I am wondering if I am sharpening too much?

[PoorUserName]

I would not grind down a blade because of chips. I would sharpen it as needed from normal use. And after several sharpenings the chips will flow into a normal edge. Thus, no steel is wasted. DM

Sound ideal depending on the location of the chip and how much it cause you problems while using the knife.

 

[David Martin]

It is certainly your choice. I was merely saying how I would go about handling this malady. Especially on a knife I really liked the shape. DM

 

[Lapedog]

I would not grind down a blade because of chips. I would sharpen it as needed from normal use. And after several sharpenings the chips will flow into a normal edge. Thus, no steel is wasted. DM

It all depends what you are using the knife for. If you are mostly cutting paper to impress yourself or friends then a chip will snag and ruin the whole show.

If you are a pirate a couple of big chips in the ol' cutlass is part of the whole aesthetic.

 

[tomsch]

I touch up my EDC depending on the use. My knives see more hard-ish use over the weekend so that means at a minimum they see a touch-up at least once a week. A touch-up is either a quick strop or a few strokes on a SharpMaker to get them back to shaving sharp. If a knife is really bad or needs a reprofile then I take it to my Wicked Edge but that is pretty rare.

The knives that see the most use on a daily basis are my custom or Japanese Gyuto kitchen knives. Since I cook every single day my kitchen knives touch a strop pretty much every day. When a strop does not work then it is a few passes on a water stone. The only exception is my HHH 240mm AEB-L workhorse which I will run a few passes on my SharpMaker at 30 degrees inclusive.

Overall it really depends on the steel, how you use the knife, and what is the least amount of steel you need to take off to bring it back to the level of sharpness you need.