I'm afraid to sharpen my knives

M

m_bisson

Joined
Jul 14, 2014
Messages
58
I have a set of Wusthof Classic knives. Theyre wonderful!

The most commonly used knife is the short utility knife...

Now, I use the included steel to hone the edges regularly, but the utility knife is at the point where it needs some attention.

When I got the set, I also got one of those silly pull-through sharpeners. It is made by wusthof, and it is set to the factory angle for the blades...

Am I OK using the pull through? The only other thing I have is the lansky system, which I really don't feel like clamping down on these knives. Also, the lansky doesn't maintain the same angle unless you re-clamp it every 2 or 3 inches.
 
Those carbide "v" sharpeners are all but worthless.

My advice is to send them to a reputable sharpener, or better yet, learn to sharpen and maintain the knives yourself, using a quality bench stone, or even something like an Edge Pro sharpening system.
 
Holy smokes! Thanks for that picture. It is a carbide/ceramic one. I hate the idea of paying someone else to do this, as it seems so simple (in principle). I'll look into the edge pro.
 
Look at the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Relatively inexpensive and easy to use. If you go this route I would suggest getting the diamond stones as well. They will make resetting the bevel a much quicker affair.

I agree with Wanimator, it's a good idea to get some cheapies to practice on.
 
Another vote for buying a SharpMaker. It's super easy to use and one of the lowest risk systems in terms of damaging the knife (or self-injury for that matter).

The steel on most Wusthofs are pretty soft, so IMO you want a sharpener in which you can use a fine (and ultra-fine) stone for touchups...an aggressive sharpener like the pull through will just remove metal like crazy (and unnecessarily) and shorten the life of the blade. A strop for touchups will also work well. They are generally easy to sharpen and more frequent touchup on ultra fine stones or a strop will keep the knife at its peak sharpness indefinitely. I find that I prefer to strop my Classics after about 2-3 sessions of usage (sometimes take them to ultra fine ceramic first if they are a little more dull)...IIRC the more recent Wusthof's use a steel with better wear resistance, so you will likely not need to sharpen them as often, especially if you use a good cutting board like maple.

If you are worried about the cosmetics, tape the blade with blue painters tape before sharpening, and do a Sharpie test before actual sessions on the stones. I initially did that with a lot of knives I used on my EdgePro, but after a while I got lazy and stopped caring. I've got a few scar marks on my Konosuke Fujimaya but it doesn't really bother me given it's not a functional issue. A friend of mine thinks I am crazy given it's price, but it still preps food the same and is less effort, so it's worked for me.

If you are OK spending a bit more, the EdgePro Apex and Wicked Edge are arguably the best two systems on the market. It does not take long with these to get to a point in which you can sharpen a knife to a much, much, much sharper edge than the factory edge, plus they are great for repairing damage (like chipping, which tends to occur with kitchen knives now and then). I have an EdgePro and until buying one I never got my knives even remotely near what I can get them to now. Now the first thing I do with a new knife now is sharpen it, given I can get it much sharper than a factory new edge.
 
I'll chime in on the Sharpmaker. A great, simple, and expandable system. I've gone from just being able to sharpen to getting some pretty nice polished edges on it quite quickly. For what it can do, the price is unbeatable.
 
I second the EdgePro comments. I spent 2 hrs at the factory learning and my knives are now SHARP!!!

Tim
 
I used a lansky on my henckels for years and it worked fine. You can get about 4" out of one clamp position without it being a problem, so you'll have to move it once for an 8" blade. If you want to upgrade from that I would recommend bench stones.

- Chris
 
From what I read, it will still take along time to reprofile with a Sharpmaker. I have one and use it for touchups mainly. I have a set of Mold Master small bench stones to attach to the rods if I want to reprofile but havent tried them out yet.

If I remember right, they are 240g and about 1x1/2x6.
 
You can buy flat glass. But I'm a fan of the Lansky system. Especially for short knives and you said your shortest knife is in the worst shape. But go to the "Maintenance" section of this forum and read for a couple of hours.
 
Aside from all the fun new things you can buy, learning to sharpen is a liberating and gratifying event, and a never ending challenge. Good luck and have fun!
 
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