Knife sharpening fetish

[Scott M]

Don't forget to maintain your razor edge between sharpenings with a round steel or ceramic. It can prolong the edges and resore them if not all nicked up. I worked in a beef packing plant as my first "real job" and a sharp edge was the differece between sink or swim. The blunt vs shrp comments above are spot on. I've always called that burr a "wire edge".

 

[droopsnoot]

I've got a sharpener like this one, which has been in the cupboard for years / decades:

Is it likely to be any use? I've tried running various knives through it, but I guess there's a decent chance that they're too far gone for it to make much difference. Going from a comment in the other thread where I admitted to using a bread knife to cut tomatoes, I wonder if it's worth trying to sharpen one of the many knives already here. I don't do serious cooking / food prep, so won't be spending massive amounts on knives, but it'd be nice to have what I've got a bit sharper if it's possible / easy.

 

[Jackimus]

There isn't really such a thing as 'at its sharpest', different combinations of thin edges, thick edges, toothy edges, polished edges, are all better for different cases. A work knife can be 25°, 400 grit and toothy and it will cut all day long and that suits it brilliantly.

Kitchen knives though, you do want a thin and polished edge, which won't last but that's why you upkeep it all the time. A tip is to look along the apex of the edge, it should be invisible - no points catching light.

Is that hultafors is a puck type for sharpening axes? Life would probably be easier with a longer, wider bench stone that you can draw more of the edge across in one pass.

 

[Jackimus]

I've got a sharpener like this one, which has been in the cupboard for years / decades:

View attachment 531980

Is it likely to be any use? I've tried running various knives through it, but I guess there's a decent chance that they're too far gone for it to make much difference. Going from a comment in the other thread where I admitted to using a bread knife to cut tomatoes, I wonder if it's worth trying to sharpen one of the many knives already here. I don't do serious cooking / food prep, so won't be spending massive amounts on knives, but it'd be nice to have what I've got a bit sharper if it's possible / easy.

I don't recommend these pull-through types. The way they 'rip' material off of the edge gives you a 'false' sharpness that doesn't last long and takes way more material than needed.

I would usually say to get a bench stone if you're willing to learn, or a sharpening system like a Lansky, a Spyderco Sharpmaker or a Horl if you want it more foolproof.

 

[Puglet1]

There isn't really such a thing as 'at its sharpest', different combinations of thin edges, thick edges, toothy edges, polished edges, are all better for different cases. A work knife can be 25°, 400 grit and toothy and it will cut all day long and that suits it brilliantly.

Kitchen knives though, you do want a thin and polished edge, which won't last but that's why you upkeep it all the time. A tip is to look along the apex of the edge, it should be invisible - no points catching light.

Is that hultafors is a puck type for sharpening axes? Life would probably be easier with a longer, wider bench stone that you can draw more of the edge across in one pass.

Yes, it is. I place the blade flat on a working surface with the edge overhanging slightly. I can then hold the puck at approximately 14 degrees and use either a swirling motion or run it along the blade in safety.

 

[brightspark]

I am relatively new to knife sharpening. I use a whetstone and leather strap to sharpen my kitchen knife.
I get loads of pleasure sharpening it and can get it to cut vegetables quite well.
The question is “how do you tell when your knife is at its sharpest ?”
The reason I ask is because I seem to be drawn to this mad practice.

if it shaves the hairs of the back of your arm its sharp enough ,thats how i check my wood chissels are sharp after sharpening using an arkansas stone and a leather strop

 

[Norsk]

Many knives need to have the shoulder removed by using a file before they can be sharpened properly.

In my experoance nothing beats a electric powered whetstone you sit behind. I bought one for £20 at a farm sale and its a smashing bit of kit.

 

[chunkolini]

sharpening?
years ago Junior and I wandered into a knife shop in San Diego.
There was a grinning idiot sharpening a knife, a happy boy. Two days later we wandered back in and he was still at it, The started showing us how sharp 'Sharp' is. By cutting 3mm slices of a piece of A4 paper holding the paper in one handand quickly running the blade over it. He was a happy chappie. But reckoned it could be sharper
If I try sharpening anything you may as well bin it.

 

[droopsnoot]

As I've got loads of knives that are quite blunt and the opinion on my sharpener was not very positive, when I saw a sharpening stone in Lidl today for £6.99 I thought I'd buy one and see if it's any better. I watched a short video on Youtube so obviously now I'm an expert. I'll see how it goes and report back, though I think I'll be testing on tomatoes rather than my arm.

This one, it had the same numbers as the one the guy in the video used: https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/parkside-2-in-1-sharpening-stone/p10044222

 

[Farside]

As I've got loads of knives that are quite blunt and the opinion on my sharpener was not very positive, when I saw a sharpening stone in Lidl today for £6.99 I thought I'd buy one and see if it's any better. I watched a short video on Youtube so obviously now I'm an expert. I'll see how it goes and report back, though I think I'll be testing on tomatoes rather than my arm.

This one, it had the same numbers as the one the guy in the video used: https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/parkside-2-in-1-sharpening-stone/p10044222

I've got one like that, had it for a long time.
I don't tend to sharpen knives all that much, but when I come across the stone in my rummages, I remember to go and get some and put an edge on them.