I guess I learned how to sharpen today

unit · Dec 13, 2009

I am not going to brag or anything...well, yes I am!

I have a pile of old kitchen knives that someone tried to destroy (or something) on a bench grinder. I have no idea what they were thinking, or trying to accomplish, but the edges were SERIOUSLY abused and the only cutting ability they had was from the ragged edge that behaved like a jaggedly serrated edge. Under a cheap magnifying glass it looked like the splintered end of a broken stick or something.

Suffice to say I had a challenge ahead of me, but there was no risk for failure since these things were basically worthless.

I pulled out the DMT diamond stone I have and went to work re-profiling. It only took a few hours to do two of the knives and perhaps many would ask why I bothered.

The results were surprising, and I think I will enjoy using these preparing the Christmas meal in a couple weeks. They may be some old nasty looking knives, but today I made them MINE...and I love them!

The results were probably far from the expectations of many here, but after putting a tighter finish on them with some ceramic sticks I have, they would pop hairs with ease using any portion of the edge...and considering what I started with, I am pretty jazzed. I am hooked! Now I want to get some more sharpening equipment to play with.

When I finished, I was seriously upset that I did not take some before photos to share....I am sure you guys have probably seen plenty of seriously jacked up knives though.

So, thanks for reading...I just wanted to share the enthusiasm with some people that might understand.

ChapmanPreferred · Dec 13, 2009

Well done!

I love saving old neglected cutlery. I recently saved a Quick Kut Ginsu style fully serrated knives. The entire edge was rolled and I wanted a shorter utility style wharncliff shape. Well, it worked! I don't have pics at the moment either, but I'll try to remember to snap a few next time I need to collect some knife images.

winbag338 · Dec 13, 2009

You may be doing as well as many of us here. Just because your new doesnt mean you cant be doing a better job then others who have been at it for awhile. Besides most of us here lie a lot.

unit · Dec 13, 2009

winbag338 said:
You may be doing as well as many of us here. Just because your new doesnt mean you cant be doing a better job then others who have been at it for awhile. Besides most of us here lie a lot.

Hey THANKS! You made me chuckle out loud.

I sort of figured that the truth gets stretched once in a while, but I think there is a law regarding truth in posting on forums...you gotta embellish a bit or things are not nearly as interesting.

I am not sure how I compare to anyone here, but I know how I compare to my prior self...that I can be proud of.

I am far from a knife maker, but I feel like where I sit I can see a lot better view of what they do! When you sit with a few pieces of steel and transform them from junk to something you are proud of, I think you begin to understand why people get into this stuff!

Roger999 · Dec 13, 2009

winbag338 said:
You may be doing as well as many of us here. Just because your new doesnt mean you cant be doing a better job then others who have been at it for awhile. Besides most of us here lie a lot.

Are you saying that you don't believe I can cut an atom in half?

.

theonew · Dec 13, 2009

Way to go :thumbup: Learning how to sharpen greatly enhances the enjoyment of knives

sodak · Dec 13, 2009

Congratulations! Welcome to the sickness, er..., hobby!

C.S. Graves · Dec 14, 2009

Congrats, especially on doing it by hand and showing a lot of patience with poor, previously abused blades. :thumbup:

No matter how fancy or humble the knife, being able to make it perform yourself is something worthwhile... even essential. The knife world is your oyster now... no more having to worry about how sharp new knives come out of the box or from a previous owner... edge retention becomes a bit less of a concern too. To be able to touch up a relatively soft piece of carbon steel now and then should be a joy, rather than a chore.

Should you have a spot for one and the interest in making the investment, a power tool such as a belt grinder with appropriate belts can be a real time-saver for very sad, dull knives. You could reprofile faster and then do final honing with hand stones.