Kitchen knife replacement thoughts


 
Darryl - swazies said:
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I do not know what the difference is to be honest..........do I want to put my old honing rod back in and not use this sharpening steel?

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I suspect many don't know what a rolled edge is or what honing is. I've seen dozens of knife sharpening threads, but virtually nobody talks about honing. Or if somebody mentions it, the post is ignored.

I didn't know what honing was until Alton Brown explained it to me on YT a very long time ago.

Here is his explanation of honing. Please try to get past the Shun thing and focus on the honing explanation as a way to correct a rolled edge.

Watch at the 30 sec mark for about 40 secs, and then shoot over to the 5 min mark and watch some more.


This is why I almost never grind steel off my knives. Maybe once every three years. The vast majority of the time, all my knife needs is to be honed. And then it's sharp as a razor once again.
 
Mark -- totally agree. Once I got more serious about sharpening, I then got WAY more serious about hone-ing.

You have any pref between steel vs. ceramic rods? I see some rods have a combination of rougher and smoother surfaces? Do you pay attention to those?

Now, I hone every single time I pick up a knife. Is that really necessary? Is it harmful to overdo the honing?
 
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I “Steel” every time or every other time I wash my knives, the diamond hone is in the block when the steel is not enough. If it needs more help it goes to “ the guy l usually my brother t with his Japanese water wheel, they come home scary sharp!
 
Jim C -

I've never used a ceramic rod, so I can't comment on that.

I have a normal western steel and a Shun steel. The advantage of the Shun steel is you can see and line up the Asian knife to the exact 16 degree angle you need. I also have a diamond steel which is to say a steel which actually removes metal from the knife. I very rarely touch that.

The Shun steel is also unusual in that half the steel is normal with the lines, and the other half is smooth as a mirror. They say to use it daily on the smooth side, and weekly on the bumpy side. So it's probably the same strategy with a steel that has coarse and fine lines.

But the truth is, I rarely use a steel at all. I use other tools to hone, because I think there's a less chance of me holding the knife incorrectly and the alignment of the knife vs the steel being off.

As I've mentioned earlier in the thread, I use this Kai device to hone my Asian knives, and also a few of my western knives which are in the 15-16 degree range. The third slot is ceramic - ceramic rods angled at 16 degrees. .

kai-knife-sharpener-ap-0308.jpg


I only use slots #2 and #3.

For western knives, I use this for honing.

KS-610-z_630x700.jpg


For removing steel from an Asian knife, I use a whetstone. I don't do it often.

For removing steel from a western knife, I have a Chef's Choice Model 130, or sometimes I use the Brod & Taylor above (the technique is different for honing vs grinding).

Yeah, I have a lot of knives and knife sharpeners and steels. I need help. :-(
 
So yeah, if I think a knife might need to be honed, I sacrifice a tomato and do the tomato test - very lightly. I test different places along the knife edge because the middle of the knife gets the most abuse. If the blade cuts into the skin like it isn't there, the knife is fine. If a small portion of the knife slides on the skin without cutting into the skin, I hone it. And guess what? The knife is perfect again! Like magic. So I hone, and 98 times out of 100, the knife cuts into the tomato skin and is perfect again. Meanwhile, the Model 130 sits under our kitchen bench - the box collecting dust.
 
I am a beginner when it comes to actual sharpening......the hone is very effective but there will be a time to sharpen.
I found this while browsing around for the best sharpen option.
It seems like a pretty good buy, most people liked it......it would do do both an Asian kinfe and a Western knife....basically 10 degrees and 15.
Upon reading a bit more it would appear as though the coarse isn't needed hardly at all but there in case. The fine stone would be used as a top off so to speak....like a once a year to keep it maintained sort of idea.
This will probably hit my cart when I select a couple more knives......still holding out for some sort of Black Friday options.....we will see.



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Yeah, I have a lot of knives and knife sharpeners and steels. I need help. :-(

You are not the only one.

This thread inspired me, like Dylan, to finally go electric. A Trizor XV is on the way to me. The ability to grind all my regular old 20 degree knives down to the trendy current 15 degrees hooked me. Luckily, only about $60 used on ebay.

I will let you all know how I like it.
 
DanHoo said:
I sharpen mine to 15 degrees, because that's what my sharpener will do.
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I need to correct my previous comment.

My work sharp MK2 guide is 20 degrees, not 15. A family member has the onion which will do 15.

I suppose I could modify the guide so it would handle 15 degrees, or I could sharpen some by hand.
 
This is what I use to sharpen my knives. Gifted to me by a kindly forum member.
screenshot_01.jpg

And this is what I use to hone them. Two steels at approximately 18 degrees. The knives pass the tomato test admirably.
screenshot_02.jpg
I am not in any way competent at sharpening knives using a whetstone. I'm not skilled enough. However, if you require a dismantle, overhaul and re-assembly of an axial piston hydraulic motor, then I'm your man. Horses for courses as they say.

I do not own knives that could be considered expensive. I wish I did.
 
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IMG_0128.jpeg
The deep back stock,
Chinese pattern cleaver, my Dad bought for me in Chicago probably forty five years ago.
The middle two old hickory’s were my Dad’s,
The 12” Forschner I got on sale ages ago.
These are knives I don’t use very often. I shed one whole knife block off the counter and these needed to find a home. The shotgun case was a “bargain cave “deal from Cabela's, there are more but, in various “travel boxes”! I’ll pull them all out and shoot a picture if anyone gives a hoot.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
View attachment 103679
The deep back stock,
Chinese pattern cleaver, my Dad bought for me in Chicago probably forty five years ago.
The middle two old hickory’s were my Dad’s,
The 12” Forschner I got on sale ages ago.
These are knives I don’t use very often. I shed one whole knife block off the counter and these needed to find a home. The shotgun case was a “bargain cave “deal from Cabela's, there are more but, in various “travel boxes”! I’ll pull them all out and shoot a picture if anyone gives a hoot.
Click to expand...
My first thought when I saw that rifle case with the knives was that scene from the original Twister movie where Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt take refuge from the approaching tornado in a barn, only to find all manner of scythes and other sharp instruments of farm destruction hanging from the rafters - "...who are these people?"!", 😀
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
View attachment 103679
The deep back stock,
Chinese pattern cleaver, my Dad bought for me in Chicago probably forty five years ago.
The middle two old hickory’s were my Dad’s,
The 12” Forschner I got on sale ages ago.
These are knives I don’t use very often. I shed one whole knife block off the counter and these needed to find a home. The shotgun case was a “bargain cave “deal from Cabela's, there are more but, in various “travel boxes”! I’ll pull them all out and shoot a picture if anyone gives a hoot.
Click to expand...

It is the knife thread.....I will be posting my purchases coming up shortly and what my initial reactions to them all are.
 
Keith Jenkins said:
My first thought when I saw that rifle case with the knives was that scene from the original Twister movie where Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt take refuge from the approaching tornado in a barn, only to find all manner of scythes and other sharp instruments of farm destruction hanging from the rafters - "...who are these people?"!", 😀
Click to expand...
You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet!
 
Well,short version…defibrillator installed and the boyo goes home maybe even tonight! But, at latest tomorrow!
I’ll pull some tools and shoot a picture fairly soon. Stressful week!
 
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