I’ve come across a lot of different methods-- grinders, stones with oil, stones with water, stones that are dry.
I’ve been a diligent user of a sharpening steel, and for the past few months been dissatisfied with the edge I was getting. I was just given a filetting knife (that’ll make scaling fish easier ), and hope to get a straight razor in the next week or two, so acquiring a bit more sharpness has suddenly become important.
So I started doing some research, and found way too many attitudes-- and no way of discerning credibility :smack:.
Now I know there are some professional knife people around here, so I’m tossing this question out to them. How do you sharpen your knives-- the good knives you use every day-- and why do you use that method?
I don’t know the complete answer to your question, but a couple of points. First, a filleting knife has large-scale serrations, correct? Expect to use a different method to sharpen it than a straight blade.
Also, what are your standards for “best”? Quickest, most portable, giving the sharpest edge, easiest to use, cheapest?
I’ve never seen a filleting knife with a serrated edge. Fillet knives have extremely thin, flexible blades but a smooth cutting edge.
Steels do not sharpen anything, they merely set the the edge that has already been ground sharp. I sharpen my kitchen knives on a medium coarse stone as I like the slicing cut that the resulting microserrations give. The correct motion for knives is to slide the edge into the surface stone as if you were trying to slice a thin layer. I’ll touch up with a steel but again, it doesn’t sharpen.
Razors are a whole different deal than knives for the most part. Be very careful as you can quickly ruin a razor by sharpening it wrong. Most likely the razor will be sharp from the factory and only require stropping to maintain the rolled edge. My own strop is a strip of bark tanned tooling leather soaked in neatsfoot oil and rubbed with jeweler’s rouge, an extremely fine chalklike abrasive. Stropping id done by dragging the edge over the surface as if you were wiping off the blade. This polishes the edge, removing all microserrations from stone sharpening. This gives razors a “push cut” type of edge that doesn’t require a slicing motion. If you must sharpen with a stone do so as your own risk and use a very fine Arkansas stone with oil. Use extreme caution because you can ruin the thin edge with one misstep.
Most old-school butchers I’ve worked with seem to prefer the mineral-oil-on-stone method. If you are getting an unsatisfactory result, there are a couple of things you could look at.
First, the angle of the knife to the stone should be about as small as you can make it…to the point where it almost looks like your knife is flat against the stone. Also, make sure that each side of the blade gets equal attention. If one side is sharpened more than the other, the edge may ever so slightly curl over.
The quality of the knives is another issue. It is possible to get an edge on crappy steel, but it won’t last (If you care - the brands I, as well as the other meat cutters in my store, own are F. Dick, Forschner/Victorinox, and Messermeister, with the consensus favorite being F. Dick).
Regarding sharpening steels - I prefer a flat steel to a round one…the increased surface area seems to make quicker work of it. It is true that if you attempt to sharpen a dull knife with a steel you are in for a very frustrating week…however, once your knife has a good edge and starts to lose it from use, a handful of seconds on a good steel can “bring it back to life” so to speak.
In other words - if I’m cutting up forty chickens, after about twenty my knife will start to lose that “hot knife though butter” feeling so I’ll “steel it” for ten to twenty seconds or so to bring it back to where it was when I started.
Steel technique: Many meat cutters draw the knife toward them on the steel, but this never felt natural to me. I like to use a back and forth motion with the blade facing away from me. The angle should, again, be very slight and the amount of pressure you’re applying should be nearly zero - hold the knife lightly in your hand and let the weight of it provide most of the pressure.
Two more things:
Dont grab the shiny end. :eek:
and
I don’t care how pretty her eyes are, do NOT try to be suave and smile at her while you are washing your knives. :smack:
Happy cutting!
Bear in mind that these tips and techniques are a result of my personal experience coupled with the training I was given. Like any old craft, there are plenty of “There’s MY way and there’s the WRONG way” types in the cutting business.
Four years as the “boy” in the meat market. Did all the crappy jobs that no one else wanted to do… including sharpening the knives.
Neofishboy has it right, for meat market knives. For any other knives, consider the application. If you use a low angle for a knife to cut wood, it will be sharp until you use it and crush the edge due to lack of backing for the edge. You should therefore use a higher angle for those knives (the harder the work, the higher the angle). I could list some numbers and materials, but each user should find their preference. If you get it right, you can (sort of, on a very tiny scale) whittle soft metals.
My suggestion, gleaned from Food TV, is to have your knives professionally sharpened. These guys know what they are doing and will not mess up your blade. Don’t feel humbled by it, as many professional chefs send their knives to be sharpened also.
As for steeling it, I suggest five times on one side, facing away from you, with the blade at around a 20 degree angle, and then switch sides, doing the same. Then repeat three times on both sides, then one. It works just fine.
A fillet knife, first of all, should never be used for- EEK! Scaling.
I use Japanese water stones. They’re expensive, and worth it. I have a medium stone which will cut fast and take a dull knife back to more-or less sharp in short order. I also have a fine stone which will take a more-or less sharp knife and make it very sharp.
I true the edge on the side of a fired clay flowerpot.
I use a 20" bench strop with rouge to finish edges. My left arm always has a bare patch- “Knife fighter’s mange” they call it.
Buy a cheap knife. Buy some stones. Practice. One tip: Long stones are better- trying to sharpen a 6" fillet knife with a 3" long stone will just frustrate you and make it more likely you’ll cut yourself. Norton makes several inexpensive grades of India oilstones which can be purchased in 8" lengths for not too much scratch. Have a place where you can secure the stone to a bench at above waist height, hold the knife to the stone at the correct angle, and hold your body rigid. Now slide the knife across the stone as if you were trying to cut a thin layer off the stone, but only move your legs. Shifting your weight from one foot to the other will allow the knife to travel in close to a perfectly straight line. This takes a bit of practice but is a habit worth cultivating. I can shave with my pocketknife, and often do.
Iron blade: the conventional approach is the stationary whetstone, some oil, and oval revolutions of the knife blade held at a negligible angle. I’m unconventional, I hold the knife stationary and flat and use a much smaller stone, “combing” perpendicular to the edge and towards the tip, with a faint angle off and away from the blade. Don’t use those rat-tailed burr-removing things.
Steel blade: do whatever you’d like but they don’t get sharp easily. Damn metal tends to flake and pit and it’s harder and therefore more difficult to work with. Those rat-tailed burr-removing things are your friend here–if you ever succeed in getting an edge that you could shave with, (which as I said is not an easy task), the rat-tail will help you keep it that way.
Consider an iron knife. Most people I’ve met have never used a truly sharp knife because they’ve always bought steel, and don’t have the patience or skill to sharpen a steel knife. (I certainly don’t). Ontario Knife Works makes some great blades which are sold with wooden handles as “Old Hickory”.
Semi-hijack here, I’ve got a set of Henckels knives that are kinda sharp but not really sharp. I also have a Henckels knife “sharpener” which has 2 metal and 2 ceramic disks that you drag the knife through. Are those sharpeners completely worthless? Should I throw it away now and go find a stone?
Cheese, you just need to whet the knives back to the point of near-sharpness. The Henckels “shapener” just touches up the edge, won’t put an edge on a dull knife.
I’ve just been corrected. Those nice Old Hickory knives that I like are most certainly steel, not untempered iron, they just aren’t stainless steel. And stainless steel is what you should avoid, that’s what flakes and pits and is very difficult to sharpen to a useful sharpness.
(I’m pleading “brain fart”. I’m sure I knew that not every knife blade that is susceptible to rusting is necessarily made of iron, and that not all steel is rust-proof).
my favorite way to sharpen a knife is to use a GATCO sharpener .
The knife is clamped in place and a guide ensures that every stroke on the blade is at the same angle.
About 25 years ago I asked my butcher this question. He said “Bring them to me, I’ll sharpen them for you”. I did, and he taught me how to use a steel. Best 2-3 buchs each investment I ever made. I’d return them every couple months to re-sharpen.
But he’s gone now, as are most traditional butchers, so I use my Chef’s choice electric doohickey. Work’s ok.
Peace,
mangeorge
I prefer the sharpening tools which are steel with a diamond dust coating. They are available with several degrees of coarseness/fineness for sharpening different things such as tools cutlery etc. No oil is needed, just water.
Ceramic sharpening systems suck. They are good when new, but they soon become worthless.
I have a completely dull (no edge at all, never had one) sword that i’d like to sharpen, if possible. The flat edge is about 1/16 of an inch across, galvanized steel. The blade curves quite a bit, and is 28 inches long.
Can it be sharpened without ruining it? What do I need? What technique should I use? Keep in mind that I’m fairly broke, the cheapest solution will probably win out.
That depends on how you’re using the knife. When I’m whittling, for instance, I find that if I want a good edge, I need to sharpen every five minutes or so.
Yeah, Chronos, they do a lot of whittling on Food TV.
Sorry.
I’m just jealous. I’ve tried many times to carve one of those little dachshunds out of a pencil. It always looks like a pencil chewed on by a dachshund.
Peace,
mangeorge
Yeah, I know that red_dragon60 was referring to Food TV, but it isn’t clear in the OP that these are specifically food knives, and I certainly hope he isn’t using a straight razor on a steak.
I’ve never thought to try a pencil Dachsund, though… Currently I’m working on a chess set.
), and hope to get a straight razor in the next week or two, so acquiring a bit more sharpness has suddenly become important.
