Best sharpener for longer, kitchen knives?

S

ShooterMcgavin

Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
609
I am not very good at sharpening longer knives on my small, 4" diamond sharpener. What is the best setup for sharpening kitchen knives (6-12"), starting from a rough edge to a fine, finished edge? What are the different grits and stones I will need?
 
A bench stone is what I'd recommend, but you'd have to be at least somewhat competent at freehand sharpening in order to use one. If that's the case, look at Arkansas, India, Shapton, Chosera and DMT stones. A coarse, medium, and fine stone should be all you'll need. Get an extra fine one if you want extra polish, or extra coarse if your knives need reprofiling.

If you can't freehand well, I'm not sure what to recommend. A sharp maker would work, but it's geared more towards smaller knives, I think.
 
I use my Norton IB8 stone, it has been my work horse stone for many years. My longest kitchen knives have 10" blades.

I have found that with kitchen knives maintaining the edge is important. I don't let them get dull, they get touched up on a regular basis. I have an Ontario/Old Hickory knife that I touch up on a steel before use, I've gone 2-3 months before I felt like I needed to sharpen it on the bench stone.

Making sure that the knife does not get used improperly or abused is also important. My family is very good about always using the wooden or plastic boards at home. They also let me know when the knife is getting slightly dull.

Ric
 
Freehand is the only way to go for kitchen knives. It's the way every chef out there does it.
 
Before I got my paper wheels, I used the Work Sharp Knife and Tool sharpener on my kitchen knives with great results. I have a good set of Soligen stainless steel knives and you could cut phone book paper with them when done. I have also used it to re-profile some knives and on some garden shears and lawnmower blades. Great little tool for about $75

Omar
:rolleyes:
 
I agree with Phydeaux. That combination stone can be brought to your door for 24$ and it's of good quality offering good economy. DM
 
I have a Worksharp tool and knife sharpener and it works great on knives. sharpened 10 knives sharp enough to shave with in less than 20 mins.
 
+1 on the norton combos, i've been a huge waterstone fan for years, still think they are the bedt for absolute performance on very high end kitchen knives, but today i use a crystolon/india combo stone more often. my set of waterstones stays at home because i got tired of screwing them in the kitchen. they need some care, they are expensive and the norton works, is cheap and alost maintenance free.
 
What type of steel are you sharpening? There is a big difference between sharpening a high end Japanese high carbon chefs knife and your standard Henckles or Chigago Cutlery knives. For most standard knives a big as you can afford fine DMT and a strop will do the trick. I like to use a 6000 grit waterstone between the fine DMT and the strop.

I keep my Japanese knives sharp by stropping on the 6000 grit waterstone and then the leather strop.

Don't wait until they are dull.
 
I forgot to mention Norton's JUM-3 or the IM-313 are great for sharpening large knives. DM
 
My GATCO sharpens all my kitchen cutlery up to my longest 10" chef knife with not problem.

Not every chef sharpens freehand. I would bet not every chef even sharpens their own cutlery. Many use knife exchanges that bring around a bunch of sharpened blades and take away the dull ones. Those chefs are probably using steel sharpened on a belt grinder.

What is the difference between free hand and a guided system? In the free hand the angle is determined by the eye and experience and with the rod guided the angel is determined mechanically. The stones are often the same and the angle is the same.

Good Luck.
 
Every self respecting chef ( I am one, incidentally) learns how to sharpen their own, albeit some better than others. Its a pride thing. Treat it like any other edged tool, starting with a lower grit stone i.e. 1000. Any lower will eat away too much metal, especially if they are high quality Japanese carbon steel knives. Move to a 2000 and finish with a 6000-8000 grit. The a 8000 is my preference, as it will give you a scary sharp, mirrored edge. As grelcar said, dont wait until they are dull. And above all else, good freehand sharpening is ALL about your angles. It takes a considerable amount of time to create a strong, sharp edge. Good luck!!!
 
Last edited:
As my dad said, "if it is worth doing, it is worth doing right". What is "right" varies from person to person, and there is no wrong way as long as the end result is "RIGHT", right?

Omar
:rolleyes:
 
superdulledge said:
Every self respecting chef ( I am one, incidentally) learns how to sharpen their own, albeit some better than others. Its a pride thing. Treat it like any other edged tool, starting with a lower grit stone i.e. 1000. Any lower will eat away too much metal, especially if they are high quality Japanese carbon steel knives. Move to a 2000 and finish with a 6000-8000 grit. The a 8000 is my preference, as it will give you a scary sharp, mirrored edge. As grelcar said, dont wait until they are dull. And above all else, good freehand sharpening is ALL about your angles. It takes a considerable amount of time to create a strong, sharp edge. Good luck!!!
Click to expand...

Angles are important. An acute angle will generally slice better but will generally not last as long as a more obtuse angle. An obtuse angle will last longer generally but will not slice as well. A thicker blade will take longer to rebevel to a more acute angle than a thinner blade. For general outdoors work a thicker angle will generally work better. For kitchen or fine slicing a finer angle will generally work better. I do not treat all edges the same.

I would disagree that about the time to create a sharp edge. That depends on a lot of factors. If you are just matching factory or existing edges it shouldn't take much time. If you are rebeveling it might take some time depending on the steel and heat treat. Harder steel might equal more time sharpening. It depends on a lot of variables.

Cheap soft cutlery won't take as long to get scary sharp as better cutlery with better steel and a harder heat treat.

The only difference between freehand sharpening and a guided system is how the angle is held. Whether you use your hands to hold the angle or let a mechanical guide hold the angle the result is the same. The strokes on the stone are the same. The grit of the stones can be the same.
 
OHALLUM said:
As my dad said, "if it is worth doing, it is worth doing right". What is "right" varies from person to person, and there is no wrong way as long as the end result is "RIGHT", right?

Omar
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That is the way I see it as well. How many methods are there for sharpening? It all boils down to scraping steel on an abrasive surface and having the two edges meet. Beyond that it is just how refined you make that line where they meet.

Even when it is "wrong" if it works for someone I am not going to knock their method too much.

Pull through carbide "sharpeners" are very wrong. I will not let you use one on my blades. If it works for you then fine. That is why I bring my own fillet knives with me when I go fishing with certain people. Their blades are sharp to them.

Electric gadgets like the Chef's Choice seem wrong to me. If you use one you have my pity. But at least you are trying and not letting your cutlery become butterknife dull.
 
Thanks all.
Right now, I am working with cheap, Chinese kitchen knives and I would just like to get them usable. I have a tenant living with me, so I will keep it that way for a while. I do have a few decent knives also (Chicago and Henckels), and I would eventually like to have better knives and a sharpening system that doesn't require a half hour of setup and cleanup each time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top