KNIFE Sharpening For Dummies

[SwampDude]

When I bought our kitchen knife set, a sharpener came with the deal and I tossed it into a drawer of 'stuff'. I came across the sharpener a few days ago. And I tried it on a couple of knives. To my surprise, the darn thing works.

Does anybody here use a similar sharpener? If not, why not?

The knives I sharpened were dull, so the result was obvious. Looks like a good tool for casual sharpening needs.

 

[toker]

When I bought our kitchen knife set, a sharpener came with the deal and I tossed it into a drawer of 'stuff'. I came across the sharpener a few days ago. And I tried it on a couple of knives. To my surprise, the darn thing works.

Does anybody here use a similar sharpener? If not, why not?

- The only time I would ever use a pull through sharpener is if I was in the field and desperately need a sharp knife. So only in an emergency. Otherwise, no way.

1. The set angles usually do not match the angles on the knives I use.
2. A pull through sharpener can remove too much steel.

There's a picture of what it can do to a blade in this thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/831118-Are-pull-through-sharpeners-that-bad

 

[kwazyjuice]

I would never use one!

 

[SwampDude]

- The only time I would ever use a pull through sharpener is if I was in the field and desperately need a sharp knife. So only in an emergency. Otherwise, no way.

1. The set angles usually do not match the angles on the knives I use.
2. A pull through sharpener can remove too much steel.

There's a picture of what it can do to a blade in this thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/831118-Are-pull-through-sharpeners-that-bad

I wonder why Wusthof provides this type of sharpener if it damages the knives.

 

[MarkPinTx]

Ugly as that edge is, it probably cuts like the dickens in the kitchen. And if it makes people that know nothing about knives happy, then its a good thing. Finally, it might somewhat increase the sales of Ed. Wustof Tridentwerke because it assuredly reduces the life of the knife.

 

[Jastab]

The only pull through sharpener I'd use would be (I don't know the name) but a member here has an adjustible one to match the angle of the blade. After a few uses at the same angle the edge doesn't look torn. I wish I could remember the name of it...

 

[Jason B.]

Ugly as that edge is, it probably cuts like the dickens in the kitchen. And if it makes people that know nothing about knives happy, then its a good thing. Finally, it might somewhat increase the sales of Ed. Wustof Tridentwerke because it assuredly reduces the life of the knife.

Being my picture, knife, and sharpening I can tell you it does not. It was not sharp and ripped through things more than it cut. Those sharpeners do a VERY poor job of making a edge.

 

[Jastab]

The ERU sharpener! That's the name, and the only one I'd use.

 

[Sadden]

The only pull through sharpener I'd use would be (I don't know the name) but a member here has an adjustible one to match the angle of the blade. After a few uses at the same angle the edge doesn't look torn. I wish I could remember the name of it...

We cant make that call yet , we haven't seen pictures of its edges under magnification yet. When he shows me a picture at 400x that does not resemble the ones above I will be impressed. But it hasn't happened yet and the makers reply to me is that "he doesn't have the time". So I strongly suspect that it will. Even still the macro pictures showed evidence of exactly the type of damage these types of knife destroyers are known for. That is for another thread though.


In short , no there is not a single pull through sharpener I will ever use. They don't make very good edges at all. And they hog off the metal.

 

[SwampDude]

There seems to be no doubt that pull through sharpeners are undesirable. I suspected serious knife people might have that opinion, so my original post suggested only that they may be a good tool for "casual" sharpening.

There does seem to be something seriously disingenuous about an upscale knife maker offering a tool that will damage its customers' blades. Shame on Wusthof.

 

[SwampDude]

- The only time I would ever use a pull through sharpener is if I was in the field and desperately need a sharp knife. So only in an emergency. Otherwise, no way.

1. The set angles usually do not match the angles on the knives I use.
2. A pull through sharpener can remove too much steel.

There's a picture of what it can do to a blade in this thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/831118-Are-pull-through-sharpeners-that-bad

To the uneducated, this photo is like looking at the X-ray of a sick brain: I understand its a brain, but don't know enough to read signs of the illness. I suspect the hair-like projections are evidence of damage caused by a pull-through sharpener; what about the sharpener causes the problem? Bad materials for sharpening? Poor fit to knife edge? Other? All of the above?

 

[Skimo]

To the uneducated, this photo is like looking at the X-ray of a sick brain: I understand its a brain, but don't know enough to read signs of the illness. I suspect the hair-like projections are evidence of damage caused by a pull-through sharpener; what about the sharpener causes the problem? Bad materials for sharpening? Poor fit to knife edge? Other? All of the above?

The carbide blades work well for hogging off steel, so well that they gouge the blade.

These are made for the ignorant masses, almost anything is better than edges completely dulled on glass an ceramics.

Yes, the parallel lines are some evidence, the issue with macro photography is such small sections of blade. Over the length of a blade the nicks and gouges are more evident.

 

[Jastab]

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Improved-edge-pics-11-24/page5?highlight=ERU

Last page has updated edge pics. I don't need a 400k magnification on my edges. That's just rediculous, like its gonna make a world of difference. Just compare the eru edge to this one in this thread. Looks pretty clean to me without the gouges and tears in the edge. 400k magnifaction..... hahahaha really? Who cares, when you magnify that much you are just looking for something to nagg about.

 

[stitchawl]

The old-style tungston carbide pull-through sharpeners do rip the hell out of an edge, but that's not the case here.

Unless I'm mistaken, the Wusthof Pull-through Sharpener uses ceramic rods, not tungston steel bars to do its sharpening.
There should be no more damage to the edge than you would get from using a Spyderco Sharpmaker.
How about we let the OP enjoy sharpening his dull knives without ripping into him needlessly to show how much we know/don't know about knife sharpeners.


Stitchawl

 

[bpeezer]

There seems to be no doubt that pull through sharpeners are undesirable. I suspected serious knife people might have that opinion, so my original post suggested only that they may be a good tool for "casual" sharpening.

There does seem to be something seriously disingenuous about an upscale knife maker offering a tool that will damage its customers' blades. Shame on Wusthof.

People have been damaging their blades with sub par sharpening long before pull through sharpeners were invented. I have a family member that swears by pull through sharpeners. She has seen the damage they can do, but I have seen the damage she can do with a diamond stone The pull through does damage the edge, but it also makes the blade SLIGHTLY sharper. Never "sharp" to a knife nut though

 

[Jason B.]

The old-style tungston carbide pull-through sharpeners do rip the hell out of an edge, but that's not the case here.

Unless I'm mistaken, the Wusthof Pull-through Sharpener uses ceramic rods, not tungston steel bars to do its sharpening.
There should be no more damage to the edge than you would get from using a Spyderco Sharpmaker.
How about we let the OP enjoy sharpening his dull knives without ripping into him needlessly to show how much we know/don't know about knife sharpeners.


Stitchawl

If you look at the photo in the original post then you will clearly see there are carbide scrappers on the right side.

 

[Sadden]

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Improved-edge-pics-11-24/page5?highlight=ERU

Last page has updated edge pics. I don't need a 400k magnification on my edges. That's just rediculous, like its gonna make a world of difference. Just compare the eru edge to this one in this thread. Looks pretty clean to me without the gouges and tears in the edge. 400k magnifaction..... hahahaha really? Who cares, when you magnify that much you are just looking for something to nagg about.

And yet you can see the gouges and tears in the ERU edges plain as day in the majority of the pictures he shows. And we do need to understand what is happening at the edge of the edge to make a real judgement. Everyone that has handled one so far has kept pretty quiet about their experience with it , leading me to believe that my suspicions are correct.

What is happening at the edge of the edge is 100% what sharpening a knife is about. If you don't understand that then you wouldn't be able to sharpen a knife with even a full set of shaptons.

 

[HotSteel]

I think it's a kitchen knife sharpener, intended for kitchen knife edge angles. I wouldn't use it on my non-kitchen knives.

 

[Jastab]

Lol I have a 40x loupe and that's all I need with my wicked edge. The eru is simply the best pull through sharpener on the market. I didn't say it the best sharpening device did I? I just stated that's the only one I'd use, and the edge it produces is 10x better than other pull through sharpeners... I will proudly put my edgea against a 400x loupe master sharpener gury man like yourself.

 

[SwampDude]

I sincerely appreciate the discussion/debate in response to my "sharpening For Dummies" query. I am uneducated about such matters, so your opinions and facts are helping me...and maybe others.

What little I know about sharpening methods has worked in the past because my needs were so limited that perfection wasn't important. I carried cheap knives and used them only for mundane personal cutting tasks...slicing tape to open shipping boxes, cutting string, paring fruit for a snack, etc. Skinning critters when I was a hunter and trapper didn't require a razor-sharp knife. In short, I just didn't need to be a sophisticated sharpener. Yea, I belonged to the "ignorant masses".

My cutting needs haven't changed much, but I'm in a position to buy better knives now and I've come to enjoy and appreciate quality knives. While I have no interest in 'tactical' knives, I truly enjoy the beauty, quality and workmanship of good traditional knives. Thus, I want to understand how to properly use and maintain my cutting tools...even the kitchen knives.

My everyday carry knives are from Case, Buck and others in the $30-$50 category, but they're good enough that I don't want to bugger them up. I don't carry the more valuable ones, and won't until I understand how to properly use and maintain them.

My pursuit of sharpening skills is for practical purposes. I want to be a good knifeman who uses his tools safely and with reasonable diligence regarding good maintenance practices, nothing more and nothing less. I guess you could say thats my philosophy on the subject of knife sharpening.

Thanks for adding to my education. I'll throw that Wusthof sharpener into the Goodwill box and await the Wicked Edge Pro Pack I've put on my Christmas list.