Knife Sharpening Q's

[DanielOcean]

I am at a loss. I am so terrible at knife sharpening its not funny. Any experienced person's out there that have good experience? I dont know what I am doing wrong. I am pretty sure this one dummy knife that I have been practicing on is completely screwed up. Will slice paper and then when i try to make it sharper I lose the edge. I have no idea how much pressure I should be putting down when grinding against the stone. Should I be putting tons of pressure down or the lightest touch? How the heck do I know the angle is correct when knife manufacturers use different bevel edges?

Currently I am trying the spiderco rod sharpener and I am not having much luck. I am perplexed that their are men and women out there that can be given a stone and bam. Grrrrr

 

[mcswny]

I am at a loss. I am so terrible at knife sharpening its not funny. Any experienced person's out there that have good experience? I dont know what I am doing wrong. I am pretty sure this one dummy knife that I have been practicing on is completely screwed up. Will slice paper and then when i try to make it sharper I lose the edge. I have no idea how much pressure I should be putting down when grinding against the stone. Should I be putting tons of pressure down or the lightest touch? How the heck do I know the angle is correct when knife manufacturers use different bevel edges?

Currently I am trying the spiderco rod sharpener and I am not having much luck. I am perplexed that their are men and women out there that can be given a stone and bam. Grrrrr

Pretty sure @Evan B has a knife sharpener he swears by? I could be wrong?

 

[Evan B]

Pretty sure @Evan B has a knife sharpener he swears by? I could be wrong?

BEHOLD!

Ken Onion Edition Knife & Tool Sharpener - Work Sharp Sharpeners

The Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition Knife and Tool Sharpener expands on the best-selling Original Knife and Tool Sharpener with more power, more flexibility, and more control as specified by legendary knife maker Ken Onion.

www.worksharptools.com

 

[DanielOcean]

Exactly what I had in my amazon cart. Looks like I know what to use my 100 dollar giftcard on.

 

[Evan B]

Exactly what I had in my amazon cart. Looks like I know what to use my 100 dollar giftcard on.

You'll be glad you did.

I can't stress enough how crucial it is to read the instructions. There's a cardboard sheet it comes with that lists out all the references for knife types and grinding angles. Use it, learn it, and cut shit.

 

[mcswny]

I had this screenshoted from the last time you posted it. Really need to pull the trigger. Keeping my knives sharp is one thing that got pushed aside when I had a kid

 

[Matt B]

I am at a loss. I am so terrible at knife sharpening its not funny. Any experienced person's out there that have good experience? I dont know what I am doing wrong. I am pretty sure this one dummy knife that I have been practicing on is completely screwed up. Will slice paper and then when i try to make it sharper I lose the edge. I have no idea how much pressure I should be putting down when grinding against the stone. Should I be putting tons of pressure down or the lightest touch? How the heck do I know the angle is correct when knife manufacturers use different bevel edges?

Currently I am trying the spiderco rod sharpener and I am not having much luck. I am perplexed that their are men and women out there that can be given a stone and bam. Grrrrr

Yup, I got the Spyderco too, and perhaps similar to you I apparently couldn't develop the skill to make it work for me, so I got the Worksharp, and boy it gets stuff sharp as shit. However, definitely get the more adjustable Ken Onion model and not the more basic one which I have, which works great, but damn it goes quick at taking off a lot of metal, which is a little scary on an expensive knife. I think the Ken Onion model allows you to go a little more slowly and fine tune things.

 

[mcswny]

You'll be glad you did.

I can't stress enough how crucial it is to read the instructions. There's a cardboard sheet it comes with that lists out all the references for knife types and grinding angles. Use it, learn it, and cut shit.

Evan, how often do you find you need to pull it out on for your kitchen knives?

 

[Evan B]

Evan, how often do you find you need to pull it out on for your kitchen knives?

I typically sharpen my stuff like once a month-ish. More if I'm doing a sushi dinner party - can't do a good job at that without the sharpest of sharp knives.

 

[mcswny]

I typically sharpen my stuff like once a month-ish. More if I'm doing a sushi dinner party - can't do a good job at that without the sharpest of sharp knives.

Shit, thats not bad

 

[Nick Clayton]

I'm with you DO. Knife sharpening is black magic voodoo bullshit as far as I'm concerned.

That said, the electric Worksharp is the way to go for most casual things. Not sure I'd be keen to use one on an expensive knife, but I've never really tried. I have one of there hand sharpening systems that I use on my better pocket knives. I can get a knife sharp enough I'd say, but I have yet to feel like I have the damn thing figured out.

As far as I know the biggest difference between the KO and the standard Worksharp is you can change the angle of the grind, which I would think is fairly important for sharpening a variety of knives. I have always used the standard version but I've really only used it to sharpen fillet knives, which it does a scary good job at.

I am always in awe of people who can just sit down with a stone and be shaving with any blade 15 minutes later.

 

[Evan B]

I'm with you DO. Knife sharpening is black magic voodoo bullshit as far as I'm concerned.

That said, the electric Worksharp is the way to go for most casual things. Not sure I'd be keen to use one on an expensive knife, but I've never really tried. I have one of their hand sharpening systems that I use on my better pocket knives. I can get a knife sharp enough I'd say, but I have yet to feel like I have the damn thing figured out.

As far as I know the biggest difference between the KO and the standard Worksharp is you can change the angle of the grind, which I would think is fairly important for sharpening a variety of knives. I have always used the standard version but I've really only used it to sharpen fillet knives, which it does a scary good job at.

I am always in awe of people who can just sit down with a stone and be shaving with any blade 15 minutes later.

I do love using a stone, I just don't usually have the time anymore.

The KO device does great on good kitchen knives, too. My cheapest kitchen knife was roughly $150 new if I remember right, and I run it and the nicer ones through it. It's just a matter of knowing what angle and what grit belt to use. Thus my emphasis on the instruction manual(s).

 

[Shad]

The old school method is to use a sharpening steel to "hone" the edge before each use. In many cases, that gets you there, and it's the easiest on your knives. Make sure you hold the blade at an appropriate angle for the blade being sharpened. Generally speaking, the wider the blade, the smaller the angle. Fillet and paring knives may need as much as a 30-degree angle, where a typical chef knife will call for something around 20.

Use a stone only after the edge is worn and needs to be re-ground (won't get sharper using a steel), and be extremely deliberate about holding the proper angle while grinding. Go as slow as you need to to make consistent, smooth passes along the entire cutting edge. When you establish a new edge, use a steel to hone it in.

All that said, Worksharps and the like can put a sharp cutting edge on a knife quickly and without much hassle, which is often ideal for fillet applications. The downside is that they do tend to grind down blades faster than a stone/steel combo. For a typical (cheaper) fillet knife, it's probably the most sensible choice, but I don't really recommend it for your expensive kitchen knives, e.g.

The more I cook and do other stuff with knives, the more I like cheaper, softer blades on my utility knives (like fillet knives). They are easy to get really sharp (a steel usually gets it done), and when they get worn down, they are cheap to replace. I have some nice, German blades from my chef days, but the plastic-handled cheapies seem to get most of the use in my kitchen these days, mostly because it's so easy to keep them really sharp. When you get a good edge on a quality knife, it can last a very long time, as long as you hone it frequently, but I'm getting lazy....

 

[Nick Clayton]

The more I cook and do other stuff with knives, the more I like cheaper, softer blades on my utility knives (like fillet knives). They are easy to get really sharp (a steel usually gets it done), and when they get worn down, they are cheap to replace

I agree one thousand percent.

At least in regards to fillet knives. I have very little experience with true quality kitchen knives

 

[Evan B]

I hone before using my knives almost every time. But I cook almost every night and cut a LOT of stuff... so my sharpening needs are probably more than most. Thus the once a month goal.

 

[Buzzy]

The old school method is to use a sharpening steel to "hone" the edge before each use. In many cases, that gets you there, and it's the easiest on your knives. Make sure you hold the blade at an appropriate angle for the blade being sharpened. Generally speaking, the wider the blade, the smaller the angle. Fillet and paring knives may need as much as a 30-degree angle, where a typical chef knife will call for something around 20.

Use a stone only after the edge is worn and needs to be re-ground (won't get sharper using a steel), and be extremely deliberate about holding the proper angle while grinding. Go as slow as you need to to make consistent, smooth passes along the entire cutting edge. When you establish a new edge, use a steel to hone it in.

All that said, Worksharps and the like can put a sharp cutting edge on a knife quickly and without much hassle, which is often ideal for fillet applications. The downside is that they do tend to grind down blades faster than a stone/steel combo. For a typical (cheaper) fillet knife, it's probably the most sensible choice, but I don't really recommend it for your expensive kitchen knives, e.g.

The more I cook and do other stuff with knives, the more I like cheaper, softer blades on my utility knives (like fillet knives). They are easy to get really sharp (a steel usually gets it done), and when they get worn down, they are cheap to replace. I have some nice, German blades from my chef days, but the plastic-handled cheapies seem to get most of the use in my kitchen these days, mostly because it's so easy to keep them really sharp. When you get a good edge on a quality knife, it can last a very long time, as long as you hone it frequently, but I'm getting lazy....

I use whetstones of varying grit on my kitchen knives: once every two months or so. I use a steel hone almost daily which takes maybe 30 seconds.

 

[DanielOcean]

I think also it depends what kind of sharp you're going for from my research I have seen that there is super duper unbelievable sharp and then there's I would call economically sharp

The one time I usually wish I had an ultra sharp knife is when I have to cut the gills the last time I was out I had a really dull knife and it was a bitch

 

[mcswny]

I think also it depends what kind of sharp you're going for from my research I have seen that there is super duper unbelievable sharp and then there's I would call economically sharp

The one time I usually wish I had an ultra sharp knife is when I have to cut the gills the last time I was out I had a really dull knife and it was a bitch

I just want to be able to cut a garden fresh tomato with out squishing it or an onion without the layers sliding

 

[Nick Clayton]

I dont consider my knives sharp until I can gently drop a size 18 grizzly hackle onto the blade from 3" above and have it slice it clean in half.

 

[DanielOcean]

I just want to be able to cut a garden fresh tomato with out squishing it or an onion without the layers sliding

It's funny you say that because for that very reason I've decided I'm in the market for a new knife the ESE E4 is the one that I'm looking at because it's a full flat grind and it looks like a bad-ass tomato slicer