# When and why did we forget how to sharpen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833 "2023-07-09T21:29:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/21 "2023-07-10T00:11:30Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Maybe cheap knives are better than cheap knives then. Back in the 90s D2 was only seen in custom/semi-custom knives and demanded a premium price. Right now D2 is widely considered to be just a budget steel and not much better than the blade steel marked ‘STAINLESS’ in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![cincinnatus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cincinnatus/32/7990_2.png) [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/22 "2023-07-10T00:23:20Z")
I sharpen a lot in the wood shop and in the kitchen for my wife. Between sharpenings, I use a knife sharpening rod to maintain the edge for a while in the kitchen. In the shop, I send out carbide table saw blades, but everything else, chisels, draw knife, screw drivers, drill bits, and I don’t know what else, I do. I could not afford to send all that paraphernalia out to professionals. I sent chisels to one guy some time ago, and he ground the back of wood chisel in a step fashion. It pretty much ruined the chisel, and when I asked what he did and why, he had no idea he did anything wrong. That was the last time anything went out, except table saw blades. Since then, I do my own. And now the wood chisels are sharp beyond belief, with little maintenance required. I like scary sharp wood chisels. They go where I want them to go . . . safely. Bottom line: I’m not even very good at sharpening compared to the people who really know what they are doing. There’s a woman woodworker down the road who really sharpens. She’s an animal. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/23 "2023-07-10T00:30:11Z")
When i was a child in the 70’s, we had an electric can opener with a knife sharpener in the back. That was a fairly standard configuration when i bought my own in the 80’s. My current home doesn’t have one that i know of. Once a year a man in a truck comes by and sharpens everything in the house for about a buck twenty-five. It’s not a chore i miss. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/24 "2023-07-10T00:37:04Z")
As I wrote not too terribly long on a “tell us about your knives” thread, my kitchen knives are Old Hickory brand (the blades are stamped “Ontario Knife Works”); they are carbon steel, you have to hand-wash and dry them lest they rust, but they can take a very sharp blade and once you get them there, they’re easy to maintain at that sharpness. The trend is for people to buy and revere high-end stainless steel knives. They are no fun to sharpen. You can work on them for hours and the knives don’t seem to be getting sharper. I’ve been told that if you have a magnifying glass you can see that the metal is flaking off near the edge instead of getting sharper — I don’t know about that, maybe cheap stainless but seems unlikely for Wusthof or Henckels or other such — but I’ll personally vouch for an hour with a whetstone not accomplishing much. So that’s part of it. People have the wrong knives. The kind they buy, you can’t sharpen efficiently with a whetstone. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/25 "2023-07-10T00:53:22Z")
I was taught to sharpen a knife in the Boy Scouts in the 1980s, but I never learned. I’ve spent money on Spyderco, etc., but have wasted it all. I suck. But I recognize the awesome of a sharp knife. When straightening them no longer works, I take them to a pro. It’s only a few bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/26 "2023-07-10T01:09:50Z")
I was taught by my father about the time I started school. And then again in scouts years later. Until a few years ago I used a flat stone for my pocket knives and a v block for kitchen knives. The block did a good enough job, but then my wife started gifting me a higher end set one piece at a time and I couldn’t shake the feeling that lightning would strike if I even looked at the v block while holding one of them. So I did some research and bought the [Ruixin Pro RX-008](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089GLHRNV) and can’t recommend it enough. I see that they now have an 009 version now which looks like the same thing in a hard case. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/27 "2023-07-10T01:11:30Z")
Huge numbers of households barely _cook_ anymore, let alone cook in ways that they would recognize the difference between a good sharp knife and just using a butter knife. How many of us even use the steel regularly? Know basic knife skills? We’z lazy. FWIW just yesterday morning I brought three of my knives to the farmers market where there is a stand that sharpens for $7 each. Have five and he’ll do house calls. It’s worth it to be confident it’s being done right. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/28 "2023-07-10T03:20:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > When I was little my parents talked of a knife and scissor sharpening service that went door to door through suburbia in a truck. It was the early 60s when we had this talk and they’d have be speaking of the early-mid 1950s when they were using the service. I maybe think I remember now that I maybe saw such a guy come by our place now and again, but that would have had to have been no earlier than 1962. I remember in downtown Toronto in the early 60’s, some old fellow would come around on a regular basis hauling a litlle whetstone gizmo, ringing a bell for housewives to come out and get their kitchen knives sharpened. I saked my dad whey he never took advantage of this service, and he said “they don’t do a very good job.” ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/29 "2023-07-10T03:41:17Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > whetstone gizmo, ringing a bell for housewives to come out and get their kitchen knives sharpened I remember this from New York City (Queens) in the late 50’s early 60’s. I don’t recall seeing many customers though. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/30 "2023-07-10T03:43:06Z")
When I bought a wood lathe I also purchased a Tormek Wet wheel grinder for my tools. It did a really nice job. I still have it though I don’t do any turning anymore. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/31 "2023-07-10T03:57:42Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I remember in downtown Toronto in the early 60’s, some old fellow would come around on a regular basis hauling a litlle whetstone gizmo, ringing a bell for housewives to come out and get their kitchen knives sharpened. In the suburb of Chicago where I live, there’s a guy like that who comes around once a year or so, complete with the bell. I have no idea how much business he actually does, probably the result of (a) people not being home during the day, and (b) his schedule being seemingly random. My wife wishes she knew when he’d show up, because she’d like to get her knives sharpened. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/32 "2023-07-10T04:03:57Z")
Around 1960, at our new house, one of those old-fashioned sharpeners came by with his grinding wheel. We gave him some knives to sharpen. We also had an old pair of utility scissors that had been used trying to cut a thick wire, leaving gouges in both blades perhaps 1/8 inch deep. He _reground_ both blades to take out the gouges, leaving us with a functional pair of scissors. I’m still using them (but not for cutting thick wire). ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/33 "2023-07-10T06:29:27Z")
For woodworking tools knowing how to sharpen is critical. Unless you are spending crazy amounts of money any edged hand tool you buy (chisel or plane) will need considerable work to get to an acceptable degree of sharpness. This is in contrast to kitchen knives and scissors which are ready to go out of the box. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/34 "2023-07-10T10:24:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m a bit confused by the OP’s contention about lack of documentation. When I was a scout in the mid-late 1960s I’m pretty sure the books taught knife sharpening as well as handling. I’ve certainly used an oilstone and a whetstone a bunch as a kid. As did my Dad. > [@Chronos](#): > > It’s page 67 in my Tenth Edition ( (c) 1990) Page 80 in mine. Not sure what edition, but it was from the early 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/35 "2023-07-10T13:28:29Z")
Woodworking tools also need to be sharpened very frequently. Even an hour or so of work on hardwood dulls the blade enough to make a real difference. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/36 "2023-07-10T13:44:16Z")
Chisels yes, a good drawknife used for shaving and shaping not as much. But still frequently. Knots are the bane of sharp tools. With ash for making oars and spars, planes and drawknives hold up for maybe 2-3 hours. Oak is tougher, but I can’t remember doing anything but a little plane work on oak. Clean pine, cypress and cedar barely dulls the blade. Caveat: My drawknives are ancient and made from tool steel, I understand modern ones made in China might not hold their edge anywhere near as well. My spoke planes (spokeshaves) dull much faster. They’re less than 20 years old. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Spokeshave_dismounted.jpg/320px-Spokeshave_dismounted.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Spokeshave_dismounted.jpg/320px-Spokeshave_dismounted.jpg) BTW: Maple is the bane of saw blades. Argh, it looks so nice but is the toughest wood I ever worked on. ---
**Author:** ![FeRDNYC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferdnyc/32/14000_2.png) [@FeRDNYC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeRDNYC)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/37 "2023-07-10T13:55:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > When I was little my parents talked of a knife and scissor sharpening service that went door to door through suburbia in a truck. I remember first-hand, growing up in Queens, NY in the 1980s, that there was “this old guy” (that’s as specific as the memory gets, I was single-digits years old) who would come around the neighborhood with a cart and sharpen… well… anything that local homeowners had that needed sharpening. By 1990 I’m pretty sure he’d retired/died and that was the end of that service. He did not name a successor. I think part of the issue is that many of today’s bladed tools are manufactured with business edges that have been precision-machined, often using materials that aren’t as “user-maintainable” as simple steel, and in configurations that don’t lend themselves to sharpening. (Think serrated blades, just for starters. But also anything involving carbon fiber, etc.) People don’t work on their car engine in their driveway much anymore, either — another practice that used to be common, but has fallen out of favor for many of the same basic underlying reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/38 "2023-07-10T14:02:52Z")
> [@FeRDNYC](#): > > I think part of the issue is that many of today’s bladed tools are manufactured with business edges that have been precision-machined, often using materials that aren’t as “user-maintainable” as simple steel There is often a knife sharpener at the local farmers markets and a sign with a rather long list of items they won’t/can’t sharpen because they are once-and-done sharpened at the factory and are essentially disposable after they dull. ---
**Author:** ![FeRDNYC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferdnyc/32/14000_2.png) [@FeRDNYC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeRDNYC)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/39 "2023-07-10T14:03:55Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > We also had an old pair of utility scissors that had been used trying to cut a thick wire, leaving gouges in both blades perhaps 1/8 inch deep. He _reground_ both blades to take out the gouges, leaving us with a functional pair of scissors. A perfect example. When “a pair of scissors” meant two solid metal legs on a pivot with fingerholds attached, you could do that sort of thing. The scissors currently sitting in the mug on my desk consist of just two thin slivers of blade, mounted in plastic arms. Nobody’s sharpening those, let alone _regrinding_ them — there’s no extra metal to grind down to, the entire blade would be ground away before they were any sharper. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833/40 "2023-07-10T14:13:00Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > For woodworking tools knowing how to sharpen is critical. Unless you are spending crazy amounts of money any edged hand tool you buy (chisel or plane) will need considerable work to get to an acceptable degree of sharpness. This is in contrast to kitchen knives and scissors which are ready to go out of the box. This is important to understand. Tools can easily be ruined if sharpened the wrong way. I rely on jigs now for proper sharpening of bench and lathe chisels since my eyes and hands aren’t as reliable as they used to be. Scrapers need special treatment to raise a burr on the edge which is critical to their operation. Most knives can be easily sharpened by hand with a stone or with simple sharpening machines, they’re a piece of cake compared to woodworking tools. I’ll clean up chain saw cutters but circular saw blades go to a local shop for sharpening and bandsaw blades go in the scrap metal pile when they’re worn because hey just don’t cost that much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-we-forget-how-to-sharpen/986833.md?page=3)