

New to the group, but wanted to add my 2 cents. I have a couple vintage Sabatier carbon steel knives. Build up patina mentioned above is necessary with these old gals to keep from forming rust. I also use a product called Frog Lube Extreme. Funny name but great lube and rust preventer. It's one of the few non-toxic lubes with great rust protection. It's widely used by gun folks as cleaner and lube. I started using it on my lantern and iron stuff collection. There's days of debate between gun guys on the best. Like shaving products! But Frog Lube Extreme is non toxic, wintergreen scent and a drop goes along way! I keep a small wad of heavy flannel in a small tupper ware container in the knife drawer. The flannel has enough that when wiping on a blade leaves the slightest film. Polish it in, Done! Mineral oil works too. But love the slick finish on the blade. For anyone interested in rust prevention of guns, collectibles, outdoor metal, etc. Check out the comprehensive test a guy did of oil and reproduction products at dayattherange.com Very interesting and we'll done!!

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

FYI. I'm still not sure what bread knifing is - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/im-still-not-sure-what-bread-knifing-is.90867/

Bread knifing is a repair technique to straighten an edge, to remove large chips or frown, or in your case to lower the heel.

That is an old post, originally bread knifing was just that saw on a low grit stone, like you were slicing a loaf of bread.
Today the term includes a number of techniques that will grind an edge flat for repair work. All will leave a dull but straight edge.

I do High Angle Honing, for knives and razors, more than actual sawing flat on the stone or diamond plate, it is quicker and offers better control.

High Angle Honing is just that, hold the knife/razor at about 70-90 degrees to the stone and drag the knife spine leading flat on the stone/diamond plate, alternate direction to evenly remove steel from the edge.

Check the edge often by holding the knife to the stone face or any flat object to see if the chip or frown has been removed to the bottom of the problem, chip or frown.

Once you get close to the bottom, you can increase the angle to 45-60 degrees to knock off the corner of the 90-degree dull edge and start to bring the bevels back to meeting and remove a minimal of steel.

Bread knifing is a repair technique used with pressure to grind an edge straight, so it can be honed bring the edge to meeting.
Any of a number of strokes can be used to grind an edge straight, for repair work.

It would have been better to grind the Bolster at an angle to an even point ending at the corner of the heel at the edge, with the edge remaining straight, so you could cut with the heel making full contact with the cutting board, you may also need to thin the bolster to get the knife to lay flat on the stone.

I would not correct the edge now, regular sharpening will lower the heel and not waste steel. You just will need to learn to not cut with the heel corner for now.

With a razor you want to round/ reshape the heel corner to take the stabilizer out of play. With a knife, you want a sharp corner where the Stabilizer/ Bolster meets the heel corner.

 

[MoreArtful]

I'm a little ashamed to admit that the belt sharpener gets top billing over the stones these days for kitchen and butchering knives. Razor edges in seconds/minutes, not hours and those edges are very easy to maintain. None of my tools are collectibles so I'm not a bit worried about taking an extra millionth or two off with high speed abrasives.

Oh hell yeah with the belt. It outperforms my surgicals and translucent arkansas by fifty miles and I been sharpening since the early 1960s.

 

[BigLeegr]

Here’s how it looks now. Not perfect, but knife sharpening is not my hobby, cooking is. So, of course, I need sharp functional knives to do that.

I did multiple back and forth strokes at a fairly acute angle on the coarse stone with my fingers applying pressure on the high spots, with as much blade laying on the stone as possible. When I felt I had most of the high spots down I took it to the 1000 ceramic Shapton. Then the 5000 Shapton. Everything was feeling pretty good at that point, but I couldn’t help running it across my ceramic hone for the final finish.
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Paper test.
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Sliced a tomato with ease. Cut the wedges into pieces with skin side down and they all separated nicely. No long annoying chain of veggies.
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I just spent well over $1,000 on new knives and sharpening equipment, but this old Dexter is such an easy grab that it gets used a lot. I probably should have just spent more on sharpening equipment and less on the ridiculous variety of new knives I bought.
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How are you liking the Cutco knives? I know some people that bought some 30+ years ago to help a neighbour's kid and they still use them. They seem happy with the knives and the Super Shears they got but I know some companies have lowered their quality over the decades so I was wondering how they are today.