Thread: Should a razor hone be dedicated to just honing razors?

Mostly carbon but stainless is also fine :-)

the only thing i sometimes use my waterstones on is to polish a chisel for example

I know a lot of guys won't agree, but ...... I like my slicing and boning knives sharp. The rest of them, chef's, paring, what have you, on the dull side. If I'm going to have an accident I'd rather the knife not be too sharp. That old saying about a dull knife cutting you worse than a sharp one ......... I haven't found that to be so IME.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I know a lot of guys won't agree, but ...... I like my slicing and boning knives sharp. The rest of them, chef's, paring, what have you, on the dull side. If I'm going to have an accident I'd rather the knife not be too sharp. That old saying about a dull knife cutting you worse than a sharp one ......... I haven't found that to be so IME.

trust me a sharp knife is better cause it heals quicker and better.

besides your more likely to slip with a dull knife

Ha it's cleaner but not as deep on the plus side, As far as sharp a kitchen knife is sharp at 1 k. It won't get sharper just nicer polish to make it cut smoother , mouth I've never seen razor rash on my meat! I guess if your shaving your steaks it might help to go to 4k , but I'm sure if the cow is dead he ain't complaining , I've been slicing all kins of fruit and vegetables on a 1k edge and never seen the need for more. Tc

My 2 cents, the razor finishing hone should be a razor hone only because a good razor finisher is much finer than any knife needs.

A friend has a son who is a sushi chef and he prefers a 5k edge, no finer, on his knives. I typically use a Hakka or a suita being a Jnat person, and those are typically 5k-ish. Several folks prefer a less fine edge (an edge with "tooth") for veggies and a finer edge for meats, though the suita edge suits me well on my Japanese cutlery.

Can you use coarser stones for both razors and knives? Of course, but knives are hard on stones. I like to use the tip of a cooking knife especially smaller ones, and sharpening to the very tip of a knife is hazardous to the hone, it's super easy to scratch the hone. Same for the heel of a knife, but not as hazardous as the tip.

And a pot roast never complains ...

Cheers, Steve

Just a slightly OT FYI.
Norton barber hones are popular in Australia for sharpening racing axes & often fetch more money than the axe.

I have hones i use for razors and then i have for knives 2 pretty cheap combi stones, one is a 400/1k and the other is a 2k/5k , they seem to do everything i need purely for keeping a nice edge on knives for me.