Cleaver Sharpening

J

JBDenver

Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
2
Hi folks- I'm looking for a more effective way to sharpen my kitchen knives. My knives are a Henkels chef's knife, Henkel's paring knife, and two relatively inexpensive Chinese cleavers. Note that these are light-duty cleavers, suitable for vegetables rather than hacking bones like European cleavers. But they are not Japanese single-sided blades.

Currently, I'm using a Crock Stick. I've got the two-stage kind, that has rougher thinning rods at one angle, and then the smoother sharpening rods at a different one. It works OK. I do clean the metallic grit from the rods from time to time. My knives are sharper than most folks after I sharpen them, but that isn't saying much. I don't think cleaver #1, after using the Crock Stick, was as sharp as the factory blade on the new cleaver #2.

Any suggestions on a way to get a better edge? I find that ripe tomatoes are tough. The "Lansky" system looks pretty good- consistent sharpening angle, and a variety of grits. But it doesn't work with very wide knives like cleavers, and my cleavers are my most-used knives.

Maybe freehand sharpening with a smoother stone? Natural or artificial? How big should it be? Or is just using a stone tough to do to maintain the same angle?
Thanks in advance for any hints!
John
p.s. I'd like to avoid electric devices if I can.
 
What's your budget? High budget: DMT diamond plates. Coarse and Fine to start with, and you can move on as you see fit. Low Budget: Norton Coarse/Fine combo stone, either India/India or Crystalon/India for coarse/fine sides respectively. You can make any number of guides if you need to. If you want to free hand sharpen, just a stone, some water or oil, depending on stone type, and practice are all you need. Let me know if you want some ideas for guides.
 
me2 said:
What's your budget? High budget: DMT diamond plates. Coarse and Fine to start with, and you can move on as you see fit. Low Budget: Norton Coarse/Fine combo stone, either India/India or Crystalon/India for coarse/fine sides respectively. You can make any number of guides if you need to. If you want to free hand sharpen, just a stone, some water or oil, depending on stone type, and practice are all you need. Let me know if you want some ideas for guides.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! I'll probably pick up one of the Norton India combo stones.
 
If tomatoes are a problem, I would verify that enough metal is being removed to work up a burr. The stones should help remove more metal than the sticks. With the combo stone, a good experiment is to sharpen with the rough grit and then cut the tomato. The rough knife burr cuts the skin like specialty tomato knives, and your cleaver blade with give more control to produce an even thickness of the slice. Great for sandwich cuts of tomato, but the burr will bend over easily and create a dull blade quickly unless you remove the weakest whiskers with a strop.
 
Or, remove the burr with the crock sticks. Good use of a fine sharpener like sticks and you already have made that investment.
 
I've been using the same Norton combo stone for 30 years +, it works fine for my kitchen knives. I've sharpened both types of cleavers without any problems. I tried the stick sharpeners, but I like the bench stones better.

I also lightly run my kitchen knives over a steel before I use them. This seems to maintain the edge longer before I have to use the stone on them.

Ric
 
Hi.

I use the scary sharp methoed (sandpaper stuck to flat surface) on my cleavers. I find it easier to rest the blade on full or half sheet of sandpaper than to try to balance it on a sharpening stone.
 
If you are truly in Denver, CO, then I would stronly suggest you swing by the Spyderco Factory Outler in Golden, CO just a bit North of Golden on 93N. They have some excellent sharpening supplies and a lot of knowledge which I suggest you soak up like a sponge. You can call them for better directions or try to google their address

820 Spyderco Way
Golden, CO 80403

They have man made bench stones in three grits (all probably signficantly more fine than the two sided stone you posted you might pick up) and a spectacular sharpening system (Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker) which comes with two grits of rods but you can add on 204D diamond rods.

Keeping the angle consistant is the main goal in sharpening a "V" bevel. The guides that m2 suggested will make your life easier by holding the stone at a certain angle so you can hold your knife at a more easily maintained angle (like parallel to the table you are sharpening on (zero degrees) or perpendicular to the surface you have your sharpener on (90 degrees)). The Sharpmaker uses the 90 degree to the surface the sharpener is resting on reference angle and holds the stones at two preset angles like old school TV rabbit ears.

Any media you choose to sharpen with is way better than not doing it yourself, in my opinion. Good for you!

Best wishes,

Doug
 
If you have the money, I'd recommend the Edge Pro Apex. Worth Every Cent.
 
Either bench stones (I like the Spyderco ceramics for finishing and DMT's for coarse sharpening) or a 1x30 Harbor Freight belt sander with fine sharpening belts.
 
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