Sharpening Stones - Experience?


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mike Rockwood

TVWBB Fan
I'm looking for a good, diamond sharpening stone.

I know there's a number of different stones on the market and available online.

I was interested in first-hand good or bad experiences with any? What size, grit make.. etc?

I'll be using it to sharpen my collection of Chicago Cutlery knives, as well as varied pocket knives.

Thanks!
 
Mike

I recommend the Spyderco triangle sharpening system. It's not strictkly a diamond stone, but you can get a diamond sleeve as an extra. Has two sets of triangular bars that fit into a molded base to hold the exact angle. Can sharpen plain, serrated and even sissors and fish hooks. One set of stones is med and the other is fine. Check their website if you're interested. Total cost is around $40, maybe more with the diamond sleeve.

Paul
 
Mike, no offense but a stone will not keep or induce a sharp edge on a knife. It will eventually turn the teeth on the edge (^^^^^^^) into (""""""""). What you need is a sharpening steel; the long thing you see chefs running their knifes up and down before they use them.
Even the best knifes teeth will bend and deform after use. The steel helps straighten out the damaged edge into a more pointy tooth. A stone only smoothes the teeth into a shrarp edge. Functional but not nearly the same.
I gave up on stone years ago. Even then the most expensive knife will eventually need to be re-edged by a professional. Most butchers offer this service free to their customers.
Try the steel. OR.. try both. Let us know what you think.
Just my $.02 worth.
 
I'm no expert on knife sharpening, and I've never used a sharpening steel, so I may be way off base.
I learned about sharpening from my Grandad and Dad, who were farmers and did a lot of their own butchering and meat cutting. They always sharpened on an oilstone, and used a smooth steel to true the edge. The knives seemed to cut quite well.
I have my Dad's old stone and smooth steel, and I've used them many times, with excellent results. These days, I'm using the Spyderco sharpener, as it is much easier to maintain the proper blade angle. This also works very well in conjunction with the application of the smooth steel between uses.
I own some of my Grandad's old knives that are 70-80 years old (some homemade), have seen very hard use, and have never had professional attention. They work just fine.
Just my experience, of course. Your mileage may vary /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Jim
 
I always use a steel to hone the edge just before use.

I try to sharpen all the straight edged knives that I use, on a old stone 2-3 times a year, based on use.

It's just time for a new stone was looking to put something on my Christmas list!

Thanks for the input, replies, and opinions.
 
I use a Gatco angle sharpening system. Similar to the SpyderCo triangle stones, this setup allows you to put new edges on a variety of edges (straight, serrated, scissors, etc). There are a few different sets you can get - I use the diamond stones myself.

If you do not have experience using stones, I would definitely reccomend using a system like this since it is very important to get equal consistent angles on both sides of the blade (or 1 side in certain cases) to develop a nice cutting edge.

It is also important to use a steel, or some other device (like a strap) to deburr between uses, but this does not replace a good sharpening.

It does take a bit of effort to use these systems, since the surface areas tend to be smaller than a whole stone.

You can also look into the Chef Choice sharpening machine. The 3 slot one is supposed to be really good - better than an amateur with a stone for sure. Is a little pricey, and you are stuck with the angles the machine is set to, but you can't beat it for ease of use.

Here is a good resource for sharpening Steve's Knife Sharpening Site

Good luck...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin K:
[qb]You can also look into the Chef Choice sharpening machine. The 3 slot one is supposed to be really good - better than an amateur with a stone for sure.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I have the Chef Choice 460 (2 slots) and I cannot recommend it. No mattter how I try, the knives just never to get really sharp. Not sure if it's the product or the user!

I've gone back to using my old crock sticks until I can find a better alternative.
 
Those of us who have difficulty sharpening knives may want to consider using a professional knife sharpening service. A sharpened edge stays sharp if taken care of and steeled properly and regularly. Getting a knife sharpened doesn't really cost that much. Especially when you consider the amount of money spent on tools to sharpen knives that aren't used properly.

It might be worth a try for to have a knife professionally sharpened and see if this is a better method for each of us.
 
Bruce
I'm with you on this. I can drop my knives off at a local knife retailer in the mall and he will sharpen them professionally while I wait, or worst case I have to walk around the mall for awhile.

All for $3 per knife. I try to do this once or twice a year and use my steel between sharpenings.

Peter
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bruce Cook:
[qb] Those of us who have difficulty sharpening knives may want to consider using a professional knife sharpening service.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Is there anything one should ask (or avoid) when choosing a knife sharpening service? Are certain sharpening methods better than others?

Regards,
Chris
 
Chris,
To answer your question I think the best knife sharpening service is by a knife maker. We are lucky to have a great one up here and I think he charges $5.

The next best choice would be a professional sharping service that caters to restaurants. These are also a gold mine when bargain hunting for used Forschners and similar.

I would stay away from anything done with a machine which is what the free/low cost sharpening is at retailers and grocery stores.

I have cut up well over 12,000 portions of BBQ in the last year and my knives have not been sharpened in the last year. They are razor sharp and will take off a finger with little effort.

I keep them sharp with a Dexter Russell diamond steel and a ceramic "steel" to finish. I put rubber bumpers from the hardware store on the ends of my steels and I stroke downward with the tip firmly planted on a table.

Some folks claim the diamond steels remove a lot of metal, based on my real world experience I would say that is bunk. When my edges do need a stone which is not often with proper TLC, I use fine and medium diamond whetstones.
 
Is there anything one should ask (or avoid) when choosing a knife sharpening service? Are certain sharpening methods better than others?


I agree with Konrad. Go to a knife maker or a place that services restaurants. Ask the chef at a good restaurant where they get there's sharpened. A good butcher shop may have recommendations also.

When I go to Chicago I go to Northwestern Cutlery. They specialize in selling to restaurants and do a great job. The only problem is they are over an hour away. They do a good job. I would ask them how they sharpen them. Get into a discussion about knives and see if what they say makes sense with what you know.

I think there are quite a few of us who know how to sharpen a knife but for what ever reason can't do it. I know an bbq/machinist guy and he takes a stone and a knife in each hand and he can sharpen a knife without paying any attention to what he's doing. Its amazing.
 
My father was a butcher and owned a neighborhood grocery store. He would often use a steel before cutting a large hunk of meat. He could use it not looking, and talking at the same time. I could never get the hang of it, even looking.

He did have a sharpening service tho. They would come by and pick up knives, while at the same time dropping off the newly sharpened ones.
 
My local Bel Air market (related to Raley's) provides knife sharpening for free! You can pick up some cardboard sleeves for your knives, drop them off, and when their sharpener shows up every week, they get yours done as well. Not sure if Raley's also does this. I did use it a couple times, and the knives came back really sharp - nowhere near as fun though.....

k
 
LOVE a lively topic! Thanks for bringing it up Mike /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif
 
I ended up getting a DMT 220 grit diamond sharpening stone.

Between this new stone and my steel, I am very pleased with the sharp edges I am now getting on my knives.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top