Why I'm Now Obsessed with Sharp Kitchen Knives

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Just as a follow up. Due to this thread I purchased the Work Sharp Mk2 this past weekend. Within 2 hours of unboxing every knife in my kitchen is the sharpest it has ever been since new. Loving this sharpener. All my Henkel's are razor sharp even the sandwich knife.
 
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I thought I might resurrect this thread as the gift giving season rolls around. After 2-3 stone sharpening times on my old "tri-edge" electric sharpened knives, the cutting edge has been reshaped by the stones. They now hold their edge MUCH longer with light honing on occasion.

The last time I sharpened anything was June, and that was to fix a Cleaver edge from a sink drop, and several cheap kitchen knives we found in boxes my dad left me. Prior to that, it was April for knives I use daily.

Whether you want stones, or a stone-type system like the Work Sharp Mk2 mentioned above, now's the time to let Santa know!

Happy Holidays. They're heeeere!

Ray
 
Just be careful with the electric sharpeners (especially with fine grits) they can remove the temper at the edge. A manual sharpening or two will usually remove it. Dip it in water often or use a misting system.
Don’t want to mess up a fancy edge!

Now we can get into the politics of how fine of a grit edge does a kitchen knife need, and stropping ;)
 
Now we can get into the politics of how fine of a grit edge does a kitchen knife need, and stropping ;)
Ah. I do a homemade wood-mounted leather strop after a few light honing rod swipes.

As far as grit, so debatable with steel type and hardness. The hardest kitchen knife I have is descibed as 56+/-2. Most are 52-56 and German, Spanish, Chinese, or vintage inexpensive Made-in-Japan stamped knives.

When I stone my better knives, I'll restore the edge with the 1000, then hone with a 5000 and the leather. I hit my cheaper knives with a 320 or 400, then the 1000 and the leather.

Learning what worked for each knife is fun...as long as you have the time.
 
Yep, I got a house full of folks that will use a knife for anything from tightening a screw, to spreading butter, to cutting meat. And that is why I have a set of knives in a roll in the top of the cabinet that only I uses.
JIm
Old but great thread here. I also have a personal knife roll kept away from anyone else who would use the kitchen lol
 
Thanks for the thread resurrection, Jeff. I'm now into the timeframe where after 2-4 sharpen-got dull-sharpen again sessions, even my cheapest knives are still sharp a year after my last stoning. The stones reset the edges and fixed decades of pull thru and electric sharpening destruction.

I do steel the knives regularly before use, but just last week got a razor-edge knick on a finger while skinning a butternut squash.
 
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i love this thread. my mom has the classic 60's wood handled knife set hanging in the kitchen that you couldn't hardly bludgeon warm butter with, but my dad appreciates a good knife, and as i was striking out on my own, he bought me a 'wolfgang puck' branded set that i used for years - still have those, in fact, and they're still sharper than the cheap ones i bought on a whim a couple years ago.

i also went down the japanese knife rabbit hole, and caught some kamikoto sets on bogo a couple years ago, so i got a set for myself and my dad. the original box lives on his counter, and they're the only knives he uses to this day. he's not needed to touch the edge on them that i'm aware of... which is good, because they've got a single side bevel, and he has a cheap electric sharpener... he'd ruin the edge if he tried to send those through that. but, i have to say ... these knives are exceptional. i am impressed with the quality of them. but they were not cheap, even considering the bogo. would i buy them again? absolutely.

watched a youtube video the other day and the guy was slicing meat on a stainless steel table and i was literally yelling at my computer. pet peeves are weird like that.
 
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