Knife sharpener


 
Had a lot of stuff interfere with my first trial with the Ken Onion...so STILL haven't tried it !!! Sorry...

My bad...just want to be sure it has my undivided attention ! :mad:

Will report back with my early attempts with my old, dull clever...my selection for my first attempt !!!

Dean...

Been ANOTHER LONG time since I was here !!! :eek:

Anyway....the Work Sharp Ken Onion is CRAZY cool !!! Wife tried to cut off her finger, even after I warned her about the knives I sharpened...no stitches required, though... :rolleyes:

Love it !!! Highly recommended !!!



Dean...
 
That Ken Onion sharpener looks interesting.

I got a Chef's Choice VX a couple weeks ago, I only sharpened one knife with it so far, & I'm as happy with the edge as when I sent it in to be sharpened. I cubed / trimmed two 3.5# bone-in pork roasts yesterday & was very happy with the performance - I can't remember any knife cutting so easily.

https://youtu.be/T4rWCS4z4wk
 
<shrug> Like anything else, Edgecraft/Chef's Choice does have a few different models.

Having said that, I have both a 20 year old Chef's Choice (that doesn't sharpen all the way to the heel,) and a Work Sharp. I haven't used the CC almost since I bought it, the Work Sharp does get used, and puts one heck of an edge on things (even vegetable peelers.)
 
You might want to watch this prior to dropping coin on one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3H-TwdUJJ8
His language is a little "rough" but the guy knows his "stuff"

I've seen that guys reviews before - last year when I was doing some home/shop modifications & replacing my roof I watched him tear down the skilsaw wormdrive framing saws.

The model in that review is different though, pretty sure this one has spinning discs, not vibrating stones.

https://youtu.be/W4SitQ0cknc

I hope it lasts - with as little as I plan use it, I'm hoping to get years of trouble-free use. It's also limited to 15 degrees, not 15 or 20, so I hope that works out.

edit::: this sharpener appears to have the reciprocating stones. I've been happily surprised to see how well my knife is holding its edge.
 
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I bought a rather expensive Chef's Choice sharpener years ago. As much as I wanted to like it, I could never get an edge I thought properly sharp on any knife I used on it. That experience convinced me that manual labor was the only way to go if you really care about having very sharp knives. I'd love to get one of the fancy bench top systems, like that Russian one, but I just couldn't justify the expense unless I was going into the knife sharpening business.

Fairly recently I bought a ceramic "steel" that I like quite a lot. I also discovered through use that I had been using too shallow an angle of attack on the steel. When I increased the angle and used a very light touch my results were excellent. Used to be I was sharpening my kitchen knives every couple months. With this ceramic "steel" I think it will be more like once a year.
 
Once a year.........................than you don't use your knives enough :0 I steel mine just about every time I take them out of the holder
 
I don't like cheap knives (though I have stumbled across some really decent ones). Sam's Club sells some like these https://www.samsclub.com/sams/bakers-chefs-cook-s-knives-2-pk/prod5250044.ip?xid=plp:product:1:3 https://www.samsclub.com/sams/bakers-chefs-boning-knives-2-pk/prod5250046.ip?xid=plp:product:1:4 and https://www.samsclub.com/sams/7-santoku-knife-di-2-pk/prod5250043.ip?xid=plp:product:1:2
Also recently came across some decent ones at Aldi being sold under the Crofton name. But by and large I enjoy a good German made knife from Solingen I have 2 kinds of them. Ones with high carbon steel blades and others with High Carbon Stainless blades. I also have some wicked sharp French Sabatier carbon steel knives.
I make sure they're all wicked sharp too. Only time I have ever "hurt" myself is when I have either let them go and not kept up on sharpening or done something stupid like look away from my work surface. One day the news had something come on that caught my attentions from my adjoining family room. I reached across my cutting board and literally just "touched" the blade of my 10" Henckel knife. Sliced the tip[ of my finger open. But at least it was a "clean cut" LOL
 
Once a year.........................than you don't use your knives enough :0 I steel mine just about every time I take them out of the holder
I was so happy to get good results from the ceramic steel/hone that I may have exaggerated a bit. Used to be I was sharpening my knives every couple months and it was starting to take a toll on the blades. With the ceramic steel I'm getting a sharper blade and am able to keep it that way a lot longer. I had been using a conventional steel and I was never really happy with the results. So, maybe twice a year on the sharpening.
 
I just buy cheaper knives and run an accu-sharp over them every once in a while like a complete barbarian.
Check out the Victorinox Fibrox knives if you want a compromise. They're stamped so they're a lot cheaper than the high end knives but they're actually very good performers. I've used Wusthof Trident knives for decades and I think I actually prefer the Victorinox knives. That they sell for less than half what the Wusthofs cost is just icing on the cake.
 
I have several Victorinox and one Dexter Russel which is about the same. I love them. I've never owned an expensive knife. But, these get super sharp and the handles are grippy, even with wet hands. When it comes to sharpening them, I use an Edge Pro when I want to be precise. But, most of the time, I use the 6" DMT stones. They work really well. As good as I *think* I am at hand sharpening, and as sharp as I can get them by hand on the DMT's, I know the results from the Edge Pro are more consistent and accurate. But, most of the time, I'm okay without that extra consistency.

In between sharpenings, I use a leather strop I purchased from Knives Plus. It's about $20 and well worth the money. To me, it seems to take my knives from super sharp to scary. I also occasionally use a ceramic rod that came with the edge pro to keep them honed or a steel.
 
Been a lot of talk about knives, but do any of you use a Kevlar glove for protection?

I almost cut myself a few times trimming a butt cap. My knives are sharp, although they won't shave you that well.
 
I don’t have one. But, after my knife juggling incident, and a trip to the hospital, it’s something to think about.
 
Been a lot of talk about knives, but do any of you use a Kevlar glove for protection?

I almost cut myself a few times trimming a butt cap. My knives are sharp, although they won't shave you that well.

I only use protective gloves when I am cleaning freshly caught fish as the combination of fins, a sometimes still squirming fish and slime don't make for the safest conditions. Otherwise no. I keep my knives pretty wicked sharp, and pay attention to what I do. Honestly I have only hurt myself a couple times and only when I have "taken my eye off the ball" so to speak
 
Gloves are for sissies! Just kidding.

I can see how they might be useful at times though for most of my knife work I suspect they'd just get in the way. I was trimming a pork loin a couple weeks ago and barely bumped my hand into the blade when I was repositioning the meat with one hand while holding the knife in the other. Just broke the skin enough to bleed a bit. Very sharp knives are one of those good news/bad news situations. The good news is it's easy to cut with the knife. The bad news is it's easy to cut with the knife.
 

 

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