Thread: Kitchen Knife Honing

Sure. That would work. If the knife isn't sharp it.because you did something wrong. Don't move up in grit thinking that the edge isn't sharp. 325 is plenty sharp.

Originally Posted by Bill31521

Sure. That would work. If the knife isn't sharp it.because you did something wrong. Don't move up in grit thinking that the edge isn't sharp. 325 is plenty sharp.

wait really? Everywhere I read they're like "less than 1k to repair and upto 4k to get it sharp"

Do what you wish. I can only tell you what works for me. Check a few blade forums and see

Originally Posted by Bill31521

Do what you wish. I can only tell you what works for me. Check a few blade forums and see

Oh yea, if 325 works for you, then that's all i need to hear really . I'm not fancy, as long as it works.

Yes, diamonds work very well on kitchen knives, especially neglected knives. The problem with diamonds is removing the burr.

So, do not make a large burr. Use lite pressure and if you have a higher grit stone, remove the burr using a higher angle about 45 degrees with light even strokes. Make sure the bevel is completely removed, cut off, not broken off. If you break off the burr, you don’t have an edge.

Though you can break it off then reset the edge with lite strokes. How high you want to take a Kitchen knife depends on what you do with your knives and how you care for them. Tossing in a sink full of dishes or whacking bones will quickly dull you knife.

For kitchen knives a dual grit India stone 150/400 grit is a very nice kitchen stone that can give you a paper whittling edge. On the knife forums, most guys that sharpen knives are edge obsessed, but a 300-400 grit edge is all you need and for most task works much better than any 1k plus edge.

A diamond edge is great for cutting raw meat, an India edge is a good multi-purpose edge, for slicing/carving, a higher grit 1k edge is better, especially with carbon steel. A carbon steel slicer is a joy to use, and inexpensive vintage carbon steel is easy to find on Ebay

Look at Sabatier and don’t turn you nose up at Old Hickory, I have bought smoking Old Hickory carbon knives for a dollar at flea markets. If you want fancy, re-handle them.

Sharpening knives will gouge a soft stone, especially when learning. You will have to lap the stone flat for razor use. You can dedicate one side for razor and the other for knives, mark the stone. Or just buy separate stones. A Norton, 8inch India is about $20 and really all you need.

You can learn to freehand easily watching a few good videos, a sharpie and some practice. Or buy a jig.

The fine edge from hones is easily destroyed here.
A few swipes between uses keeps it humming nicely.

Stay away from very cheap stainless steel. You will have a difficult time raising a bur and a very hard time removing it. You don't have to drop a lot on a knife set btw. But the bottom of the barrel is not going to work out for freehanding.

Just like in straight razors swedish steel knives take and hold a very good edge. It takes a little more time to hone but is worth it in the end.

When I hone fore friends and family I just use my cheap 800 grit king stone. They have all liked it , with most stating that it was the sharpest knife they ever owned. I like to take my knives to 5k-6kish on a very fast natural I have. I love this stone for knives as it is big and a very fast cutter(grit rich for sure).

I also use the Spyderco Sharpmaker. I also refresh the knives before I do carving or boning with a DMT steel.

Originally Posted by jnich67

Because I haven't jumped in wholeheartedly to honing my kitchen knives, I've opted for the spyderco sharpmaker (or whatever it's called). It gets the job done well. It's cheating in a way, but I'm ok with that at the moment.

Jordan