best way to sharpen

I

Icutmyself

Joined
Feb 15, 2003
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Hi all...I have a henkel chef's knife and it is getting dull...I don't have a sharpener and don't wan to spend 80 bucks on a counter top model...what shoudl I use...stone, metal rod...can you give me some suggestions?
 
I'd suggest getting both a smooth and grooved steel and a pair of benchstones, about 300 and 800 grit. Cost will be about 40usd for decent stuff.

Use the steel to realign the edge, making for easier repair, and then use the 300grit until the have a wire edge going, and the 300 isn't making anymore difference. Use the 800 until it cuts mushrooms or tomatoes easily. Use the smooth steel to maintain the edge.

I have a 5.5" chef's from the cologne series, I use my 800 grit stone until the sucker almost shaves hair and chops mushrooms easily. It's sharp enough to cut tomatoes off the counter(semi soft). The steel I use for maintaining the edge is a white ceramic, cost about $5 at local. My stones I use for all the knives, were about 5-10 each, have a 200/300 combo and 500/800 combo. I can shave of the 800 grit.
 
Might take some practice to learn freehand, but it'll be the best method. far easier to control the edge by pressure on a stone than on a system. I have the 204, but only use it on serrations.
 
Nobody ever asks this question.
Do you like to sharpen or is it a dreaded chore?
I think it could really matter in your choice of a sharpening system.
If you like to sharpen wet sandpaper on a slab of glass is fun.
 
Originally posted by TomW
Nobody ever asks this question.
Do you like to sharpen or is it a dreaded chore?
I think it could really matter in your choice of a sharpening system.
If you like to sharpen wet sandpaper on a slab of glass is fun.
Click to expand...

Wow, that is a good question. I actually found myself thinking about my own feelings about sharpening, recently.

I am torn.

On one hand, I love being able to get a super-sharp edge on my knives. I think that this is a skill not possessed by a very large percentage of the population. It makes me feel like a more versatile person, to realize that most people are relatively helpless when stuck with a dull knife.

I like the technical feel of working on the edge of a knife. I focus, I pay close attention to what I'm doing. It's somewhat therapeutic. The result is a useful, properly maintained tool, which is a rewarding thing to have.

On the other hand, I acknowledge that sometimes I dread having to sharpen a knife, because it gets time-consuming for me, and somewhat frustrating. One problem I encounter semi-regularly is a burr that seems to shift from side to side and takes forever to eliminate. I do consider myself good at eventually getting a fine, sharp edge, but sometimes when that burr just seems so persistent, I find myself cursing out loud in frustration. Sometimes I look at a knife that is sitting on my shelf, having been put there after I felt I had succeeded in sharpening it, and on a re-examination I find that it seems to have a burr! So then I have to take it back to the stone and work it all over again. I'm at a loss as to how sometimes I can put a knife away "finished" and then find a burr on it after it has sat for a month unused. Lately I have been more critical of a "sharpened" knife, and feel like I have further refined my sharpening technique. There is also the possibility that I am seeing something so minor that others would not even consider it a burr. (It's certainly not one you can feel. To me it looks like a tiny tiny fine line along the edge, but from different angles it's either there or not there, depending.)

So I'm on the fence about liking or disliking sharpening. I guess I lean a little more toward liking it, since it is not a thing I would ever voluntarily give up my ability to do. It's an important skill.

P.S. How do you sharpen wet sandpaper on a slab of glass? Does wet sandpaper take an edge? ;)

---Jeffrey
 
The burr means you are getting the blade to it's thinnest edge. You can then strop it off. You use sandpaper like stone. I forgot which grits, but it will work
 
I have sandpaper here in the office, in an altoids tin. 80, 120, 220a, 600, 800, 1200... all plain wood sandpaper(not the fancy wet/dry SiC paper).

I keep a 4" chunk of 1200 in my wallet to touchups.

Just use it as a stone, startting 600 and going up or down in grit d/p on what its doing. Touchups on 1200... the 1200 and then strop to remove wire will shave.

I have an edge on my SS Dragonfly thats a month old... Just stropped last night to return my edge after a month of daily use.

1200 paper to fillet paper sharpness, strop to get rid of wire and get shaving sharp. 1200 to regrit without adding wire. Lasted a month of daily use on fibre tape and cardboard. Just did 5-6 passes each side on the strop and it shaves again.

But I also have my edge around 20deg inclusive...

As to if I enjoy it, 14yrs of freehand. It's relaxing to grab a knife and stone and work away.
 
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