Noob needs guidance sharpening knives

[chipotleq]

Cheap stamped stainless blades are good and get sharp. But the edge dont last that long and they stainless is very hard to sharpen also.

Try buying carbin steel knives. The ol hickory sets that are on amazon are cheap but really good knives. They are very easy to sharpen and keep an edge. Those all you need to sharpen is a medium grit stone and a leather strop. The only downside is the maintenance, they rust if left on wer locations. You must wash and dry immediately followed by a light coat of oil. They develop a patina and are not shiny once they get it. But patina is good, somewhat prevents rust and shows the character of the knife.

 

[chipotleq]

You can also buy the high carbon stainless steels, like vg10 or sg2. But those run no less than $100 a peace. They keep an edge for a year with out grinding, only honing and occassional polish on a high grit stone, like 8000 grit

 

[coyote flatz]

 
Yep, I have been where you are at. Below is the fix I used. Four years old and knives you can shave with...JJ

Have had one of these for years and love it...  Recommended by a fine chef who uses one every day.

 

[rohfan2112]

 
Have had one of these for years and love it...  Recommended by a fine chef who uses one every day.

You know, I'll probably wind up buying one of those. I seem to be okay until I get to the finer grits then it just gets shiny and smooth, but not sharper.

 

[chipotleq]

Those chef grinders are ok, but i would never use a grinder like that on my knives. They eat alot of stock and are only good for a hollow ground type of blade. Those chef grinders are ok for the cheap stamped stainless. But it you plan on purchasing expensive steel blades, i would learn free hand sharpening for that.

 

[chipotleq]

And dont use green compound strop on your stainless. They will only polish the blade and that is it. Stainless is very hard metal and the fine micron grit on green compound will do nothing for stainless, not even the high carbon stainless. The compound is more for carbon steel sharpening, that will grind fine stock out of carbon blades.

 

[redwood carlos]

ChipotleQ has given you some good advice.

1. Sharpening by hand takes practice practice and more practice.

You must hold the exact angle every time. Did I say practice was needed, because it is.

2. Sharpening steels are not sharpening anything. They are laying the edge straight again. A perfectly sharp edge is a line of molecules sitting on more molecules. Thinner than foil obviously. This edge is being rolled to one side or the other while in use. Of course the edge will wear away, and dull over time, but it is the rolling edge that takes most of the performance out of your blade.

3. The quality of an edge is what is supporting it. Knives have different uses hacking, chopping, cutting, slicing, sashimi, shaving etc....The angle of the micro bevel should be chosen accordingly. 35deg per side for hacking total 70 degrees; 30; 25; 20; 15(one side only); 10... Of course steel choice and heat treat determine the ultimate angle that can be achieved without rolling over (too soft for the job) or chipping out(too hard for the job). 

P.S. I use the paper wheels sharpening system myself, after learning how to sharpen by hand.

 

[chipotleq]

Those razor sharp paper wheels are nice. I use them on my pocket knives or for a quick polish. I myself have the paper wheel, tormek t7(only use when i regrind all my knives in bulk along with families and neighbors knives), shapton ceramic glass from 8k to 30k grit, shapton flattening lap plate, japanese 1k/4k combo stone, norton 220 grit stone, harbor freight 1" belt sander with like 100 different type belts and grits, leather belt strop for my straight edge shaving razor and some carbon blades i have, and two honing steels. What can i say, its my hobby and i know the riddle of the steel, lol.

 

[rohfan2112]

Those razor sharp paper wheels are nice. I use them on my pocket knives or for a quick polish. I myself have the paper wheel, tormek t7(only use when i regrind all my knives in bulk along with families and neighbors knives), shapton ceramic glass from 8k to 30k grit, shapton flattening lap plate, japanese 1k/4k combo stone, norton 220 grit stone, harbor freight 1" belt sander with like 100 different type belts and grits, leather belt strop for my straight edge shaving razor and some carbon blades i have, and two honing steels. What can i say, its my hobby and i know the riddle of the steel, lol.

So, Chippy-Q, I take it you're a fan of the blade, eh? :)   I am the home audio/home theater version of you!

 

[chipotleq]

I am also into home theater, Klipsch and denon system here lol

 

[rohfan2112]

 
I am also into home theater, Klipsch and denon system here lol

My system is a 7.1 Marantz with preouts for the fronts into a 2ch Emotiva amp. My mains are vintage Polk SDA2's, the rest are in-wall Polks. I also have an external powered sub, and an external 1ch amp that powers the bass shakers (tactile transducers) that are attached to the frames of my sofas for extra bone-crunching bass that you actually feel.

 

[chipotleq]

that is what I need, an emotiva 5 channel amp. My denon turns off when I bump it up with live music blu rays. Or maybe only an emotiva 3 channel, if they have one. I figure I only need the extra juice for the mains and center.

 

[rohfan2112]

 
that is what I need, an emotiva 5 channel amp. My denon turns off when I bump it up with live music blu rays. Or maybe only an emotiva 3 channel, if they have one. I figure I only need the extra juice for the mains and center.

You need the Emotiva XPA-3 which is a 3 channel amp with 220 watts at 8 ohms and 330 at 4 ohms all channels driven. The Emo amp was a huge update for my system and I will get the XPA-2 in the future for my fronts. I don't use a center speaker as the sonic characteristics of the SDA would be impossible to timbre-match. Besides, they sound great using phantom center mode anyway and they throw out the widest soundstage you will EVER hear.

 

[chipotleq]

Probably in February I'll get an xpa-3. You got a nice set up with the polks and your sub attached to the couch. I will have to check that out, as it is, my wife already want to kick me out of the house, she thinks there is an earth quake when I play heavy LFE movies.

 

[rohfan2112]

 
Probably in February I'll get an xpa-3. You got a nice set up with the polks and your sub attached to the couch. I will have to check that out, as it is, my wife already want to kick me out of the house, she thinks there is an earth quake when I play heavy LFE movies.

Emo all the way. Damn company even sent me a Christmas card!!  The shakers will be in full force for tonight's movie, "Elysium."

 

[rohfan2112]

To update the original post, I've gone ahead and ordered the Lansky Standard Sharpening kit. It has 3 stones--coarse, medium, and fine. With some practice I was able to put a nice edge on my cheapo knives. I just ordered the ultra fine stone as I feel they can be sharper. The knives are almost shaving-sharp so I will report back after I use the new stone.

 

[ribwizzard]

My vote goes to the work sharp knife sharpener. I have almost every sharpening system listed here and then some. Used to be a big hobby of mine as we'll.

Never cared for any of the " systems" , I'd go with a set of good stones over them in a heart beat, just very hard to find any decent ones of any size anymore. Mine were bought in Cherokee N.c. Almost 40 years ago, and some were given to me from my grand dad that I'm sure are a good 60 or 70 years old. I use those for my old uncle Henry's and schrades . Use both water and oil stones. But now I'd rather just keep them wrapped up and stored safely!

Chief choice is easy to use and puts a decent edge on kitchen knifes, but eats up way to much blade material.

Diamond paper will put a razor sharp edge, especially used wet, and if it was some kind of competition, I'd probably go with paper,

But the work sharp is so handy, easy to use, and I like the ideal of the rounded edge, I think it's the best of both worlds for sharpness and durability.

 

[sb59]

I got the Chefs Choice mod.120 , 6 deer ago. You use the coarse wheel the first time you sharpen your knife because you must change your hollow ground edge to their trizor edge. From then on you will use the medium grit or only the strop wheel. After the first sharpening I have yet to use more then the last or strop wheel. I do however touch up well before the knife becomes too dull. One trick is when I butcher a deer I use only a 5" flexible boning knife. Three of them! As soon as one starts to feel a little less sharp I switch to the next one. Saves time both butchering and honing. When done I clean them up and pass them twice through the honing wheel. Takes far less time then I've spent typing this. Read instructions carefully. Best edge for raw meat and fish is by first sharpening with wheel 1 followed by wheel 3. Don't use wheel 2.  Wheel 2 & 3 used for chefs knives, steak knives etc. Used wheel 3 & 1 system on my Buck knife for a test and have gutted and skinned 3 deer with no more then a buff needed in between. Very little steel lost if done correctly.

 

[dcarch]

I never understood the need for surgical sharp blades for the kitchen, unless you are a professional sushi chef.

A relatively sharp knife is all you need for effective cutting and slicing.

I also don't understand why it is such a high art to sharpen a knife. It is very discouraging for many to even try.

Not to disparage knife enthusiasts and hobbyists, for the typical kitchen sharpening, it all boils down to: rough stone for quick metal removal, and fine stone for final edge, just keep the same angle while you are sharpening, don't worry about convex, concave, compound angles, hollow ground, stropping, etc. Not a rocket science to have very sharp knives in the kitchen.

It is not that difficult to be able to sharpen at the same angle. Use a Sharpie/marker to mark the edge, start grinding with a sharper angle, and gradually increase the angle until you see the mark on the edge just disappeared and that would be the final correct angle for that particular knife. Try to keep that same angle as you are moving the knife on the stone.

dcarch

 

[ribwizzard]

Very little steel lost if done correctly.

Thats where I had the issue with it.  The cheif choice is outstandingly easy for doing large cheif knives,with the magnet holding the perfect angle, you just drag it through the guide, ..but for my filet knives and small pocket knives, where the tip is very important for me, I found it to be some what awkward.Thats where my comment comes from about eating away too much material.  Knives will eventally get a rounded tip before you notice it.  So for years I kept the cheif choice handy for my kitchen knives, but wouldnt go near it with my more valuable knives, and always used the stone or diamond paper on them.  The work sharp , for me, gives me better control over the entire length of the blade and now I find myself using it more than any other sharpener I own. And its fun to use.