maintaining kitchen knives

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somebodyelse5

Joined
Apr 24, 2013
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Hey guys, my searches havent really yielded the results I was hoping for in regards to sharpening and maintaining kitchen knives.... Think you could help me out!?

Just got a Shun Kaji 8" chefs knife ( its beautiful by the way!) but I am looking for guidance in the following areas...

- How does sharpening vary between Jap knives vs. everything else? It seems that people say to only use wetstones on jap knives?

- Corrosion Prevention: Should I be using mineral oil on a regular basis to prevent corrosion? Olive oil would spoil... and I dont want to be using frog lube and making the kitchen smell like spear mint ;)

- Sharpening: Honestly the idea of using a "sharpening steel" turns my stomach, and my research has shown a wide range of opinions.... when someone says it "straightens" the blade it makes me think they dont understand what a burr is (maybe I don't either ;) )... Can I just use my DMT dia -sharp stones? Or my sharp maker?
- What angle should I be looking to achieve with a chefs knife? a paring knife?
- Should I just try and match the factory bevel?


Thanks in advance guys??
 
Jon from Japanese Knife Imports is the best resource I've found

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEBF55079F53216AB&feature=view_all

never steel a J-knife or put one in a dishwasher. If you feel it's time to "steel" use a strop even a few trailing edge strokes on cardboard will work.

a good J-blade should not need sharpening as often as a western blade. In theory they have better steel & better heat treat .

And you really should not call them Jap knives J-knives is more P/C & people still know what your referring to .
 
Awesome thank you guys! I will refer to them as J-knives from now on :)

Grit is Grit... thats what I thought, awesome.
 
somebodyelse5 said:
Just got a Shun Kaji 8" chefs knife ( its beautiful by the way!) but I am looking for guidance in the following areas...

- How does sharpening vary between Jap knives vs. everything else? It seems that people say to only use wetstones on jap knives?
Click to expand...
- I use the Wicked Edge system for sharpening. I have the Shun Taiyo (SG-2) and sharpen it using the same method I use for all of my other knives.

somebodyelse5 said:
- Corrosion Prevention: Should I be using mineral oil on a regular basis to prevent corrosion? Olive oil would spoil... and I dont want to be using frog lube and making the kitchen smell like spear mint ;)
Click to expand...
- The damascus cladding on the Shun knives should be corrosion prevention enough. Hand wash your knife after you use it and dry it. That should be all you need to do to take care of your knife.

somebodyelse5 said:
- Sharpening: Honestly the idea of using a "sharpening steel" turns my stomach, and my research has shown a wide range of opinions.... when someone says it "straightens" the blade it makes me think they dont understand what a burr is (maybe I don't either ;) )... Can I just use my DMT dia -sharp stones? Or my sharp maker?
- What angle should I be looking to achieve with a chefs knife? a paring knife?
- Should I just try and match the factory bevel?
Click to expand...
- I'm not a fan of sharpening steels. For Shun kitchen knives, I match the factory edge of 16 degrees per side. SG-2 will hold an edge for quite a while.
 
somebodyelse5 said:
- How does sharpening vary between Jap knives vs. everything else?
Click to expand...

I've only looked at pictures of your knife, so I'm not certain, but it looks like it has a standard 50/50 V edge. Meaning that the edge bevels are the same width on both sides of the blade. Many J-Knives are asymmetrical: 70/30 (one bevel wider than the other by more than double) and full chisel grinds (bevel only on one side) are two I've heard of and seen in pictures. In those cases the biggest difference in sharpening is how long you spend on each side. But I don't think you have a blade like this, so you should be ok just sharpening as normal.

I think there's some folklore built up around knives in general, and J-knives in particular. The "only use waterstones!" thing falls into that category for me. I've read people here and otherwise saying that waterstones of certain types bring out the contrast between the different types of steel on a J-knife that has "clad" construction, or Damascus like your Shun. I'm sure they are right, but this is more about looks than performance. Looks are obviously important in some things in life. To some the looks of the blade are VERY important and I get it. No one wants to scratch or mar, or ugly up a $300, $500, or $700 blade! :)

For actually functionally sharpening a J-knife, you can use any of the common sharpening systems. I really do *LIKE* waterstones. I think they are a good choice, as long as you are willing to do the setup time and maintenance of the stones. If you're not the other systems will work fine, but may not produce the most beautiful visual results. As with anything else, your results will vary based on experience and the tools you have available.

Brian.
 
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