Thread: What do I need for my kitchen knives

Originally Posted by RoyalCake

I use my Naniwa 1k, seems to work well, and have yet to go up to 5k which people suggest should really do a great job. I don't see any reason you can't use your Naniwas on kitchen knives. Are they in bad enough shape that you need a lower grit?
If so, I like the EZ Lap diamond stones for good general use.

I took your advice and used the 1000k and a couple knives came out really sharp. The rest were in bad shape and will require a much more course stone, maybe a 320 or 500 but I am going to try my DMT 320 and see what happens. Thx for the help

Agree a 1k for most daily use and a 4k or 5K occasionally. Usually a 1k is all you need, but if you collect knives and do some edge restoration, a 325 and 600 diamond plates make quick work of it, finish on a 1k.

I use a King or Norton 1k and Chosera for razors.

You could use the same stone for both, razors on one side, knives the other.

I mark the edge of the stone with a sharpie so they do not get used with razors. A knife point can scar a synthetic stone face, nothing that can’t be lapped, seperate stones are easier.

Inking the bevel and practice will teach you to free hand, there are several good videos on hand honing knives, it does take some practice, but once you get it down and calibrate a good TPT, you can put an edge on a knife in a few minutes.

Hi cubancigar2000,
This may be useful. https://ia600400.us.archive.org/8/it...rpen__text.pdf
Mike

Originally Posted by MODINE

Hi cubancigar2000,
This may be useful. https://ia600400.us.archive.org/8/it...rpen__text.pdf
Mike

Thx, that is helpful

I use a Tormek jig/wheel. The grit is 1k. The secret to the finished knife being super sharp is the angle being held dead rigid.
From there a diamond steel maintains the edge.

I use a DMT D8C 325. I might be one of the few, but I don't like my kitchen knives to be extremely sharp.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I use a DMT D8C 325. I might be one of the few, but I don't like my kitchen knives to be extremely sharp.

same here and a diamond steel everytime I use a knife.Unlike a razor, your cutting or chopping on hard surfaces, to sharp is not a good thing for kitchen knives,JMO

I use my Shapton glass stones 220-16k then to a loaded strop, finally onto a leather strop that I use for my razors. As long as I don't let my wife get ahold of the knives they stay extremely sharp. They slice meat with no effort, and vegetables forget about it.

Naniwa super stones work very well on kitchen knives (well all knives really apart from the ceramic abominations), its what i bought mine for originally

IMO for kitchen knives you only need 3 stones, a DMT 325 (for sorting out chips and setting bevels) a 1k and a 5k (optional but i personally think it does make the edge significantly better). As has already been said it is nice to have a bit of a "toothy" edge on kitchen knives and anything over 5k i have found to a negative effect in practical use. The exception to this for me at least is on a fileting knife, which i finish with an 8k SS. YMMV

As for getting the bevel angle, IMO the angle itself isn't all that important (within reason of cause). What is more important is maintaining a constant and consistent angle along the blade. There are all sorts of gadgets and gizmos out there to help with this and ive tried lots of them. Personally i think they are a waste of money.

To get a good angle for knives, hold the knife so that it is at 90 degrees to the stone, then half the angle and half it again. This gives a bevel in the 20-25 degree range which will suit most knives. What i do then is put my thumb against the spine of the blade and remember where the spine touches. From there on its really more about muscle memory. Remember dont get too hung up on the actual angle just concentrate on keeping a constant and consistent angle

Great info; thanks#