resharpening

B

Broad Arrow

Joined
Mar 7, 2010
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Hi. How often do you need to resharpen your knives? I just got a Tenacious about a week ago and now the blade is dull. I only used it for very light duty - paper, tapes, etc. Also, what sharpening tool do you recommend? Thank you.

Sorry. I need to ask. This is my first knife :o
 
Broad Arrow said:
Hi. How often do you need to resharpen your knives? I just got a Tenacious about a week ago and now the blade is dull. I only used it for very light duty - paper, tapes, etc. Also, what sharpening tool do you recommend? Thank you.

Sorry. I need to ask. This is my first knife :o
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When I first learned to sharpen my knives, I used them so I could sharpen them.:D

Seriously, sharpen your knives when they need it. Don't let your knife get too dull so you don't need a full sharpening very often because this extends knife life.

A spyderco sharpmaker would be excellent for your tenacious but if you can sharpen freehand, IMHO, that's the best skill you can learn in your knife maintenance routine.
 
Depends on the knife, what you're cutting, what the item you're cutting is resting on, and your technique. Even for a Tenacious, a week of "very light duty" shouldn't dull it but, cutting butter on a china plate can dull a knife pretty quick. You mentioned cutting tape, any chance that drag from tape residue, rather than dullness, is the problem?

As for tools, I'm "old school", I use flat stones. But I've been sharpening knives that way for nearly sixty years. Right now am using a couple of DMT Diamond Whetstones.

Paul
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I typically sharpen my edc weekly, or more often if it gets heavy use. I guess "touch up" would be more correct wording as my weekly sharpening usually consists of about ten strokes each side on the fine sharpmaker stones.
 
The Deacon said:
Depends on the knife, what you're cutting, what the item you're cutting is resting on, and your technique. Even for a Tenacious, a week of "very light duty" shouldn't dull it but, cutting butter on a china plate can dull a knife pretty quick. You mentioned cutting tape, any chance that drag from tape residue, rather than dullness, is the problem?

As for tools, I'm "old school", I use flat stones. But I've been sharpening knives that way for nearly sixty years. Right now am using a couple of DMT Diamond Whetstones.

Paul
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+1 on what Paul said.
Regarding sharpening, I would add sharpmaker. Much easier and faster to learn to sharpen than free hand sharpening. Standard set is OK, but if you let your knives get really dull, you will need diamond stones, which will remove steel much faster. But first check edge of your knife for residue and never cut on the ceramic plate or glass cutting boards.
Good luck
 
Thank you all for your very helpful replies. I will try the Sharpmaker first. I think it will very helpful since it includes an instructional CD. Very useful to a newbie like me :)
 
And don't worry too much about the diamonds rods. A bit of sand paper wrapped around the rods do a good job in removing a lot of metal quickly. There will be plenty of folks to help with sharpening too.
 
It depends on what steel my knives are made of and what I'm using them for. I needed to sharpen my Tenacious after every single day I brought it to work, whereas my Cyclone could go a week or more without needing a touch up. I just carried my Manix-2 for two months straight without sharpening it once. As for sharpening, I use stones (lately I've been sticking to my Norton stones instead of the mix-matched lot of japanese stones I usually use).
 
Thank you dsmegst and Dorito Monk for your inputs :)

@ Dorito - I got an idea that the Tenacious will dull quickly based on my experience but I never thought it needs to be maintained everyday! Anyway, I am still waiting for the Sharpmaker so in the meantime, I am using it as a trainer. Very safe since its very dull :D
 
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