Thread: We Have Skills Too !!

I moved into an apartment furnished with a stove and frig from the late 60's early 70's and the frig just went and the stove is still working. My last house I replaced a newer stove with an older one from about the same time frame and I liked it a lot more than the newer ones I have had. Granted I had to keep track of the time myself rather than on the stove, but it seemed to control the temperature better and not have to be on as much to heat up.

Was it New Old Stock? I'll let you be the judge.

I'm a firm believer that a Good steel is essential to keeping a knife sharp and the man who trained me as a cutter swore that F Dick made the best steels in the world and I believe him. He started as an apprentice cutter at the age of 15 in 1934 and had an amazing knowledge of the cutting world.

gasman asked me to find him a good F Dick steel so I went looking at FleBay and found one that showed promise but would take some work. Here's the sellers pic;



Here it is once it landed;



The entire steel was covered with this weird sticky 'something' so I tore it apart;



While the hardware soaked in some paint thinner I used 0000 steel wool and the thinner to clean up the handle. The gunk did come off but the chrome was dull so I ran it on the buffer with CrOx and then I ran the rod lengthwise with 80,240 greaseless the polished it up with the Crox.



Here's gasman's below my old F Dick



Trying to get good lighting wasn't happening so here it is in the corner of the window.



I hope to have it packaged and off to Colorado later today so Jerry can start learning a new skill!

Thanks for looking :

Beautiful work Roy, what a transformation, honestly I never believed these rod worked for knifes guess I was wrong.

Very Nice! Job Well Done! Looks Fantastic, Ty

Originally Posted by Martin103

Beautiful work Roy, what a transformation, honestly I never believed these rod worked for knifes guess I was wrong.

Oh yes my friend a 'Good Steel works wonders. I was taught to run the knife over the steel right off of the hone/much like stropping a razor after honing.

I was taught to hold the knife to the steel at the same angle that it was sharpened on. It's hard to do but with practice it works and works well.

Jerry's steel is about the same 'cut' as mine in that while you run you fingernail lengthwise you don't feel anything but running it around you get just a little bit of 'chatter'.

I don't like steels with a rough cut/I was taught that while F Dick made them they were for the guys in the slaughter houses where they were dinging edges on bones day in and day out and that the rough cut brought the dings our faster but 'coarser'.

I found and gave my good buddy Ski an F Dick that was totally smooth and he loves it.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I found and gave my good buddy Ski an F Dick that was totally smooth and he loves it.

G'day Roy. I once made a smooth steel many moons ago by grinding off the ribs , polishing it then giving it a few coats of iodine to micro pit it.
It got the colour yours had pre restore. Great for maintaining sharp knives.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Great for maintaining sharp knives.

Oz my mate, you hit it the nail right on the head with this part of your post. They don't sharpen, they Maintain! Just like stropping does for a razor.

I 'believe' that when my cutter mentor told me to use the steel right after sharpening that it would help smooth the edge before it had a chance to be used and then it would be easier to keep the edge straightened.

I still use the steel before I use any knife. When I was working I kept a small smooth Forschner steel to use on my small work knives. No I wouldn't think of trusting my fellow employees with an F Dick/I have a feeling it would have grown legs

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Oh yes my friend a 'Good Steel works wonders. I was taught to run the knife over the steel right off of the hone/much like stropping a razor after honing.

I was taught to hold the knife to the steel at the same angle that it was sharpened on. It's hard to do but with practice it works and works well.

Jerry's steel is about the same 'cut' as mine in that while you run you fingernail lengthwise you don't feel anything but running it around you get just a little bit of 'chatter'.

I don't like steels with a rough cut/I was taught that while F Dick made them they were for the guys in the slaughter houses where they were dinging edges on bones day in and day out and that the rough cut brought the dings our faster but 'coarser'.

I found and gave my good buddy Ski an F Dick that was totally smooth and he loves it.

I sharpen the knives for the cafe in town. keeps me in free coffee and tortes. Every time I get a knife back, its destroyed! I have talked with the cooks over and over about using a steel, and none of them, not even the ones that have actually gone to a school, have ever known how to properly use one.

The last one had one of those 2ft long "diamond coated" steels, and without fail he would kill every edge i put on a knife, and complain that i was doing a poor sharpening job, or that "the knife has been sharpened too many times, its into the soft steel now and needs replaced"

here at home, I have an F Dick as well. Not as nice as yours though! Its pretty damned smooth, and my personal favorite

A good steel with a poor operator is no further ahead than no steel at all. Here at work the kitchen knives go to a Chef's Choice grinder at the start of every shift, and I have no idea what those other guys must have done with the steels. For people that cannot operate a steel a draw through with ceramic discs seems to be a good alternative. I cannot stand to watch someone slap a knife against a steel and make erratic movements, it is like nails on a chalk board.

Originally Posted by Magpie

I sharpen the knives for the cafe in town. keeps me in free coffee and tortes. Every time I get a knife back, its destroyed! I have talked with the cooks over and over about using a steel, and none of them, not even the ones that have actually gone to a school, have ever known how to properly use one.

The last one had one of those 2ft long "diamond coated" steels, and without fail he would kill every edge i put on a knife, and complain that i was doing a poor sharpening job, or that "the knife has been sharpened too many times, its into the soft steel now and needs replaced"

here at home, I have an F Dick as well. Not as nice as yours though! Its pretty damned smooth, and my personal favorite

You have my sympathy! Those who either don't want to or can't seem to learn that a simple tool properly used is to their advantage I don't have patience with.

As far as those Bastardized Diamond Impregnated so called 'steels' I like to put one up where the sun don't shine in whoever's derrier who thought they would be a good idea! A waste of perfectly good steel's--steel.