Student Chef - Advice First Stone Set

[Maniacal Pete]

Two things,

first what type of steel do you use?

second, for most of my sharpening needs I've moved to the Norton Crystalon combo stone because it works so well on so many types of steel. One thing I started doing fairly recently - gently mop up the swarf and oil left behind on the fine side of the stone (I'll use a small file to whip up more mud if necessary) with a sheet of newspaper. Wrap the paper around the stone and strop on that. Finish stropping with a dry sheet of newspaper. Leaves a very nice all purpose edge and can easily be hit with finer compounds applied to the dry newspaper if a finer edge is desired.

We use the Norton stones for mainly inexpensive (but very serviceable) Victorinox blades that I supply my cooks and prep cooks with. These knives get hammered on. I just purchased a TKC 240 (I hope it was a good first purchase of a higher end Chef's knife), and I am trying to figure out what would be the best way to keep it sharp. Cool advice about the newspaper. I've got some strops and compounds and next on my list is to learn how to use them effectively.

 

[Maniacal Pete]

I hear that the Spyderco dry stones work very well.

Wow, those look pretty cool.

The thing about cooking is that in reality we mostly use
our knives, not sharpen them, so any system
that does the job to a high level and has less
steps / time involved is always a big plus.

I like my edgepro, and I don't want to screw up the new knife
on diamond stones, but the edgepro is cumbersome and time
consuming when you are not "sharpening" but just trying to
get it done so you can get back to work.

I wll definitely read up on the Spydero stones, I like my sharpmaker.

Anybody else for the Spyderco route?

 

[HeavyHanded]

We use the Norton stones for mainly inexpensive (but very serviceable) Victorinox blades that I supply my cooks and prep cooks with. These knives get hammered on. I just purchased a TKC 240 (I hope it was a good first purchase of a higher end Chef's knife), and I am trying to figure out what would be the best way to keep it sharp. Cool advice about the newspaper. I've got some strops and compounds and next on my list is to learn how to use them effectively.

I should have been more specific - I meant to ask what brand/style of butcher's or meatpackers steel do you use to finish the burr off? , not what types of steel your knives are...

 

[Maniacal Pete]

I should have been more specific - I meant to ask what brand/style of butcher's or meatpackers steel do you use to finish the burr off? , not what types of steel your knives are...

Doh!
R.H. Forschner steel, from Sheffield England.
I also use an Ultimate edge flat diamond steel sometimes if I want to do an instant touch up.
(Rich, its creator used to come by the restaurant and sell me knives back in the day, guess I was an easy target).

I have this flat F.Dick steel that is pretty cool, if a bit fine; it says that if you push harder it gets
to the alternate grooves and has more action. But its one of the items I don't leave laying around
the commercial kitchen.

 

[pwet]

hey, i think i have one of the f. dick you're talking about, it's a very wide and flat ''oval'' steel with a finely grooved surface and a few wide and deep grooves on the surface.

my father gifted me this one when i started cooking, it was his first quality steel. it works real good on softer euro steel and it was quite pricey.

edit: found the name, f. dick multicut. it's supposed to act like a file when pressure is applied with the wide grooves removing metal. when pressure is light the almost flat surface is more like a regular fine cut steel. don't use this with your tkc btw ....

 

[Maniacal Pete]

hey, i think i have one of the f. dick you're talking about, it's a very wide and flat ''oval'' steel with a finely grooved surface and a few wide and deep grooves on the surface.

my father gifted me this one when i started cooking, it was his first quality steel. it works real good on softer euro steel and it was quite pricey.

edit: found the name, f. dick multicut. it's supposed to act like a file when pressure is applied with the wide grooves removing metal. when pressure is light the almost flat surface is more like a regular fine cut steel. don't use this with your tkc btw ....

Yes, that's it.
It is actually a very beautiful, and elegant sharpening steel.

Please tell why I shouldn't try to use it with the new Gyuto.

 

[Jason B.]

You shouldn't steel a high hardness steel or powder metal because it has less than desirable affects such as fracturing of the metal. You are also cold working hardened metal which softens it.

 

[Maniacal Pete]

You shouldn't steel a high hardness steel or powder metal because it has less than desirable affects such as fracturing of the metal. You are also cold working hardened metal which softens it.

How about a ceramic hone, like a Global; or should I avoid using a steel altogether?

What do you think of the Edgepro for sharpening high hardened steel?

How about the Spyderco Stones?

 

[pwet]

i'd avoid any kind of steel on a thin edge above 60hrc. even if you go light, the small contact area concentrates the lateral pressure on a very tiny area of the thin edge. other than that i personnaly avoid any steel that removes material, even slowly, even on softer blades for one reason. with those what you do is a microbevel, you won't match the bevels perfectly with a rod in one hand and a 24cm gyuto on the other, thats pure dream. and with regular maintenance you'll end with an edge that's rounded, that has multiple microbevels and that will take quite a bit more time to reset to a keen V on the stones, i prefer touching up on a stone/strop/balsa. in the kitchen i have two pieces of balsa lying around one with 400grit SiC home made compound and 600grit on the other side, one with 6micron DMT past on one side, 3 and 1 mic on the small sides and 0,5 CrO on the last side.

those are the only sharpening gear i have in the kitchen for the reasons i explained previously, no more waterstones on a pro kitchen environment, tired of lapping huge qty of stones because i forgot to put them back in their sealed container.