Knife Sharpening?

F

Frisco_Smoker

Guest
I saw the nice thread on the different brands of knives and all those suggestions. My question to everyone is this. How do you sharpen your knives? I ask because I've got a set of Henkel 4 stars but they are useless because they are dull. The set came with some sort of sharpener rod, but I can't seem to get them very sharp with it. They are about 5 years old so probably need a lot of work.

Suggestions please?
 
Several guys, including myself, take ours to a professional one a year for sharpening, and then just hone them with a steel or a ceramic rod or similar at home. I pay $3.00/knife for professional sharpening and then simply use the steel to hone the edge before I use a knife.
 
You will need to trade-off 'easy' and 'sharp' to make ...

... your own decision. If you ever lose the bevel or damage the edge on your knife, one of the only ways to get it back is with sharpening stones. The you get into choices of grit ( balancing ease of repairing or establishing bevel and smoothness of your finished edge). Some feel like you can get by nicely with a Hard Arkansas stone followed by a Fine India stone. Getting good results is simply a matter of practice and consistency in holding the angle you choose for the knife being sharpened. I post this link soley to provide some ideas and also because I have found them helpful in answering my questions on their toll-free number.
http://www.thebestthings.com/newtools/norton.htm

I hope this helps you choose what will work best for you.
 
One of these days I'm going to take a knife class. I would like to learn how to use one properly (like on the cooking shows), but also the technical aspects including sharpening. I realize that it is not rocket science, but I do like to do things the right way.
 
I would refrain from using a sharpening stone.
Getting it professional done is really worth it.
 
.... if you have reasonable access to someone who ....

..... can do it properly. In my small town, I have not been able to identify anyone I would trust with my cutlery. Especially my single-bevel or damascus style Japanese knives. For those who can easily have them done professionally, at costs mentioned here, I would jump at the chance. It is also a frustrating issue to consider spending amounts for the sharpening tools which can approach (or exceed) the cost of the knives themselves.

.... then you can get into the endless discussion of oil stones versus water stones and that almost goes to another Forum ... my problem is that I enjoy all these new activities now that I have the time to pursue many of them. The $$$$ is another problem.
 
The AccuSharp is sold at grocery stores, WalMart, Ace, etc. for around $5 to $8. It's great for a quick sharpen on a cheap knife.

However, it grinds the blade which means a shorter life. In fact, I think it re-sets the blade. Afficianodo's don't like them but for a cheap, quick fix they're OK, with a trade off.

I think the other sharpeners are probably better but these are at least worth trying before sending a knife to the trash can.
 

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Something with a narrow edge, like a chisel for example, I can sharpen well beyond what's required to shave with. Knives on the other hand are more difficult due to the length of the edge.

The key things are maintaining the proper sharpening angle, and using gradually finer grits of sharpening media to achieve a keen edge.

Very few of us have the proper tools for doing this. I highly recommend having something as pricey as a set of Henkel's professionally sharpened by someone who has the proper tools for the job.
 
kcquer said:
Something with a narrow edge, like a chisel for example, I can sharpen well beyond what's required to shave with. Knives on the other hand are more difficult due to the length of the edge.

The key things are maintaining the proper sharpening angle, and using gradually finer grits of sharpening media to achieve a keen edge.

Very few of us have the proper tools for doing this. I highly recommend having something as pricey as a set of Henkel's professionally sharpened by someone who has the proper tools for the job.
Click to expand...

What he said. I don't have the time, or patience to do a set. I can give the knives up for a day or two at $3 per blade once a year. Money well spent when I think about how well they work for the rest of the year, and the time and aggravation saved.
 
LeeBo said:
The AccuSharp is sold at grocery stores, WalMart, Ace, etc. for around $5 to $8. It's great for a quick sharpen on a cheap knife.

However, it grinds the blade which means a shorter life. In fact, I think it re-sets the blade. Afficianodo's don't like them but for a cheap, quick fix they're OK, with a trade off.

I think the other sharpeners are probably better but these are at least worth trying before sending a knife to the trash can.
Click to expand...

They work great if you have a blade that's badly pitted and knicked. I bought one years ago and wound up using it to restore the blade on an old Wilkerson Bayonet that I bought for my old Enfield Rifle. It was badly dingged and looked like it had been used in ever conflict against the Germans since the Kiasor was in power. It took awhile but I finally shaved enough metal down that it rebuilt the blades edge and by the time I finished with it in conjunction with the stones, I could shave with it. I even did use it to take off my mustach once just to show a friend how sharp a 100 year old blade could be. Needless to say, he was impressed.
 
Holy mackerel, I usta use a file to sharpen my knives. Now I use the bottom of a flowerpot, seems to work well.
Mike
 
As my knives have a different bevel on each side I use a Mino Ceramic Knife Sharpener. Simple and I don't screw them up!!!

glb029.jpg


It's very simple to use, its just a well of water with two grades of ceramic sharpeners that you draw the knife through about 6-8 times.
 
I use a ChefsMagic 450 (manual model) freqently to put a quick edge back on knives...it's not perfect but it will put an edge on. I use a steel a lot to keep the blades "keen".

I need to take most of my knives in for a professional session. One place that does do knives is JoAnn's Fabrics - the ladies are as serious about their scissors as we are about our knives.

That's an option if you don't have a knife shop around.
 
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