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Sharpening knives

An enjoyable and informative thread. I may not be as good at it as some here, or as knowledgeable, but I find it immensely satisfying sharpening my own knives and effortlessly slicing through things.
 
Amazing how butchers only ever need to use a steel given how much they rely on having a sharp knife......
A decent steel will cost as much as a decent small kitchen knife (or more) and there is a certain art to using one, plus a steel is faff-free and quick.

If you are using stainless blades, the different grades are more or less able to take and keep an edge. For anyone wanting a cheap and very serviceable stainless kitchen knife, Kitchen Devils (a Sheffield invention) are nearly as good as they claim - pretty sharp for years without needing sharpening - I have a bread/carving one about 30 years old and the original grinding wore out a few years back, but a very few strokes on a steel and it is cruelly sharp (I am assuming that they are as good today as 30 years ago.).
 
I'm having trouble getting the curved front of knife sharp, I guess it will come with practice? Can only get a small bit of it on the whetstone at a time, unlike the straight part.
 
venton said:
I'm having trouble getting the curved front of knife sharp, I guess it will come with practice? Can only get a small bit of it on the whetstone at a time, unlike the straight part.
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You have to use a curved stroke from tip to handle along the stone.

The Ikea ceramic steels are less than a tenner.

Pete
 
Vinny said:
Amazing how butchers only ever need to use a steel given how much they rely on having a sharp knife.
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They only do the final polish on a steel. After a while the angle of the edge is lost altogether and they need a regrind. This is a regular event in places like fish filleting plants. Same in butchers and abattoirs, it's just that all you ever see is the final polish.
 
Vinny said:
Amazing how butchers only ever need to use a steel given how much they rely on having a sharp knife......
A decent steel will cost as much as a decent small kitchen knife (or more) and there is a certain art to using one, plus a steel is faff-free and quick.

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My dad was a butcher and sharpened his knives with a grindstone. He used the steel to polish the blade. It also impressed to the customers .
 
I think that you'll find that grinding is really to keep a particular shape to the blade. It will depend on the way the blade tapers from edge to back, but unless the back is very thick ,as on a boning knife, a steel will get an edge without any need for grinding, for a long way back from the original edge.
I also have some half-way decent Sheffield-made kitchen knives, two of which get a hammering, that are also 30 years old. They have only ever been sharpened with a steel, but the shape of the edge is anything except for what was intended when new - as my mother would say - "a life on the ocean wave", but they are absolutely fine to use and over the years, freshly sharpened, I have taken plenty of wafer-thin skin samples....
 
Most of my knives are 15 years old, combination of Victorinox and Sabatier Pro. All have great edges and I’ve only ever used a Victorinox steel to sharpen them.
 
Vinny said:
Amazing how butchers only ever need to use a steel given how much they rely on having a sharp knife......
A decent steel will cost as much as a decent small kitchen knife (or more) and there is a certain art to using one, plus a steel is faff-free and quick.
Click to expand...

A steel is the thing to KEEP a knife sharp used frequently to hone the edge. A stone is only needed when the edge is damaged or has not been kept honed. I am sure the butcher will do the main grinding away from the shop service area.
 
If your learning about using a stone- place a full matchbook b/n the knife and the stone (~ ∠15°).
 
We've had a set of Sabatier knives for years. It turns out that this is not actually a brand name much to my surprise. The brand name is not protected by intellectual law, and knives bearing this name range from excellent to complete crap. You'll find very poor quality Sabatier knives selling cheap, which I'm sure people think are an absolute bargain.
See this for example, marketed as Sabatier, but not made in France. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00XMPK5GY/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
I've been using diamond stones to sharpen various things like router bits, chisels, and kitchen knives. I've only recently discovered that freshly sharpened edges need to be stropped to remove the burr. I draw the sharpened edge lightly on a piece of softwood for that.

The time for sharpening is indicated if I cannot cut a fresh carrot cleanly and easily or slice a very ripe tomato without squishing it.
 
I'm on a Chefs Choice Diamond Hone 110 now, does a good job and I aim to go through all the knives a couple of times per year.

Certainly saves a lot of time and effort compared to the whetstone. Used carefully a decent steel is great for mid turkey refresh.

Best knife we have is an old carbon steel job inherited from my great aunt.
 
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