I've been sharpening my knives for years with a Sharpmaker, but never very seriously. I could take a dull knife, get a servicable edge on it. If I worked a bit, I could get an edge that would shave, though just barely.
Now and then I'd read a little more, adjust my techniques, and get a bit better.
Well, it occurred to me last night that I've hit a milestone. It's taken a while (as I said, I've been a casual sharpener), and I only finally realized it last night.
That milestone - I now sharpen my knives to better than how they come "new" from the factory.
I've recently bought a few new knives, and was disappointed to find that they didn't seem that terribly sharp. I always recalled how wicked sharp the new knives from Spyderco and others have seemed; I thought that perhaps they just weren't shipping them as sharp as they used to. It finally occurred to me last night that they ARE just as sharp as ever; it's just that my definition of sharp has changed. I'm now sharpening my knives sharper than "factory new" from reputable manufacturers.
I'm sure the grisled sharpening pro's will get a chuckle out of that and say, "Heh, not that hard to outdo the factories." But it's a milestone for me.
And now that I've bought a strop, it's just getting better.
(Note - not meant to be a dig against Spyderco - I still think they put a great edge on for a production knive. Can't expect them to spend 30 minutes per knife on the sharpening process...)
Now and then I'd read a little more, adjust my techniques, and get a bit better.
Well, it occurred to me last night that I've hit a milestone. It's taken a while (as I said, I've been a casual sharpener), and I only finally realized it last night.
That milestone - I now sharpen my knives to better than how they come "new" from the factory.
I've recently bought a few new knives, and was disappointed to find that they didn't seem that terribly sharp. I always recalled how wicked sharp the new knives from Spyderco and others have seemed; I thought that perhaps they just weren't shipping them as sharp as they used to. It finally occurred to me last night that they ARE just as sharp as ever; it's just that my definition of sharp has changed. I'm now sharpening my knives sharper than "factory new" from reputable manufacturers.
I'm sure the grisled sharpening pro's will get a chuckle out of that and say, "Heh, not that hard to outdo the factories." But it's a milestone for me.
And now that I've bought a strop, it's just getting better. (Note - not meant to be a dig against Spyderco - I still think they put a great edge on for a production knive. Can't expect them to spend 30 minutes per knife on the sharpening process...)