Thread: Info on Henckels hones... Whatcha think?

As a knife sharpener, sharpening a Henckel up to 8K is unnecessary IME. The relatively soft stainless steel just doesn't hold such a refined edge very well, and I have personally felt the edge degrade within minutes of use. I have found that 4-6K is the most they can take, but these knives really perform amazingly well at #1,500 - 3K. Here is an interesting discussion (that got totally side tracked) on the topic.

Because of this fact, I feel that Henckel is out of their area. They should know better that their knives won't necessarily benefit from higher grit stones and then stand by that fact. It is also "just an accessory" to thier main product lines. It seems, though, that they are trying to tap into the higher end Japanese knife/stone market nonetheless.

Personally, I think anyone with a serious knife or hone addiction would steer clear of these simply because although Henckels may be high end knives for a household, they have a completely different ranking in the professional chef knife world.

I would be interested to see where they stand, though.

Edit: I think you know my vote!