Sharpening a steak knife suggestions.

pvicenzi

pvicenzi

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Like many here, I get asked to sharpen knives for people. My problem is, that every time I use my knife as a steak knife, the polished edge dulls quickly on the ceramic plate. So, should I use as steeper bevel? What grit range should I stop at?
 
Use a serrated edge, or plan on the first 1/8" or so being permanently dull and that becomes the contact point.

Or get used to elevating the steak using your fork to create some space for the knife to clear.

No plain edge will hold up to a ceramic plate.
 
All of HH's points above^ are on the mark. :thumbup:

Might sound counterintuitive, but when I thinned the cutting geometry of my own knives for such uses, the dulling of the edge on the plate became less of an issue. Reason is, when the cutting geometry becomes thin enough to greatly reduce the pressure needed to cut a steak, there's no longer any need to drive the edge so hard into the plate. So, the lighter the contact with the plate, the less damage will be done.

My Dad always halves an apple on the ceramic tile countertop, using a paring knife. He'd 'hinted' some time back, he wouldn't mind if the knife were sharpened a bit. I did that for him, and the first 3/8" of the edge near the tip was flattened again upon his first use of the knife (cutting an apple on the countertop). I kept fixing it for a while, then just decided to let that flattened portion be. The rest of the edge is still plenty sharp enough to get the job done.


David
 
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Luong really should market
BCMW steak utilty ...

On personal note:

One day I tried slicing food (forgot what) with my thinned SAK and used light pressure, the edge barely kissed the plate. No significant blunting after, though if I inspected it with direct light I'm sure I'd found spots. However at that time the normal daily cutting of that blade continues without issue. I didn't purposely test slowly slicing phone book paper though. This anecdotal experience is in line with David's point.
 
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When using a steak knife (non-serrated) I use a small wooden cutting board or wooden plate to cut the steak rather than a ceramic plate.
 
i torture my steak knives and hit them on the corner of a paper wheel every few months, works great
 
I fought this for years. I went serrated. Just not worth the hassle when dealing with ceramic plates.

My wife kept commenting on how sharp all our other knives so why can't the steaks knives stay sharp? She would be saying this as she sliced through a piece of meat and into the ceramic plate below. I tried to explain it a few times but finally went out a bought some decent serrated steak knives. Much better now. :rolleyes:
 
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