How to take care of/sharpen a decent gyuto?

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Frznrth

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Jan 3, 2021
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I just ordered my first, what I hope is, “decent” knife. An iron clad Gyuto with white #1 carbon.

https://sharpknifeshop.com/products/ittetsu-gyuto-240-mm

All my other knives are cheap western style chef knifes so I could use some education on keeping my new knife in good shape.

I know its reactive and that I’ll need to keep it clean and dry. I also now know I need a different - not bamboo board.

Should I strop or use a ceramic honing rod or both?

All I have to sharpen is a 6” Diamond stone with 325/1200 grit. Is this if any use? What do I need? My sharpening skills are limited but I’d like to learn - on my cheap western knifes first.

Thanks for the help.
 
You can maintain it on a 1200 diamond stone.

325 to reprofile or remove chips.

Stropping kitchen knives seems to me to remove the bite from the edge that I really want to keep.

It will do fine on a bamboo cutting board, though bamboo will dull faster than end grain walnut or other woods.

Realize that the 61-62 rc edge is harder than normal western knives are typically run. You may find the edge a bit finer as well.

I sharpen a lot on ceramic, and with a light touch you should be fine as well.
 
-Do not use a steel honing rod. White #2 at 61/62 HRC will not need "re-straightening" like a softer steel and will not respond to a hone. You "can" use a ceramic rod if you have one but IMO it isn't necessary.

-You "can" use your diamond plate. 325 is pretty rough and more suited for initial repair work. So I doubt you'd use it much.
My routine is 400/1000/3-4000/8000 on Naniwa or Kings. These are synthetic stones and not so expensive.
200-400 Grit - Arato - Rough finish
600-1200 Grit - Nakato - Mid finish
2000-10000 Grit - Shiageto - Finishing (polishing)

-Definitely use a leather strop with compound to finish.

-You will want to buy Camelia Oil (or Food Grade Mineral Oil) to protect your blade when not in use. White #2 should be wiped down after each use. Left wet it will start rusting pretty quickly.
 
So it sounds like my 1200 Diamond may be useful. Its only 6” by 2 1/2”. Would a bigger surface be easier to sharpen a 9 1/2” blade on? How big would be ideal?

To “maintain” a blade I should do something to it before I notice that it is getting duller? Every few hours of use (depending on what I’m cutting)? Or let it dull and try to bring it back?

When are grits over 1200 going to be helpful? Is crazy sharp beneficial for actual kitchen cutting or just something some do because they like to get an edge as sharp and as polished as possible?

Are there brands of synthetic stones that are better than others?

Thanks for the help.
 
Frznrth said:
Are there brands of synthetic stones that are better than others?

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the rabbit hole. Lots of effective stones but lots of other factors come in to what stone works best for you. Lots of info in the maintenance/ tinkering section.
 
Personally I like full-sized (8" + ) water stones for my nicer kitchen knives. I have several Shapton Pro Japanese water stones (now called Shapton Kuromaku) in several grits, though I usually only need to use the 1000 and 2000 to maintain. I do have the 5000 but rarely use that.

The Shapton numbers correspond loosely to JIS standards, which in ANSI (US numbering) would be along the lines of:
Shapton 1000 ~ ANSI 580
Shapton 2000 ~ ANSI 1030

The trick is to not let them get dull in the first place, so you don't need a lot of work to get them sharp. That way you can maintain on a semi-fine grit without needing to do a lot of reprofiling.

That shirogami #1 core will take a very fine edge, so you could certainly go up to higher grits if you want. Depends on what kind of produce you'll be cutting with it, your cutting board surface, knife technique, etc as to how refined of an edge you'll want.

I strop on a firm balsa-wood strop that has some 1-micron diamond compound on it to put some final polish on the edge if needed.

You don't need to go out and spend hundreds on sharpening gear right away, of course. You can find a decent 2-sided combo water stone for $50 to 60, and you already have your diamond plate you can use for flattening the water stone.
 
Thanks. Keeping it sharp makes sense.

I thought keeping a knife sharp meant using a steel rod - at least for western knives. Would I need to use a finer stone for this or a ceramic hone or strop? I don’t know the differences yet.

I’m reading that if I use the knife on meat - which I plan to - to not sharpen beyond 6000 as the meat will be to hard on a finer edge. True?

I’m thinking of replacing my diamond stone as it’s small and diamond may not be the safest stone to use.

Would I want a 1000 or so to touch up and then up to a 6000 to refine? Would I need one in between?

To maintain can I strop on a stone or do I need something like balsa or leather with some compound? If so how many microns?

Im reading that rods may not be the easiest to use so I’ll likely stay away.

Cheers.
 
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Well I think some of these questions are best answered in the Maintenance Forum.
However - 8x3 stones are commonly used for kitchen knives.
A steel is outright bad for blades of such hardness. They work on softer steels (the knife, that is) because softer steels will bend back - HRC61 will not.
A lot of people that cut meats prefer coarser edges - 4K or less. But I've taken my edges to 16K (1 micron) and have no issue.
Some of that is also in how much time you actually polish.
Be aware that the diamond stones and waterstones do not use the same scale. IIRC a 1200 mesh diamond stone is about 4-5k waterstone - if it's been broken in.
 
Thanks. I am hearing too that people often prefer 3k or so for meat.

I thought I had read that Diamond numbers are different. Good to know.

I’ll see what the maintenance form has to say.
 
Over in the Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment sub-forum (which is where all things sharpening are discussed) you will find a pinned post (https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-grand-unified-grit-chart.856708/) linking to the Grand Unified Grit chart which will help you understand which numbers are the same, whether on a Japanese water stone using JIS numbers, typical US abrasives using ANSI sieve numbers, or the diamond "mesh" numbers. Basically it all comes down to microns.

Sharpening is it's own fascinating, wonderful, expensive rabbit hole. You determine how far down you want to go. :)
 
You can strop on a finishing stone, but a leather strop and a bit of compound is easier faster and a bit more forgiving. Mine lives under the knife rack and each knife gets a couple of quick licks before each use. Keeps a working edge on a good steel for a very long time.

Your current diamond stones will do the job but you will find it much easier to sharpen with a larger stone.

The king 1000/6000 combo stone is a place many start, and is about as good a bang for buck as you will find for sharpening stones. You'll end up buying others, but you really don't need anything else
 
Thanks for all the help. I ended up ordering a Cerax 1000/3000 stone. Hopefully this is enough for now.

If I want to add a leather strop what would you suggest as far as material and micron level for compound for a somewhat toothy edge? - or does strop material and compound have anything to do with toothiness?
 
I tend to just low tech match the angles by eyeball, while holding the rods in my off hand. ...

Usually while watching TV.


I have Smith fine ceramic tear drop shapes shorter rods and longer Spyderco triangle medium and dine rods.

As long as what you are doing works, just go with what you know.
 
For my gyutos I have two splash-n-go stones that do most of the work other than stropping. I use a Chosera Nariwa #800 and #3000. The 3000 is perfect for touch-ups when stropping or a ceramic steel is not enough. If the edge needs more then I step back to the 800 and then finish with the 3000. These are the only two stones that I need most of the time.
When I have a knife that needs real thinning then I use either my Atoma diamond stone (which also doubles as a flattening stone) or my Wicked Edge if I want precision.

I picked up my Nariwa stones, sink bridge, and tub from Burrfection and it works great for me.
https://store.burrfection.com/collections/sharpening-kits/products/naniwa-5-piece-sharpening-pro-kit
 
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