The worst sharpener ever!

that was pretty bad, there's no point to go sub-micron if you don't check for a shaving edge well above that. 20 to 40 strokes on a steel, especially with the pressure he was using, will ruin an edge in short order.
 
It looked like he was really lifting the spine of the knife at the end of his sharpening stoke on the sand paper. I wouldn't let him near any of my knives. :thumbdn:
 
Could he be trying to do a convex grind but be doing it poorly?

Still, someone should tell YouTubers that if they're going to make their own instructional videos, they should have a script or know their material well enough to eliminate most of their hemming, hawing, and self-correction.
 
That guy would have been better off just using a Sharpmaker!
 
wowww.
he would have been better off using one of those carbide V shaped sharpeners, nevermind a sharpmaker!
 
I think his method is sound, but his technique needs some work. He was not keeping his angles true. Plus his materials probably cost a lot less than the edge pro and sharpmaker I use.
 
It looks to me like he doesn't even take his own advice (as bad as it is!) and sharpens that knife on about a 45 degree angle--giving a beautiful 90 degree edge.
Thanks for the humour.
Greg
 
I see chefs using steels drawing the knife towards them. Always makes me uneasy.

I agree with Colog, I'm not sure what he did was that sooo wrong. His process follows one of the links regarding water stones that I got from this forum. Sure he could have made sure his knife was sharp prior to his paper cutting demo. He was a little unsteady and his movements sloppy - bad angles.

I finally opted for a Sharpmarker giving up the oil stones and sandpaper water mess. I steel use a strop with polishing compound.
 
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That was a great demonstration by an expert. "How to make your sharp knife dull in 9 minutes and 5 seconds".

Edit: In just a few minutes of surfing Youtube, I found an even worse video, where the "expert" demonstrates how to "sharpen" a knife using one of those cheap plastic pull-through gadgets. The only comment so far was a great one-word review: "pathetic".

Click here for a good laugh.
 
Reminds me of the Can Badger guy from one episode of Good Eats. Here's a clip.

As much as I like AB, I disagree that knives should be sharpened professionally. I think gifted (or, at least, diligent) amateurs can do a good job. I also don't agree that steels are for honing or that "honing" and "steeling" are synonymous, but what do I know?
 
I've been laughing at the YouTube sharpening videos for weeks now. I have 2 favorites. One is the guy sharpening the cheap chinese hog knife and yelling a lot, the other is the chef sharpening her knife at 60 degrees total. My cleaver is thinner than that. Note to anyone going to YouTube for "expert" advice and demonstrations: yelling is not necessary for sharpening anything. I also like how the pull-through gadget guy only sharpens the first 2 or 3 inches of the blade and basically ignores the belly and point. I would also take issue w/ Alton Brown about knives being sharpened professionally. I also dont really like steels, but that doesnt mean they dont work. I've always gotten better results from a fine ceramic, Spyderco fine white or similar.
 
The difference, I thought, is that steel steels don't remove metal, whereas an even mildly abrasive ceramic would. Using a ceramic tool on the knife would be honing, but a steel would just be burnishing.
 
DrThunder88 said:
The difference, I thought, is that steel steels don't remove metal, whereas an even mildly abrasive ceramic would. Using a ceramic tool on the knife would be honing, but a steel would just be burnishing.
Click to expand...

There are many things labelled 'steels'! These include smoothly polished ones that won't remove blade metal, and textured ones, ceramic ones and even diamond coated ones--which will remove blade material and are 'real' sharpeners.
Greg
 
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