Scary sharp chicken knife

[monty3777]

My scores went up dramatically once I switched to a japanese knife to trim my chicken. My theory is that on raw meat a sharp knife does less cell damage and the result is better tenderness and flavor. I made this video to show you how I tune my chicken knife, and show you how sharp it can get. Keep in mind I stopped at 8000x. I could have used even finer stones but I want a little teeth to keep the blade from running.

Since youtube has been blocking any soundtrack I try and use to make the videos more interesting I simply left the background sounds in the video. I know it sucks, but that's all the juice I got in the music biz. Anyway, check this out. If you want your knife this sharp, let me know :) I can get western knives close to this sharp too and still leave enough edge to keep it from rolling.

‪scary sharp chicken knife‬‏ - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9EeFB7cqrI)

[bbqbull]

Cuts like a brand new scapel.
Congrats on the sharpening job!

[Rich Parker]

Damn that is sharp!

[Trucky1008]

Very nice! :thumb: Instead of the paper slice can we see an arm hair trim? :-P

So how do you keep the blade at the correct angle while running across the stone?

[Podge]

That's an art I wish I knew how to do !..

[big brother smoke]

No words necessary! Awesome job, brother!

[Balls Casten]

After watching the video I was going to ask you to sharpen my knifes but I think I'd be better off if you just trimed chicken for me. :-)

Nice job Nate, wish I had the skills to do that. The pro Edge I used to ruin my knifes now sits unused in a drawer.

[monty3777]

Very nice! :thumb: Instead of the paper slice can we see an arm hair trim? :-P

So how do you keep the blade at the correct angle while running across the stone?

Muscle memory. I sharpen every night and it has become almost second nature. I did edit out a lot of the footage where I check the edge with a lens to make sure I'm on target. The trick with Japanese knives is that they are asymmetrical - so there is a different angle one each side of the blade.

[monty3777]

Nice job Nate, wish I had the skills to do that. The pro Edge I used to ruin my knifes now sits unused in a drawer.

Do you have an Edge Pro? If so, that's an awesome tool - I use on all the time. If you want I can show you how to get great edges with it.

[El Lobo]

Just curious, do you use the same sectional sharpening technique on longer blades such as 300mm?

I used to use that same technique, to the point that my thumbs would get raw from my style of holding. Since doing Murray Carter's course I do long single strokes and found I got MUCH better results. Both methods work well, but I had noticed the sectional sharpening slowly wore down my knives unequally. Easy enough to correct, but the style change alone prevented that from happening to start with.

In any case, that's a nice sharp blade you have there.

[monty3777]

If I understand Carter correctly, I believe he does use a sectional style of sharpening, then he does what he calls stropping by doing the long single strokes (here's an example. Listen for him to call the long single strokes "stropping". Is this video representative of what he teaches in class? Check out 3:30 and following where he is using a sectional technique. At around 4:50 he "strops" with single strokes. ‪Carter Cutlery - Push Cutting Toilet Paper‬‏ - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozZF2EgnYm0)). I'd certainly go with what he taught you :)

There are ways of making sure that the grind is even. I've never had trouble with uneven wear. I'm not sure what to say about your thumbs. Were you dragging them across the stone to hold the angle? I used to do that, but the pain wasn't worth it :)

[El Lobo]

If I understand Carter correctly, I believe he does use a sectional style of sharpening, then he does what he calls stropping by doing the long single strokes (here's an example. Listen for him to call the long single strokes "stropping". Is this video representative of what he teaches in class? Check out 3:30 and following where he is using a sectional technique. At around 4:50 he "strops" with single strokes.

Yup this is basically the style he taught. Not sure why he says "strop" when using the same stone, but yes, he demonstrates that long (corner to corner) honing using long single strokes. I use the long stroke from start to finish now, but never really tried a hybrid approach of both sectional and long strokes. Something I'll look into.

Moving from German steel to Japanese, I struggled for awhile with angles. My thumbs suffered while I tried to maintain angles. I'll admit, I was scared of scratching the spine. Some of my knives are really nice and have beautiful Kanji or designs on them. Last thing I wanted to do was mess that up.

[boogiesnap]

....

[boogiesnap]

i "sharpen every night " too...:icon_blush:

[monty3777]

i "sharpen every night too"...:icon_blush:

It's great, isn't it!

[boogiesnap]

i can't reply...i'm in the box.

[Shotgun]

Nice video Nate, I know you do a great job on my knives. Let me know if you are cooking Nevada this year, will probably need a tune up.

[monty3777]

I'll be in Nevada. Look forward to seeing you and your knives :)

[Ryan Chester]

Fark that is scary! Nice work.:thumb:

[Smokin Mike]

Thats sharp! thanks for the video!

I usually just take my knifes in to get sharpened,, but that gets costly.

do you know a beginners set of stones and videos to get started on? or get the edge pro and learn doing that way? do you guys that just started out , practice on cheap "drawer" knifes, or does it matter?

TIA,

Mike

[monty3777]

Thats sharp! thanks for the video!

I usually just take my knifes in to get sharpened,, but that gets costly.

do you know a beginners set of stones and videos to get started on? or get the edge pro and learn doing that way? do you guys that just started out , practice on cheap "drawer" knifes, or does it matter?

TIA,

Mike

I'm in the process of setting up a mail order and on-site (at comps) sharpening business. Thinking $1 per blade inch, or perhaps a fixed amount for blades up to 10" - say $5 plus shipping. If that is still too steep for you, I'd go with an Edge Pro Apex with 220 and 320 stones. I can help you get that figured out. If you are interested in water stones I'd suggest getting the Dave Martel or Murray Carter DVDs. I started by using cheap Sam's Club knives until I was comfortable. A 500x Beston and 1000x Bester would be my stones of choice, But the King stones are cheap and they work well too. Water Stones are like smokers. Once you get one you'll want more - and they'll cost ya :heh::thumb:

[Trucky1008]

Nate- I've got the Edge Pro Apex and have been satisfied with the edge I achieve, but that edge doesn't seem to hold very well. You've commented a few times about the Apex so I thought I'd ask, do you have any tips? Thanks

[monty3777]

Nate- I've got the Edge Pro Apex and have been satisfied with the edge I achieve, but that edge doesn't seem to hold very well. You've commented a few times about the Apex so I thought I'd ask, do you have any tips? Thanks

PM sent. I will need to ask a few question but the place to start is with the stone progression. You may be making your knives too sharp - especially if you are taking a 1000 EP stone to a German knife. My second thought is that you need something to maintain the edge between sharpening. Even a line cook probably only needs knives sharpened a couple times a year. Between sharpening a ceramic hone or a leather strop work wonders!

[Trucky1008]

Thanks Nate for taking the time to talk with me this evening about sharpening. I'm going to work on a few knives tomorrow and see how things go. I really appreciate your help!

[monty3777]

Thanks Nate for taking the time to talk with me this evening about sharpening. I'm going to work on a few knives tomorrow and see how things go. I really appreciate your help!

It was my pleasure!