practical sharpening advice?

E

edb

Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
740
I've learned a lot from these forums in a couple years - thanks for all the good advice!

Now, some quick demographics before my questions (for which I am looking for advice on) -- I'm mid-40's, married 20 years, couple grandchildren, full-time job developing software. My spare time is, uh, limited.

I own probably a dozen Spydies, a few SAKs and slipjoints, and the usual assortment of kitchen knives (my wife is a great cook :) , I am a decent cook; we share cooking duties).

I own a Sharpmaker, and a Gatco clamp system (I'm not inclined to doing freehand, despite those on these forums who recommend it). I have the John Juranitch "Razor's Edge" video, and using the techniques described, have been able to get shaving sharp results on dozens of various-sized knives. I also have the Sharpmaker video that Sal presented, and, using his technique of approximately 20 strokes per side, equal time (i.e. not trying to raise a burr), I've gotten "sharper" knives as a result.

Using Sal's approach, knives will slice paper, but typically not pass the Juranitch fingernail test. My usual EDCs (Delica, etc.) easily pass the fingernail test, and shave, too.

Questions:

1. Getting that shaving sharp edge on our favorite 9" chef's knife takes me at least 15-20 mins on my kitchen knives, if I've waited a week or more (my wife is not inclined to be as careful about what she slices on as I am, and that's just how it will continue to be). For those of you who have about as much spare time as I do, what do you do? Settle for the faster (but less sharp) edge one can get with Sal's technique?

2. For you free-handers -- how long do you take to sharpen kitchen knifes, and, is "shaving sharp" the standard?

One of my grandfathers gave me my first jackknife, and it wasn't particularly sharp. My other grandfather sharpened saws freehand as a sideline, but I never got the chance to spend enough time with him to learn anything about how he did so, time, etc.

I guess what I'm really asking, is: is it not the case that for most user applications (particularly kitchen duty) are sufficiently served by using Sal's "shorter time" method (for lack of a better characterization)?

Oh yeah, one more thought/question:

3. How about getting a bench grinder? That would seem pretty fast, and, probably more like what the factory (Spyderco, for example) must use. They certainly don't spend 20 minutes on a blade.

For those of you who use bench grinders, any thoughts? I'd be happy to spend the $ on the equipment and the training losses (i.e. knives I trash in the process of learning - plenty of yard sale stuff available to practice on :D ) in return for the speed of sharpening on a grinder. I've never used one, but ... seems like a learnable skill.

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions, on any aspects of this post which is already too long. :)
 
I am a free hand sharpener and it tipically takes me 2 or 3 minutes per knife to KEEP them shaving sharp. The secret is not to let them get dull. It only takes a couple of seconds to steel before you use your knife and if you sharpen before they really get dull it only takes a couple of minutes with an extra fine stone to get them shaving sharp.

Other than that, some members of this forum use a belt sander with the platen removed to put and maintain a convex edge on their knives. I am not coordinated enough to try that.
 
Re sharpening my kitchen knives takes under five minutes using the EdgePro.
The angle and distance from table edge to rest is recorded for each knife.

When it comes time to re sharpen, I set the angle and distance for the blade and then a couple of swipes each sides ,produces a burr.

I am one of those individuals that do NOT believe that you can sharpen a knife blade without getting to the stage that a burr is formed.

The burr is your proof that both edges have come to a point.

No burr.....no sharp.

Now the only one concession I will make is this.

If you are very skilled, it is possible to sharpen to a burr both sides, and then remove the burr. Then re sharpen at the exact angle and stop just before the burr re forms.

Some people will say that this produces the sharpest of edges.

However it has been my experience that , after sucsesfull burr removal, a few swipes with the strop will give a very satisfactory edge.
 
Under no circumstances use a bench grinder! I've seen more knives ruined that way than any way I can think of. If you are in a hurry and have some garage space get a cheap benchtop belt sander. You can find them for well under $100 at Home Depot etc. This will save you a lot of time in getting down to a low edge angle for easier finishing.

To get a really sharp edge forget the 40-degree slots in your sharpmaker. Profile the edge using your belt sander and finish the blade using the 30-degree slots in the sharpmaker. Always hone alternating left-side/right-side. The trick to getting that last bit of sharpness is to use very light strokes on the flats of the white rods at 30- degrees. Then do about 4 more strokes per side while you just slightly tilt the spine of the blade towards the center of the V-rods (away from which ever rod you are stroking). This will take the last little bit of edge and put a micro bevel on it that is very refined. Use extremely light pressure while you are doing this. For more impressive results get a pair of ultra-fine rods for your sharpmaker. Use them for the micro-bevel.

You will only need to use the belt sander a couple times a year. Use a fine grit for maintenance like 400 grit.

Get your wife several cutting boards. Take away any glass or ceramic "boards" that she might have. If she cuts on plates take a couple out to the garage and intentionallys scratch them with a hard scribe. Blame it on her. Tell her she is ruining her dishes by cutting on them. Get a new fancy knife and a cutting board at the same time.
 
It's all about the angle and the burr. If you're profiling/sharpening on your Gatco at 22, 25 or 29 degrees, the 20-degree Sharpmaker won't touch the edge.

If you profile to 15 or 19 degrees with the Gatco, you should be able to resharpen quickly with the 20-degree Sharpmaker, making a second, more severe edge angle.

Eventually with repeated sharpenings, the edge will recede into the thicker part of the edge, and the Sharpmaker will take longer and longer to restore the sharp edge. So every so often, reprofile with the Gatco (this is where you have to pay very close attention to the burr) to get you back to where you can resharpen very quickly with with the Sharpmaker.

And you should always check to make sure that you are not leaving a burr (wire edge).
 
My wife like s to chop on the counter,

Really does a lot of damage to our kitchen knives

Be sure to use a chopping block whenever using your kitchen knives. simple but affective.

I use a wartgog 1000 grit diamond stone, makes quick work of most common blade steals(nicks and dents), finish and maintain on the steel that came with the set.
 
Speed and sharpening don't go togather. If you want a good edge take your time. Like the others have said maintain your edges before they get dull it should only take a few strokes on your Sharpmaker, once you've gotten them profiled correctly. You should only have to reprofile, thin the edge 1 or 2 times a year.
 
I use a little 1x42 belt sander to get the bur and a hard felt buffer mounted on motor with black buffing POLISH to take the bur off . It's best way to sharpen a knife I have had all the sharpeners this the best and the fastest and it takes around two mins. to sharpen a knife if I take my time! :D
The sander has a slow belt speed so not heat the blade. Some little belt sanders have way to fast of belt speed and could heat up the blade to much.
And you can touch up the blade on the felt wheel.
 
I'd just reprofile your kitchen knives with the Gatco to 15 degrees per side until they meet and you start an edge and then switch to the Sharpmaker at 40 degrees total (20 per side) and do a few strokes and finish on the flats of the white rods. Follow Jeff's advice. Once you do this, just give them a few light swipes on the flats of the white rods now and then to maintain the edge, just don't let it get to far gone. This is basically like steeling the knife, but it will take a bit of metal off. If you get the ultra fine Sharpmaker stones you can do this and remove less metal and polish the edge more.
 
I leave my Edgepro Apex set up in the garage on an extra piece of laminate counter top about 2ft by 1.5 ft. There is no setup time, and like Nosmo, I get all of my kitchen knives shaving sharp in under 10 min, no problem. If you're short on time, this system can really do the trick, and very, very precisely.
 
Hi edb.

As mentioned,the frequency of maintenance is quite important. 30 seconds every time you use the knife seems to be less time consuming than 10 minutes every 20 uses.

Also, it is not the food that dulls the knife, but the surface being cut on. Food is relatively soft.

Serrations will keep the cutting edge off of the cutting board so the knife will stay sharper much much longer.

If the surface you are cutting on is very hard, like, tile, plates or modern "plastic" cutting boards, a harder steel might help.

We've found that a "Galley V" (no longer made) mounted above one's head in the kitchen makes for easy quick maintenance of kitchen knives.

sal
 
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