Knife Honing

**IanS** · 12-07-2009, 10:21 PM

Oh it works fine. It's just extremely slow. Most cooks hone a knife in about half a second. Putting a towel down, holding the steel inverted into it and slicing along it is definitely stabler. No question. But we typically don't have 30secs to a minute when we need to steel our knives. If I were removing Checker's appendix, I'd take the extra time to ensure I didn't nick something. In a kitchen we don't have that time.

**khaos** · 12-08-2009, 01:01 PM

So do you guys use the hold hold the blade by the back of the blade and cut from the tip of the steel to the handle?

**mainaman** · 12-08-2009, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by khaos

So do you guys use the hold hold the blade by the back of the blade and cut from the tip of the steel to the handle?

I hold the knife similar to the way shown in this vid (not my vid by the way)

YouTube - Sharpening the Mizuno Tanrenjo Wa-Gyuto

**JimmyHAD** · 12-08-2009, 02:15 PM

I can't recall where I read it, I think it was on Dave Martell's site or maybe Hand American but along with a ceramic rod sharpener (shaped exactly like a chef's steel) it said that the traditional steel would damage the edge and the ceramic was far superior. What do you think ?

**mainaman** · 12-08-2009, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I can't recall where I read it, I think it was on Dave Martell's site or maybe Hand American but along with a ceramic rod sharpener (shaped exactly like a chef's steel) it said that the traditional steel would damage the edge and the ceramic was far superior. What do you think ?

steeling is only for the German knives, that steel aligns the blade .
If you steel a japanese knive you are ruining the edge.
There are fine rods, borosilicate and steel(no groves) that are usable for Japanse knives. I think there are also different grit rated ceramic rods, the finest ones being ~2k grit equivalent, but I can't remember the brands.

Here a vid on sharpening a traditional Japanese knife (similar geometry to japanese razor)

YouTube - The Way I Sharpen a Single Bevel Japanese Knife

**IanS** · 12-08-2009, 06:19 PM

That sounds true enough to me. I've only known one guy that used real Japanese knives at work. He was a kid fresh out of Cordon Bleu. I never saw him take a steel to his knives.

As far as I know there is no benefit to ceramic steels over Steel ones for a european knife... other than higher profit margin and lower durability. Both advantages for the person selling the steels. So I'm inclined to trust about 200 yrs of combined experience from the chef's I've worked with over the manufacturers of ceramic steels. (As yes, ceramic rod manu's DO all claim that ceramic is far superior to steel).

**mainaman** · 12-08-2009, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by IanS

That sounds true enough to me. I've only known one guy that used real Japanese knives at work. He was a kid fresh out of Cordon Bleu. I never saw him take a steel to his knives.

As far as I know there is no benefit to ceramic steels over Steel ones for a european knife... other than higher profit margin and lower durability. Both advantages for the person selling the steels. So I'm inclined to trust about 200 yrs of combined experience from the chef's I've worked with over the manufacturers of ceramic steels. (As yes, ceramic rod manu's DO all claim that ceramic is far superior to steel).

yes ceramic > steel. At least ceramic can do some honing too, andts much more forgiving on the edge. If you are interested more in what a good kitchen knife is visit :
In the Kitchen (Topic list) - Knifeforums.com - Intelligent Discussion for the Knife Enthusiast - Powered by FusionBB

beware of the KAD

**hardheart** · 12-08-2009, 07:37 PM

Here's my latest knife honing video, please make note of the stone used, equipment is key.

**IanS** · 12-08-2009, 08:00 PM

Generally you don't want to remove material when honing. Most chefs keep the same primary knife their entire careers.

**hardheart** · 12-08-2009, 08:08 PM

That would just be steeling, anything other than a smooth steel or borosilicate glass is going to remove metal because honing is an abrasive process done with other tools. Ceramic 'steels' do not steel the edge, they remove metal. The problem with steeling is that it realigns an edge that has deformed, which is just further plastic deformation. This fatigues the metal and you evetually need to remove this metal and abrade the edge back to good steel again. I ran the edge into the cinder block to show that it was truly dull, I know several guys who do it to make sure they start with fresh steel. Particularly when they are working at single digit angles per side.

I was also being a little snarky with the 'knife honing' comment. I've done vids to show that the ability to shave arm hair can be reached with single cut bastard files, A36P grinding wheel, 60 grit aluminum oxide stones, and cinder blocks. A lot of new knife sharpeners think they need 'good' stones and high grit to pop hairs on their arms. This can be done well above 1000 grit.

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