Sharpening...please don't kick me off the forum

I

ichor

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Aug 27, 2002
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I religiously read and consider ALL the postings on the forum concerning sharpening. My dad was a butcher and taught me to sharpen freehand before I was in high school. I also own an older model Sharpmaker that does the job.

That said, here's the question: Is there any commercial grade shapener, powered by electric motor (such as Chef's Choice, or whatever) that is suitable for use in a professional kitchen. One that can be used by virtually anyone on the staff. That will provide good cutting edges and won't ruin good knives? I was taught that all these power tools were just a good way to ruin a knife.

My daugher is executive Chef in a kitchen of considerable size. She knows how to sharpen, and won't let anyone touch her knives, but she would like to know if there is a simpler, quicker way to keep all the knives in the kitchen at an acceptable level, by people who don't know their butt from a jug of cider, when it comes to sharpening. Thanks for any input.

Edited for content and spelling
 
No there isn't any electric motor sharpener for people that don't know what there doing in the first place, you can forget that one i believe. It would only make tooth picks IMO! hehe I would find a professional sharpening service in your neck of the woods to take care of the knifes on a regular basis.

James
 
Originally posted by APM
I would find a professional sharpening service in your neck of the woods to take care of the knifes on a regular basis.

James
Click to expand...

And what kind of sharpening system would they be likely to use?
 
Originally posted by APM
No there isn't any electric motor sharpener for people that don't know what there doing in the first place, you can forget that one i believe. It would only make tooth picks IMO!
James
Click to expand...

Let me rephrase the question. Are there any powered sharpeners that willl do the job well, for a person that has been trained to use it properly (like the sharpest guy/gal in the kitchen, specifically assigned for the job). I'm aware that you couldn't allow every employee free access, so my first question was poorly articulated.
 
The machine sharpeners can be useful, but need a little instruction before turning people loose. If you use them it makes sense to not use high premium kitchen knives. I would use Forschner or Dexter commercial grade knives if my staff had access to a Chef's Choice. I would teach them to use it lightly. I would also provide smooth steels and ceramic "steels" to use between sharpening. The power sharpener would be used something like once or twice a week. I would have them steel the knives frequently and "steel" with the ceramic rod once or twice a day (and always after using the power sharpener). Your blades will wear pretty fast, but Forschner and Dexter knives are pretty affordable (particularly on the internet). You might want to send the blades out to be thinned every 3 months or so to preserve maximum performance (assuming that you don't have access to a belt sander).

It might be a good idea to get one of Spyderco's professional chef's V-sharpener. This has foot long oval rods and could be used instead of the ceramic "steel". It has a fixed 15 degree angle and is good for long kitchen knives. You screw the base to a counter in the back of the kitchen so it is safe and secure.
 
Thanks, Jeff, I was unaware of the Spyderco Chef model. I'll check it out. The preset angles on my old 204 have been pretty fool proof for me, for most knives. You'd think with all the technology in the world someone would come up with a good power sharpener.
 
Now that you have suggested using a trained person for blade maintenance I have another suggestion. Get one of the large Norton Tri-Hones. This holds three grades of bench hone attached together in a triangular prism arrangement. I have seen ones with foot long stones used in commercial kitchens. You sharpen using free hand, but if you do it regularly it takes little time. You gather a couple dozen knives together and do them as a batch. First you do 5 strokes per side on all of them on the coarse hone. Then you rotate to medium grit and do the same. You finish be doing 5 strokes per side for each of them on the fine hone.
 
How about a great big course diamond stone? Would speed things up considerably.

Just a thought.

-- Rob
 
Thanks, Jeff, but I can't find a thing on that page that looks like a Tri hone shapener. Every other kind of abrasive you can imagine. I went to their main page and couldn't find it either. Hate to be so obtuse. What am I doing wrong?
 
One that can be used by virtually anyone on the staff. That will provide good cutting edges and won't ruin good knives

That is the key, with out ruining the knife. I would think that to make it idiot proof it would have to be electric which can really chew a knife up. Seems to me if they were all trained in the use of a "metal" the knives should last quite a while without being sharpened, then one trained person could sharpen them all. Do they use a metal?
 
Originally posted by Bruz
One that can be used by virtually anyone on the staff. That will provide good cutting edges and won't ruin good knives

That is the key, with out ruining the knife. I would think that to make it idiot proof it would have to be electric which can really chew a knife up. Seems to me if they were all trained in the use of a "metal" the knives should last quite a while without being sharpened, then one trained person could sharpen them all. Do they use a metal?
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with the term "metal". Are you talking about a steel?
 
On page 4 of the norton catalog pdf file (page 43 of their catalog) they have a section headed "Sharpening Systems". Under that they have a category of "Multi-Oilstone Sharpener" and a specific product: "61463685960 6 IM313 (11-1/2 x 2-1/2 x 1/2 Kit) Kit includes: 1 crs crystolon, 1 med crystolon, 1 fine india, 1 oil and 1 reservoir unit". It is pictured on the top of page 4 on the right side.
 
I doubt that regular kitchen staff can reliably use a hone.

I would suggest either a fixed angle system or a jigged system.

Personally I really like the Tormek system and the Edge Pro system. With both of these you are much more likely to get a decent edge than with hones.

Also have them learn how to use a steel properly (see Joe Talmadge's sharpening FAQ).
 
Thanks, Jeff. For some reason I got the impression that the unit was like a Sharpmaker with three long rods.

gaben.

I agree, any type of hone that requires any real skill is out.
 
I figured out my naming confusion. Smith's is the company that uses the name Tri-Hone. They make a smaller variant (with 8" hones and without an oil reservoir) for home use. They used finer hones. I would use the Norton unit for a commercial application. It will cut faster and the longer hones work better for the long blades common in commercial kitchens.
 
Concerning the Norton Tri-hone, you "rarely" need even the medium, and I've never used the "course" stone. Even very dull knives respond to the "Fine India" stone. You can buy replacement stones for that set. I would just get the Fine India replacement, clamp in a vise or put on a wet towel and sharpen away.

No matter how well trained any operator is on a motorized sharpener, your knives will not last as long as if you hand sharpen. There is just no way to do it fast and not take off too much metal.
 
I learned to use a bench hone when I was a cub scout (maybe 8 years old). You can train anyone to use a bench hone if you work with them for 5 minutes. As long as you select one person for the job it shouldn't be a problem to train them. The normal problem is the risk of them getting cut. That is reduced tremendously if you have a large static system for the hones. This means that you don't need to have your off-hand involved in stabilizing the hone. You want a fast cutting hone so that the job is done before fatigue sets in. You also don't want the user to have to apply a lot of extra force when honing (again for safety reasons). So frequent honing with a full set of fast cutting hones is very practical. Norton has been selling the setup I described to commercial kitchens for at least 34 years that I know of personally.
 
I'm not familiar with the term "metal". Are you talking about a steel?

Used to call mine a "steel" till I got a "titanium" one, now call it a metal, :p but yes I mean steel.
 
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