Speaking of Knives, how do you sharpen yours?


 
I have a small sharpener (unsure of the brand) that I use to touch up the edges but when they need more I use my bench grinder. My knives are lower-end Chicago Cutlery pieces over 23 years old but if I ever upgrade I'll do the same with the sharpening method; in the meantime the CC blades stay sharp enough to get the job done.
 
Not trying to sound like a knife snob, but my wife and I have invested quite a bit of money into cutlery, primary from Shun and Wustohf. I follow Alton Brown's recommendation and we have a guy who comes by once a year and sharpens all our knives in his mobile shop in our driveway. He pasted my test when I talked to him on the phone the first time and he knew the different sharpening angles between the Shuns and Wustohfs. Not near as expensive as you might think and worth every penny to me. I keep them maintained using a steel. If you want to try to find someone in your area, a good place to ask is your local barber or beauty shop. That is where I found our guy.

http://www.thesharpshop.net/about/
 
Jerry N. said:
Same here. Not sure why a typical home owner would need more. I can see sharpening my knives as a fun hobby but not as a typical need. What are you guys doing with your knives to make them so dull?
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Jerry all knives get dull so they benefit from sharpening on an occasional basis depening on the usage. Swiping on a smooth steel is recommended maybe a couple times a week to every time it's used.

Sharpening (not steeling) maybe every 3 months and reprofiling and sharpening maybe once a year.

Some like to have a high performance edge.. it can make prep work faster, less taxing, and actualy safer... as the knife is less likely to slip on the product while cutting.

This link of a Richmond Artifex (maybe my next knife) has some videos of what a knife made with quality steel and sharpened properly can do and includes proper gripping.
 
I have used a Lansky for many years and it has served me well. I also use a steel to straighten the edge between sharpenings.

Looking in to getting and EdgePro system or perhaps some paper wheels for my grinder someday. :)
 
I use a combo Japanese wet stone. It's easy and only take a few minutes.
I sharpen a couple times a year and use an Idahone regularly between sharpenings.

Great video by Bob Kramer, master bladesmith.


Originally Posted by Len Dennis
Plain old sharpening steel
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A sharpening steel doesn't actually sharpen, it's for honing. Eventually the blade on the knife will round and a steel won't do any good unless it is diamond coated.
 
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I use the Worksharp also. It works great, but I find that I get a little divot in the edge down by the handle where the stroke starts. I take my real good Japanese chef's knife to a pro who does it for $4.
 
I too use a series of Japanese wet stones. I finish them on a leather strop. For my ultrasharp sushi/meat slicing blade a use graphite powder as my final stage of sharpening.

I also have a ceramic "steel" that I use betweeen sharpenings.

Ken
 
I have an Edgepro Apex but have recently moved to Japanese waterstones. I have a 1200 Bester and a Noroton 4000/8000 combo. The edgepro gives good consistent results, but I like sharpening by hand. Also, one day I would like to able to use and maintain single bevel Japanese knives and these are much easier sharpened by hand so I would like to go ahead and attain the skill.
 
I have tried many methods over the years. I started with Arkansas stones, following in my father's footsteps. Very good, but not always so accurate, given my skill level. (Bigger stones would have helped.) Then I tried the ceramic rods and next the Lansky system. The Lansky system was good, but tedious and slow. Although I had never bought items from TV ads before, I took a flyer on Ozitech Furi (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F8SIOW/?tag=TVWB-20) about 4 or 5 years ago. That is now my sharpening system of choice. I have given them to each of my three sons and a sister. Easy to use, quick, and develops a sharp edge. Highly recommended. A bonus is that the price has fallen in half since my first purchase.
 
I use one of the cheap fishing style sharpeners for the cheap knives I use, like cheaper and almost disposable paring knives and such, and on my J.A. Chef's knives I use a whetstone. I practiced for a really long time on cheaper pocket and kitchen knives before I got it right, but I've gotten pretty good. I can make a knife shave arm hair pretty easily now.

I wouldn't recommend using one of the self sharpening systems for really good knives. If you can't sharpen them on your own I'd pay someone to do it. And always use a steel to hone before use. I've found I can keep an edge for a really long time if I hone every time I use a knife. Take 30 seconds and keeps your knives in great shape. I hope to keep my good chef's knives for the rest of my life.
 
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