Thread: Kitchen knives too sharp

Our largest supermarket Albert Heijn is giving customers so called cutlery stamps. For every 10 euros you spend in one of their shops you get one stamp. For every 50 stamps you can buy fancy cutlery at a discount for use in the kitchen and the dining room. As it happens the kitchen knives are so sharp that they cause injury to clumsy users. Some even go the A & E dept of their local hospital for treatment. It has even been on the national news here and in Flanders.

Crazy world we live in.

I want to say that I'm surprised, no way, those must be some wicked knives. But, I can't.

There's a saying, dunno where it started, but an old co-worker (in customer service) would say all the time.

"You can't fix stupid."

I sharpen my kitchen knives on my 325 D8C DMT. I don't like them any sharper than that. They cut what I need to cut, the edges last fairly long, and in case of a 'mistake' I won't cut myself as badly as I would if they were 'razor' sharp. I know the old caveat that a dull knife makes a worse wound than a sharp one, but I think that applies more to intentional cutting than to slight miscues that are unintentional. YMMV.

They had a similar deal on Henckels knives here and they are not too sharp as I have not cut myself on them yet. When they get a little dull a few swipes on the steel and they are good to go. Like Jimmy, I only need my kitchen knives sharp enough to do the job not razor sharp.

Bob

I like mine as sharp as I can get them otherwise they tend to slip, that's when I cut myself

I stop at 1000 grit on an Edge Pro and that is plenty sharp enough.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

"You can't fix stupid."

Not even with duct tape

Originally Posted by puketui41

Not even with duct tape

This is not entirely true. We had A guy on our work crew that kept getting in the way. I mean dangerous ,get run over by equipment , way. He went to the outhouse to take a dump and we duct taped him in :<0) Funny thing he started listening/paying attention after that.

I don't do much in the kitchen these days because it's not mine but when I do I use an electric to set the bevel and maintain with an old fashion steel bar. The nly problem I have ever had cutting is with cheese and I think I found a special blade for that. It belongs to someone else but they since dulled it on a glass cutting surface. I hope to catch it before it goes in the trash someday and resharpen it :<0)

There are many good sharpening jigs on the market, I have or do own most. And they all work and put an even bevel and keen edge on most knives and some like the, edge pro style excel are with small EDC knives.

But for the average person, a simple plastic clip on angle guide works very well, are quick and simple to use. With a little practice and a sharpie anyone can learn to freehand hone, really the quickest, easiest and simplest way to hone a large knife.

I do like the Edge Pro, and there are tons of stones, strops and even film holders for them, but it is a hassle to get out, and sharpen just one or two knives. For EDC, small knives or collector knives where you want a good looking repeatable bevel, jigs can be beat.

When I have the stones out, I run my wife’s favorites across them, taking them to 4k, generally. I keep a 12 in CKTG Diamond Sharpening Rod, a Ceramic Rod and steels in the drawers with our knives for quick touch ups. Which by the way, storing your knives in a wood block is the best way to protect an edge. I use the flat wooden blocks that fit in a drawers. Cardboard or Plastic storage sayas or guards work well for single storage or for transportation and are inexpensive or can easily be made in cardboard.

Chef Knives to Go, Sharpening Tutorials are chocked full of great sharpening videos, they also carry well priced, quality knife stuff.

Vintage carbon steel knives are great value, are easy to hone and take a great edge, I have bought them for a dollar at garage sales and flea markets.

After 35 years, I have finally trained my bride to not toss a knife in the sink full of dishes or leave a carbon steel knife wet…

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/yoasgy24.html

i recently purchased this one. I havent used it much yet, but did sharpen it. i found that doing a few spine forward stropping strokes and then stropping on the reverse side of a leather strop produces a shaving edge pretty consistently, even if your honing technique isnt perfect. also adding in stropping on newspaper will really get you to the next level.