Thread: Knife sharpening?

Any knife sharpeners out there?

I've started tackling the job of bringing my kitchen knives up to scratch at the same time as learning to do my razor(s)

Its a bit trickier than razors it seems because you have to manually keep a constant angle through the curve consistently on each stroke.

I bought a norton 220/1k and 4k/8k
I've started my knives on the 220

i had a wood block made up with a 20 degree angle to help me set my bevels right to start with.

Should i get TPT sharp from that or not?
i do get some slight cut line in the skin but i can put more pressure and not cause injury

I'm raising a burr on one side along the length of the edge and then changing sides.

but unsure as to when to move up to 1k?

any help greatly appreciated!

I may be a voice of dissent here but... raising a bur and then removing it is a waste of steel. Unless I have a knife with a REALLY bad edge, I don't go through that step.

For me, knives are harder as well, but I do like the following:

set bevel on coarse DMT

make a few polish passes on DMT 1200, if a fillet knife go to next step, otherwise strop and use!

For fillet knives: a few passes on the 8000 grit stones, and finish with a few passes on the coticule or 10-20 on the chrome ox paddle.

I don't hone or strop my knife like they say it should be done... All my knives can be used to shave hair off your face. Hone & strop just like a razor and You'll get a scary sharp knife.


Now they say hone a knife in a circular motion, that's good and you can get a very sharp edge, but if you hone like a razor You get a very scary sharp knife..

Pretty much just like a razor, only you hold the angle freehand.

Pass the marker and TNT on 220, 325, or 600. Proceed up in grit as far as the steel will "take", using TPT.

I've heard it said that sharpening a razor is just like sharpening a knife with training wheels...

Sharpening Made Easy: A Primer on ... - Google Book Search

That book preview pushes pretty heavily against free hand but it just takes a little time to learn freehand and has some cartoons similar to ones I've seen relative to razor edges.

For relatively standard sharpening -- assuming you haven't been opening cans with your knives -- you shouldn't need to go any lower than a 500, seems to me. The rest ls just like the Lynn method of sharpening razors: Bring the edge on in the lowest grit, and then polish with the higher grits. I generally don't go higher than 8k.

The important thing to do is keep a stable angle if you're doing it freehand (which is really the only way to go). One good cheat in the beginning is to use a binder clip on the spine of the knife to keep the right (20-22 degree for most European/American style knives). A few very light passes at 25 or 27 degrees to create a double bevel pays off in in longetivity on heavily used knives. Or you could also strop it to create a convex bevel, which also adds to longetivity. And a ceramic 'sharpening steel' for touchups also helps.

There's a good primer over on egullet as well.

Just my two cents,

cass

I have tried for years to get my kitchen knives to an acceptable sharpness but usually quit after a couple. I then put them to my DMT's and soon the bevel was established and they were sharper than they had ever been. I had the Shapton lower grits and decided to finish with them and was amazed at the sharpness. I used the 1K and the 2K and was completely satisfied. The 2K is the highest grit I have used but I may try the 4K for the fillet knives.

bj

yes the high end kitchen stores for the most part feel its rarely worth going much past 1000 or 1200 finest grit I've ever seen available in one was 6k.

thanks guys

I've currently been working my chef's knife on the 220, like i said i can make lines in my skin but by no means does it cut me.
Should it be sharp at 220 and the 1k/4k/8k just refine the edge further and further or will i not get a skin cutting edge on 220?

With my block made up to 20 degrees i think i've had a lot more success keeping a constant angle