Biting the bullet-learning to hand sharpen knives using stones

[BDAABAT]

Good day all!

I'm relatively recently retired and now have the time to do things that I didn't make time for previously. One of those things that I'm embracing is knife sharpening.

Back story:
I've always cooked and always understood the need for sharp knives. I just never took the time to build the skills needed to sharpen by hand. Over the years I tried everything from pull through sharpeners to Chef's Choice to the Edge Pro Apex (EPA). I was always looking for a quick fix and never really got results that worked or made sense (the pull through sharpeners remove so much material that to me, they don't make sense, unless that's your only option).

I got the EPA ~ 10 years ago because I didn't think that I'd ever be able to have the time to develop the skill to hand sharpen or the time to be able to get knives sharp rapidly just using my hands and stones. At the time, this was absolutely the case! I was working full time, plus serving as a Scout leader for my sons Boy Scout Troop, along with all of the other time pressures in life.

Now, I'm questioning that assumption. Or rather, conditions have changed. I now have the time to devote to pursuing knife sharpening. But, it's not just that I have the time. Part of it is my interest in learning new skills. I used to get challenges of needing to learn new things at work. Now that work is done, I am looking for other outlets for skill building. This seems like a worthwhile and practical set of skills to know.

Over the past several days, I've binged YouTube knife sharpening videos. One of the things that really pushed me down the path of hand sharpening were videos showing the speed with which one who is skilled at manually sharpening can get an excellent edge. That potential efficiency combined with my desire to learn a new skill prompted me to bite the bullet and purchase a "stone": the Sharpal 162N
Amazon.com

Why that specific stone? This review helped to convince me to make the purchase:

Starting down the path of learning any new skill frankly SUCKS! It requires being really bad at that skill for a while.

I'm embracing the suck.

In order to jump start the process, I checked with the current Scout leader to see if it would be OK for me to grab the knives from the adult chuck box to sharpen. The next Scout outing is at the end of July and happens to be summer camp (meaning, they likely won't need the knives until the September outing).
His response: thrilled!

Here's what I got:


There are a wide range of blades here from different manufacturers using different steels from different eras. Seems like a great way to get started!

Step one-get them clean (or at least, MUCH cleaner!).



Unfortunately, it appears that some of the knives were put away while still wet and have started rusting. It happens. Used some steel wool to take off the top layers of dirt and rust.

Worked on sharpening these for a couple hours yesterday just using the 162N. 15 of the 18 knives are now sharper than they were, but still not where I think they can be. And, there were three knives that I just couldn't get sharp. One of those challenging three was a very inexpensive knife that was quite long, very thin, and super bendy. As a noob to manual knife sharpening, this presents an awesome challenge!

I'm going to continue to work on them for the next several days while working on building the technique. We'll see how it goes!

if all else fails and I decide the squeeze isn't worth the juice, I'll get them sorted using the EPA.

Bruce

 

[4ever3]

Best of luck to you on your new skill set!

My Dad could hand sharpen a knife that would cut you if you looked at it cross eyed, I never could.

 

[food4thot]

A skill I never really acquired. Currently have a manual two-stage Chefs Choice pull-through for simplicity. Had a cheap two-sided diamond stone that worked well until the plastic handle broke.

As a kid remember a guy that occasionally drove thru the neighborhood in sort of a Good Humor ice cream truck that sharpened knives/scissors/axes/etc. Think it was his retirement hobby.

 

[bschoen]

I am a fair hand at sharpening. A few observations:
Some knives are just crap, either can't hold an edge or can't get an edge so don't bother.
Holding an angle is muscle memory.
Get a course, 100-120 grit stone for the truly dull and/or beat up blades.
For kitchen knives going past 320 grit is just showing off, aka, not necessary.
If you store the knives just thrown in a pile, a box or a drawer, you are wasting your time sharpening them. Get a knife roll or two (or three).

 

[Maylar]

What is it about the Edge Pro that doesn't work for you?

 

[food4thot]

I am a fair hand at sharpening. A few observations:
Some knives are just crap, either can't hold an edge or can't get an edge so don't bother.
Holding an angle is muscle memory.
Get a course, 100-120 grit stone for the truly dull and/or beat up blades.
For kitchen knives going past 320 grit is just showing off, aka, not necessary.
If you store the knives just thrown in a pile, a box or a drawer, you are wasting your time sharpening them. Get a knife roll or two (or three).

A block also works decent.

 

[BDAABAT]

What is it about the Edge Pro that doesn't work for you?

Initially, me.

I bought the EPA ~ 10 years ago and had a difficult time keeping the knife totally flat on the table. If the knife isn't consistently flat, the edge isn't gonna be right. That was totally on me. I needed more reps to get to be consistent with the tool. Instead, I put it away until recently.

Fast forward to today: EP has since created an add-on magnet. That helps to keep the knife stable on the table. Once I got the magnet, the sharpening process for me improved a lot. I can now consistently get a very good edge on my knives. It still takes some fiddling for me and I'm still feeling like I'm not getting edges I COULD be (and why I have that perception is unknown...just a feeling after seeing videos of others being able to do stuff with their newly sharpened knives that I cannot do). Don't get me wrong...the knives work much better than they did previously at their intended purpose! I'm curious if they can get sharper, and if so, how.

So, I'm going to give hand sharpening a try. It's a relatively small investment of money (~$70 for the above stone). It's a bigger time commitment, but that's OK. I now have the time. Also helps that it's been FLIPPING HOT outside and I don't really want to do outdoor stuff at the moment!

I spent a couple hours yesterday with them. Will likely spend another couple hours today and tomorrow working on them/working on building the skill.

We'll see what happens!
Bruce

 

[BDAABAT]

I am a fair hand at sharpening. A few observations:
Some knives are just crap, either can't hold an edge or can't get an edge so don't bother.
Holding an angle is muscle memory.
Get a course, 100-120 grit stone for the truly dull and/or beat up blades.
For kitchen knives going past 320 grit is just showing off, aka, not necessary.
If you store the knives just thrown in a pile, a box or a drawer, you are wasting your time sharpening them. Get a knife roll or two (or three).

Understood.

The knives posted above ARE just shoved into a drawer, then rattle around in that drawer as the drawer gets transported over bumpy roads on the way to campsites. I KNOW they're gonna be beat to crap (they already have been!).

I'm doing this because it provides an opportunity for me to practice on a large number of different knifes to help me build skills. And, if some of the knives end up being used relatively soon after sharpening and are helpful for the folks on the outing, then that's a bonus.

NOTE: Some of these knives do have plastic guards. I'm considering getting a set of new guards for the ones that don't have them. Will check with the current Scoutmaster to get his feedback.

Bruce

 

[cholloway]

Don't forget the importance of a good honing steel.
Many times the knife edge only needs to be re-aligned and not sharpened.

 

[Inthewoods]

I am a fair hand at sharpening. A few observations:
Some knives are just crap, either can't hold an edge or can't get an edge so don't bother.
Holding an angle is muscle memory.
Get a course, 100-120 grit stone for the truly dull and/or beat up blades.
For kitchen knives going past 320 grit is just showing off, aka, not necessary.
If you store the knives just thrown in a pile, a box or a drawer, you are wasting your time sharpening them. Get a knife roll or two (or three).

Pretty much spot on. The quality of steel is far more important than stone. Just takes practice.
Fancy stone is just...fancy.

-D

 

[SmokinAussie]

Congrats on the new hobby Bruce. FWIW I've been sharpening my own stuff since my late teens.

All manual. 1000/3000 Stone. 6000/8000 Stone. Steel. Stropping paddle and honing compounds.

After a while you work out a process that gives you good results. The angle is the biggest issue. Keeping it consistent and doing so with different kinds of knives. A cleaver is a lot different to a boning knife. Never needed to use an angle jig or tool. I learnt from a Chinese chef in a place I worked when at University. A Chinese chef called "Thomas"! I'm almost at the stage I have to do my set again. Last time was nearly a year ago, but of course they are good knives and always see the steel before use.

Now you got me thinking about knives and sharp things...

 

[BDAABAT]

Thank you all for the replies! I appreciate it!

I've gotta say, I still suck at the free hand sharpening. But, I believe I suck less than I did three days ago. So, there's that.

Not only is building a new skill pretty cool (even though I'm still at the sucky stage). It's something helpful for me in a bunch of ways.
1. I enjoy being of service. I've not only learned the basics well enough (at least, with the Edge Pro Apex) to sharpen my own knives, but last weekend I sharpened my sister in laws knives. She was thrilled! Unfortunately, her knives were a mess. They are much less of a mess than they were!
2. Learning new skills is important. And, learning a bunch of new skills is really cool! Prior to a couple weeks ago, I didn't know anything. I still don't know much, but it's more than before.
3. Overcoming one's own self-imposed limitations is something important. I'd previously avoided going down the path of hand sharpening because I told myself that I couldn't. I didn't even try! It turns out, it seems doable. Like any skill, it takes time to practice and time to learn. I'm glad I started. And, I appreciate the support!
4. It's something that is starting to feel almost meditative. I've been spending time just focused on one thing, doing repetitive motions with music playing. I'm hoping to get to the point (ha! knife pun!) where I learn enough and build enough muscle memory to have the experience be meditative. We'll see! Helps to be inside with the air conditioning running and a cold beverage nearby while the temps outside are in the 90s.

Bruce

 

[ModelMaker]

Cold beverages and sharp knives, saw that video on YouTube!
Ed

 

[halfcocked]

I have three Arkansas stones, coarse, fine and black. I used to do all my knives by hand for a long time now i only use the black stone to finish the blade after using the Ken Onion sharpener first. I have several high end Japanese knives and was fearful to sharpen them on the Ken Onion but I finally gave in and there are no adverse consequences that I can tell. Don't have the patience for the stones any more.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

I like sharp knives but my knife skills suck. I am pretty good a nicking myself. I have a set of knives I used for competitions that all I have to do is look at them and I cut myself

 

[Connor_Macleod]

Good on ya learning manual sharpening! My manual sharpening skills need a lot of work, so I have no advice to offer. However, that OUTDOORS55 guy on Youtube is awesome, and I have been following him for a while...some day I hope to be able to whittle hair the way he does.

 

[SmokinAussie]

4. It's something that is starting to feel almost meditative. I've been spending time just focused on one thing, doing repetitive motions with music playing. I'm hoping to get to the point (ha! knife pun!) where I learn enough and build enough muscle memory to have the experience be meditative. We'll see! Helps to be inside with the air conditioning running and a cold beverage nearby while the temps outside are in the 90s.

Bruce

It's exactly this..

Breathe in time.

Wash Rinse Repeat.

Music gets louder.

Knife gets sharper.

Then you run out of knives.

 

[PitRow]

Count me as another that can't hand sharpen for crap. Maybe I just don't have the patience to keep the angle consistent, but no matter how hard I try I could never get them more than "reasonably un-dull" oh well. I spent a chunk of change on a sharpener system a handful of years ago and haven't looked back.

For kitchen knives going past 320 grit is just showing off, aka, not necessary.

I second this. My setup has 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 & 1000 grit stones. While the 1000 grit looks nice and shiny, if I stop at 400 they actually cut better in use. The fine scratches the 400 leaves are like micro-serrations.

 

[rm41400]

Hand sharpening can be hit and miss.

Don’t get discouraged with the cheap stainless knifes. Some are very difficult to put a sharp edge on a stone. I think it’s the bur that hangs on…

A good old school Carbon steel knife can be low cost and will reward you with the easiest sharp edges and build your confidence for the harder steel. I prefer a nice carbon steel knife on a splash and go stone or water stone. Something not too hard so you feel what’s going on.

 

[BDAABAT]

Quick update.

I had gotten some new kit for the Edge Pro Apex today (diamond stropping spray and a leather strop for the EPA) and decided to test the strop. While the EPA was out, I revisited the hand sharpened knives from the troop. Figured I'd touch them up before sending them back to the Troop.

I was surprised that the 15 knives I was able to get what I thought was reasonably sharp over the weekend actually were sharp! None needed to be redone on the EPA.

I tried the EPA on the three knives from the Troop that wouldn't create an edge. Tough sledding there as well. All three are very modest knives. Not sure there's a lot that can be done for them. I did my best.

I'm a little chuffed that the experience with hand sharpening seems like it worked! Granted, I have no idea if they'll hold an edge. But for now, at least a bit of success.

Bruce