Holy dullness batman

T

Thumber

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Dec 8, 2015
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I am currently vacationing at a house in Costa Rica. Needless to say, every knife here is dull. The edge and the spine are about the same. I brought a dmt course fine stone with the balisong style handles. It's been a fair bit of work but the knives are now back to somewhat useful. Will shave arm hair a bit.

I have decided to forego the fine side almost entirely. Just working to create a bevel and then get it to apex and burr. I figure the course finish will be toothy and doesn't really need anything more for basic kitchen prep work.

I also brought a new opinel 8 that is a razor. The beech handles have swelled so bad I can't close it. Well I could but I doubt I could open it after without pliers. Would hanging it in the sun help shrink it back down?

Happy new year all
 
Might be hard to escape the humidity there, even in the sun. Short-term, if there's an oven in the house, you could set it to a low warm temp (<200°F) with the door propped open, and put the Opinel in there for a bit. That might be enough to bake off the moisture in the wood and shrink the handle swelling, but it might not last very long after it comes out of the oven, if the humidity is still very high. Sealing the endgrain & pivot of the handle and the unvarnished bladewell inside with some Vaseline or other petroleum jelly might slow down the reabsorption of moisture into the beechwood; that's also sort of a temporary solution. Longer-term, sealing with varnish or polyurethane, or boiled linseed oil or danish oil should make it more resistant to moisture absorption & swelling.


David
 
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Following the coarse DMT you might find a few passes at slightly higher angle on the edge of a glazed bowl or other glassware will make a notable improvement on kitchen steel.

Was on vacation last year and all the knives were dull of course. Found one likely Chef's knife and an ancient grooved steel. I went at it with gusto and was able to raise a small burr and remove it. 'Steeled' it on a bowl and was pretty sharp compared to where it started out.

A sharp knife is a rare thing in the wider world.
 
HeavyHanded said:
Following the coarse DMT you might find a few passes at slightly higher angle on the edge of a glazed bowl or other glassware will make a notable improvement on kitchen steel.

Was on vacation last year and all the knives were dull of course. Found one likely Chef's knife and an ancient grooved steel. I went at it with gusto and was able to raise a small burr and remove it. 'Steeled' it on a bowl and was pretty sharp compared to where it started out.

A sharp knife is a rare thing in the wider world.
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There is ceramic everywhere I look so I will try that. Good idea.

I must say I am impressed with the dmt stone. I have sharpened 3 knives here and they all had no bevel at all. I will likely go at them again to try and improve. It's very relaxing in the hot afternoon sipping beer and sharpening. The knives are German made Faber and santuko style.

It's meditative.

And everywhere I go I find dull knives.
 
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Ok all done on round 2. All are now very functionally sharp. Will slice tomatoes paper thin, shave arm hair and slice paper easily. Good enough.

Great tip on the ceramic mug. You can see the steel deposits left on the unglazed bottom. Used it to micro bevel and remove the burr.

Fun times while everyone else had a siesta.
 
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Nice job on the touch ups. It brings an unexplainable smile (to non knife folks) to one's face doesn't it?

I am a fan of casserole baking dishes. The longer side allows for an actual pass for the whole knife while not needing as much wiping clean like a smaller mug or bowl. On top of that they tend to be a bit coarser than a mug so they work nicely as an intermediate step if you don't want to finish on the pan itself.
 
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"And everywhere I go I find dull knives."

Perhaps you have found a life long hobby. Don't forget to sharpen the potato peeler!
 
All you need to fix the Opinel is a screw driver. Wood swellings inevitable, but should not freeze up the kn fe. If it dopes, the knife is too tight. Insert a large screw driver in the pivot area and twist gently until you feel the wood and the metal collar give a bit. Do this both in front of and in back of the pivot.
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This is one reason I really don't love or trust Opinels, they can't get too wet or even damp. Great slicers, but so is any other knife fi you sharpen it.

For the kitchen knives, I go some places on vacation and the kitchen knives are always dull. I'll just sharpen them on the cement steps or any stone surface then give them a final honing on a coffee mug bottom. Gets them shaving sharp quick.
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Bo T said:
"And everywhere I go I find dull knives."

Perhaps you have found a life long hobby. Don't forget to sharpen the potato peeler!
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Indeed. Yesterday the groundskeeper was by and i mentioned I sharpened the kitchen knives. He pulled his two and asked if I would sharpen them. An old kershaw wildcat ridge and a rusty auto of some sort. They are now shaving sharp and he is very happy

Sharpening is a great excuse to sip beer in the shade lol.

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I would like to try sharpening on concrete steps.
 
DMT Diafolds are indeed handy for traveling; I always take mine on the road. I picked up an Opinel #8 Carbon in Paris last spring, and solved the binding problem my melting in a bit of hard floor wax into the handle groove with a hair dryer. Let it trickle down into the pivot. The wood hasn't swollen since.
 
So at the end of the trip I gifted the Opinel 8 to the groundskeeper. He loves knives.

The diafold went to the mama who cooked the best food in my favorite little family restaurant. I saw her sharpening a knife and asked if I could give it a go. Pulled out the diafold, sharpened her chef knife and handed her back the knife and the stone. Got a warm hug and a cold cerveza in return.

Karma, it goes around.
 
There are kitchen items made such as "pizza stones." They are round pizza pan shaped stones for cooking on. As you continue using them over the years, they get seasoned and smoother. The same companies (pampered chef is one) that makes various "pizza stones " to cook with. I've often wondered if they could be of some use sharpening knives. Since I am a novice, I've never tried using them for this purpose. Has anyone else?
 
Thumber said:
I am currently vacationing at a house in Costa Rica. Needless to say, every knife here is dull. The edge and the spine are about the same. I brought a dmt course fine stone with the balisong style handles. It's been a fair bit of work but the knives are now back to somewhat useful. Will shave arm hair a bit.

I have decided to forego the fine side almost entirely. Just working to create a bevel and then get it to apex and burr. I figure the course finish will be toothy and doesn't really need anything more for basic kitchen prep work.

I also brought a new opinel 8 that is a razor. The beech handles have swelled so bad I can't close it. Well I could but I doubt I could open it after without pliers. Would hanging it in the sun help shrink it back down?

Happy new year all
Click to expand...

Great job on the knives while on vacation. That's what sharpening is all about! As for your Opinel question, there's a vid for that. ;)


[YouTube]73U1PhWMzEM[/YouTube]
 
People laugh, but I when go out of town my kitchen knife comes with me.

My wife and I are foodies and part of the fun of vacation is getting to cook using some of the fresh local cuisine. I hate trying to cook a decent meal with a crappy knife.
 
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