Fake Wusthof Knives?


 
LMichaels said:
Do not bother with this. I have one. It's more knives than I can count. That model is awful. If you want a Chef's Choice (and I do recommend it) get the one I showed you. I even bought a Work Sharp Ken Onion sharpener. I can't get an edge with it to same my life. I just get piles of dust. That Chefs Choice XV really does a job. Take your time with it and it will reward you. Now I simply touch up my knives I've used it on with my steel like every other use. Can almost shave with it
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Here's a link to America's Test kitchen which talks about various sharpeners including glowing reviews of the model Larry recommends (at 7:56).

 
I use a homebrew 3D printed Leading Edge guided system for sharpening and once properly sharpened, a good knife blade shouldn't need to be re-sharpened for quite a while, depending on its use. Have your knife sharpened professionally and go from there.

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Yeah, you can shave a hair with the results from this sharpener. I don't go that sharp out of concern for my loved ones, but one thing I can say with certainty is that the physical process of knife sharpening is a simple thing to understand, yet difficult for many people to execute.

"Leading Edge" 3D printed knife guided sharpening system. Assembly/Build/Use

Hi everyone :) I've just finished building my "Leading Edge" 3D printed knife guided sharpening system designed by our friend @777 Edge :thumbsup:. The files for printing can be downloaded for free from Thingiverse at: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4135236 Loving it ! :cool...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Hang around some really good woodworkers, you learn some fun facts, not just about sharpening blades but, all kinds of stuff!
Take your two worst blades to a pro, then take two more when you pick the first ones off until you get through the whole block, that way you will have something the try to use.
Sharpening is a very personal thing, that’s why I demand that guests not touch them unless I know who they are and how THEY take care of theirs. One buddy came in and grabbed my favorite knife and the steel and turned the thing into a butter knife! I was furious! I’m left handed and I dress my edges to suit myself, “Don’t Fuss With My Knives” is the phrase when see someone reaching for something in the block!
 
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Timothy F. Lewis said:
Hang around some really good woodworkers, you learn some fun facts, not just about sharpening blades but, all kinds of stuff!
Take your two worst blades to a pro, then take two more when you pick the first ones off until you get through the whole block, that way you will have something the try to use.
Sharpening is a very personal thing, that’s why I demand that guests not touch them unless I know who they are and how THEY take care of theirs. One buddy came in and grabbed my favorite knife and the steel and turned the thing into a butter knife! I was furious! I’m left handed and I dress my edges to suit myself, “Don’t Fuss With My Knives” is the phrase when see someone reaching for something in the block!
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Yep some things are personal.
 
I guess I’m not explaining myself properly, and I apologize for that. The issue isn’t the fact that my knives aren’t sharp, it’s the fact that they won’t stay sharp. I’ll take a freshly sharpened slicer and slice up a grilled skirt steak, on the bias, against the grain. The knife does fine, at first, slicing through the meat very easily. The only problem is that the knife won’t be able to finish the entire steak without having to be resharpened.
Or, I’ll slice up a seared ahi tuna steak that requires a razor sharp edge. If a dull edge is used, the tuna will just tear because of the texture and tenderness. The Wusthof won’t even get through a tuna steak before it starts to tear the fish.
Back to my dollar store knife. Why does that cheap crappy knife hold an edge better?
 
Honestly much of this can be explained easily. If the knife is not sharpened at the proper angle it can be very "sharp" but not "properly" sharp to hold it's edge. Like many here have mentioned (myself included) knife sharpening skills are something not easily learned. And a knife can masquerade as "sharp" but not really be "sharpened".
I went through much of this myself. I noticed now the knives I've set properly with the Chef's Choice are holding edges nicely with a slight "touch up" on my steel.
 
The knife needs to have its edge set, as in properly sharpened. Then hone it against the steel before you use it to keep the teeth straight before use.

If you’ve never had your knives sharpened or professionally sharpened, you might want to start there.
 
You can drag your fingernail across the apex of a blade and feel for a burr. It sounds like what you are describing is a "wire edge", a thin area at the apex of the blade that bends over easily. You can do a search for "wire edge on knives" for more info, but it can be removed by a steel or hone.

A microscope, USB or otherwise, is ideal for examining the edge of a blade, but again, you can feel for a burr with your fingernail. Here's a picture from the thread I posted earlier.

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This is the "belly" of a knife after cutting against a dinner plate.

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Wusthof Classics are excellent kitchen knifes. You need to set the edge with the course grind first (to a proper V apex profile pattern). It should be about sharp enough to cut paper after that alone. Everything else after that is refinement to get the edge hair cutting sharp or even surgical sharp. If the edge is not set properly in the first course grit then the finer grit sharpening, honing, stropping won’t matter much.

A lot of knife sharpener guru YouTubers include images in their videos that show how a proper edge should look through a microscope with consistent micro tooth scratch pattern. Then some show images of issues that make the knife feel sharp temporarily but then feel dull quickly like burrs on edge that collapse after a couple of slices, flat apex of edge if not ground to a complete V profile, folded edges, knicks, poor tooth scratch pattern, etc. Most of that can’t be seen with naked eye but you can feel it running your finger carefully along the blade.

Also, another factor may be whatever surface you are cutting on. If it’s harder than the steel of your knife, then your knife will likely dull quicker.
 
Ed P said:
You can drag your fingernail across the apex of a blade and feel for a burr. It sounds like what you are describing is a "wire edge", a thin area at the apex of the blade that bends over easily. You can do a search for "wire edge on knives" for more info, but it can be removed by a steel or hone.

A microscope, USB or otherwise, is ideal for examining the edge of a blade, but again, you can feel for a burr with your fingernail. Here's a picture from the thread I posted earlier.

View attachment 121115

This is the "belly" of a knife after cutting against a dinner plate.

View attachment 121117
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excellent post there.
 
M Borner said:
I guess I’m not explaining myself properly, and I apologize for that. The issue isn’t the fact that my knives aren’t sharp, it’s the fact that they won’t stay sharp. I’ll take a freshly sharpened slicer and slice up a grilled skirt steak, on the bias, against the grain. The knife does fine, at first, slicing through the meat very easily. The only problem is that the knife won’t be able to finish the entire steak without having to be resharpened.
Or, I’ll slice up a seared ahi tuna steak that requires a razor sharp edge. If a dull edge is used, the tuna will just tear because of the texture and tenderness. The Wusthof won’t even get through a tuna steak before it starts to tear the fish.
Back to my dollar store knife. Why does that cheap crappy knife hold an edge better?
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I had the EXACT same issue. Would be super sharp for one use and then butter knife dull. I bought a work sharp sharpener with 6 different grit levels and a leather strop. I now can cut paper and it's still razor sharp after a dozen uses. Like was said above, it would have a sharp edge that would quickly fold over with one use
 
M Borner -- you're knives are not sharp to begin with. When you say it is "sharp" can it easily cut a piece of paper? I'm guessing no.

Go get them professionally sharpened. And then come back and tell us how if they are working better and holding an edge better. The answer to both of those will be yes. 100% guaranteed.

And go ahead and have the guy grind them down to 15 degrees while he is at it.

And learn how to properly use a honing steel.

 
Wow, guys, a lot of good info here. I guess I’m just not sharpening my knives properly. I’ll look into a better method. Although, it still begs the question;
Why does my dollar store knife stay sharper, longer, when I sharpen it the exact same way?
 
M Borner said:
Why does my dollar store knife stay sharper, longer, when I sharpen it the exact same way?
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Quite possibly, it could be that your dollar store knife is a harder grade of stainless steel. Or it could be that you do have a knock-off. But if you are like a lot of people, me included, you may be sharpening your knives too often, and each time the blade geometry gets a little bit more out of whack. That's why I prefer a guided system, because of the precision, but it sure can show the defects in your previous sharpening efforts. I just sharpened these two tool box knives sharp enough to shave the hair off the back of my hand, and I can see the light reflecting off the low areas of the blade, caused by my feeble hand sharpening efforts over the years. Without examining your dull edged Wustoff, it's impossible to say why it is dull. The steel that forms the edge doesn't vaporize as it cuts, so where is your edge?

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