interesting sharpening technique

S

siguy

Joined
Aug 26, 2006
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just putzing around on youtube and decided to see what people thought of sharpening.

found this interesting video, and noticed that he goes from the tip to the heal of the knife, which is the opposite of what i have always read to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5X0PBY0XgI&feature=related
it also appears as though he is using a very high angle, at least relative to my standards. i like a nice thin edge.
any comments ?

this guy is using a similar motion, but without slicing the stone at all, just sliding the edge parallel to the surface, and he mentions that once you have used the stone you "won't need it again"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttdTCJxv6uw&feature=related

most of all i thought this was interesting, from the show good eats. i like his illustration of an edge, and wonder at his saying "never sharpen knives at home". also, his steel is interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttdTCJxv6uw&feature=related

interesting vids, with little bits of info that are contrary to much of what i think, along with many people on these forums, based on what i read daily.

and i like the little sharpening shop in the van that the guy has in the last vid.
 
This is the wrong way to do it since you are creating grooves parallel to the edge. This makes for a very weak edge. You really want to approximate honing perpendicular to the edge. With his method you have to hone at a very steep angle since you have weakened the edge by the honing direction.
 
I like Alton Brown a great deal and respect his knife know-how, but I take issue with both his exclusive espousal of professional sharpening and the definition of what the steel does. I can get a great edge with my own gizmos, and a steel "steels" or "burnishes".

Honestly though, if I knew a guy with a last name of Edges and he happened to be a professional sharpener, I just might reconsider sharpening my own.
 
Wether you go from tip to heel or vise versa doesn't matter. Murray Carter sharpens for example tip to heel. (I do too, but that is hardly a point of reference). But I agree, do not sharpen parallel to the edge. Though I admit, especially on coarse grit an angle helps me maintain good form and feel. But I usually do not use an angle of more than 30 deg (honing direction with respect to the edge). When I go for a polished blade, I also like to vary the angle a bit when I change grits, this way I is easy to polish out the scratches from the previous grit and you can see it easier as well.
 
In general I don't usually sharpen along the edge, but have you guys ever seen the Fikes video? If I recall correctly, he sharpens along the edge (holding the knife still and moving the stone), then finishes with a strop. It worked pretty good for him considering the cutting he does on there.

I think that it can be a fine way to get a nice, even bevel when rebeveling, though I will still finish conventionally (strop or very fine waterstone using the standard methods).
 
The average person probably SHOULD send their knives out to be sharpened. I've never seen it, but my guess is that Alton Brown's show is geared to "Molly Homemaker" and not to the average bladeforums member. I've always thought of honing as what you do with a stone (and maybe some honing oil), and burnishing as what you do with a steel. My impression has also been that sharpening parallel to the edge creates a weak edge.

That chef probably sharpens his knives every day, so a weak edge really doesn't matter much to him. He probably also sharpens them when they get dull, thinks of dulling as a normal part of knive use, and doesn't think much of sharpening a knife when it gets dull (as they are supposed to get dull with use). Because of this, he probably has given little thought to what he may do to prolong the effective sharpness of his knives, and sharpens as he was taught.
 
the chef mentions he sharpens about once a month

alton brown makes a comment about seeing the sharpener in about 6 months...seems like an awfully long time to wait to have your knives sharpened....but that is coming from a knife knut...
 
I got a great deal of comic relief from the youtube sharpening videos. Some probably produce a good edge, while some are laughable. I notice that, at least during the video, the middle third of the blade is all that gets steeled consistently. Also note that at the beginning, the tomato and kiwi are squashed using a pure pushing action, while the knife cuts readily using a slicing action at the end. A minor point to some, but I think most here are pretty picky about how their knives are sharpened.
 
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