knife sharpener

tgkleman

I was under the impression that a dull knife also leaves a more ragged injury, where a slip with a sharp knife would leave an slice that could heal quicker?  It is also much more enjoyable to use a sharp tool.  You don't have to push so hard, you can relax your grip, better technique, etc.

gdenby

This might be a good polling question.

When I only had blades that had about a 40 degree inclusive angle, I found that they did slip when dull. Then I got blades with angles of 24 and under. I don't consider 40 degrees to be sharp anymore.

And yes, a day after getting my newest, which was truly scary, I just bumped the blade against my left index finger. Didn't actually feel much of anything. Couldn't figure where all the red drops were coming from right away...

travisstrick

This might be a good polling question.

When I only had blades that had about a 40 degree inclusive angle, I found that they did slip when dull. Then I got blades with angles of 24 and under. I don't consider 40 degrees to be sharp anymore.

And yes, a day after getting my newest, which was truly scary, I just bumped the blade against my left index finger. Didn't actually feel much of anything. Couldn't figure where all the red drops were coming from right away...

25 degrees is my favorite for most stuff. I have a few Strider tactical knives and I reground them myself to 25 degrees. They are all S30V and it was a major pain to take that much steel off.

eggo

Does the 25 degree blade hold an edge, or do you find it needs sharpening more often?

fishlessman

Does the 25 degree blade hold an edge, or do you find it needs sharpening more often?

some of the new steel like s30v have high edge retention and handle the finer angle well. most knives handle the angle but need more attention. problem with some of the new steels used in knives is that they make sharpening an extreme chore if you let them get dull

Little Steven

Is the dishwasher bad for them?

fishlessman

Is the dishwasher bad for them?

only if she puts them in the sink

Little Steven

Would you mind telling her? :((

travisstrick

(no quote option on iPhone) fishlessman said it perfect. S30v, 154cm, and VG-10 would do well at 25 degrees. AUS 6 doesn't.

My Strider MT-10 and MFS are both s30v and take hours to go from dull to razor. Once there, they are very hard to mess up.

Steven, you're joking, right?

Lit

I have a VG10 Shun and several other really hard carbon steel knives like the tojiro linked to earlier that is Shirogami (white #2) with a 64-65 hardness and I have no problem sharpening them to shave my arm in 10 minutes. A friend of mine used his 10' Shun VG10 to crack a coconut and took like an 1/8' chip out of the blade and I took the whole blade down an 1/8" and resharpened it in less than 30 minutes with 600 wet dry paper glued to a board and then my 1000/6000 stone. What are you using to sharpen that takes hours?

fishlessman

im not sure its the stone, more the blade, my bunmei oroshi has the slightest angle, one side the bevel is flat more than an inch, the other side is contoured hollow. that 1 inch flat is horrible to sharpen, the blade sits flat on the stone. pretty sure my 1000/6000 is the same as yours

fishlessman

i use a 6000/10000 grit belgian coticle stone on my razor, its pretty fine, then finish sharpening with newspaper, then a heritage strop, then horsehide. razor  passes the hanging hair test

Lit

I need to get some.more toys. I go straight from 6000 to horsehide and that's it. I can't wait to get the handamerica block with a couple pads and pastes. With the newspaper do you just wet it and put it on glass?

travisstrick

I have a VG10 Shun and several other really hard carbon steel knives like the tojiro linked to earlier that is Shirogami (white #2) with a 64-65 hardness and I have no problem sharpening them to shave my arm in 10 minutes. A friend of mine used his 10' Shun VG10 to crack a coconut and took like an 1/8' chip out of the blade and I took the whole blade down an 1/8" and resharpened it in less than 30 minutes with 600 wet dry paper glued to a board and then my 1000/6000 stone. What are you using to sharpen that takes hours?

I said my Striders take hours to sharpen once they are dull. VG 10 is a different story. I normally use a spyderco sharpmaker or a Laskey clamp thingy depending on the blade and angle I want. 

travisstrick

@fishlessman That Dogfish Head looks pretty good.

fishlessman

dry newspaper on glass and back stroke it like a strop. i have a small pasted strop as well, good for intermediate touch ups but it rounds the bevel

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Thanks guys. Great insight! I think I'll just stick with my $20 POS from the bottom shelf of the grocery store . Kidding. I'll dig through all this and let you know what I decide. I have determined the monetary value on this forum of any question that starts with "what is your favorite_____" is around $300. You people have expensive taste.

Lit

Thanks guys. Great insight! I think I'll just stick with my $20 POS from the bottom shelf of the grocery store . Kidding. I'll dig through all this and let you know what I decide. I have determined the monetary value on this forum of any question that starts with "what is your favorite_____" is around $300. You people have expensive taste.

You really should consider the Tojiro fishlessman linked to earlier. Mine hangs between 2 $350 knives on my knife rack and I find myself grabbing it for use frequently and it was $60. The chefknivestogo.com website has numerous videos on their site on how to sharpen a knife with a stone and a strop and it really is pretty easy with a little practice.

Lit

dry newspaper on glass and back stroke it like a strop. i have a small pasted strop as well, good for intermediate touch ups but it rounds the bevel

I finally broke down and ordered the honeamerican base with balsa pad, bovine pad, and horse leather pad and .5 micron and 1 micron paste yesterday. Can't wait to play around with it.

tazcrash

Just saw this from America's Test Kitchen.
http://www.testkitchenschool.com/blog/a-sharp-knife-is-your-new-best-friend

No whet stones in the review. I wonder if they considered the spyderco.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Thanks guys. Great insight! I think I'll just stick with my $20 POS from the bottom shelf of the grocery store . Kidding. I'll dig through all this and let you know what I decide. I have determined the monetary value on this forum of any question that starts with "what is your favorite_____" is around $300. You people have expensive taste.

You really should consider the Tojiro fishlessman linked to earlier. Mine hangs between 2 $350 knives on my knife rack and I find myself grabbing it for use frequently and it was $60. The chefknivestogo.com website has numerous videos on their site on how to sharpen a knife with a stone and a strop and it really is pretty easy with a little practice.

Thanks. I am impressed that a suggestion under $300 finally came in. I'll grab one.

gdenby

Ok, ok, just one more post to this thread....

The Test Kitchen review was to the point. With the Test Kitchen's favorite knife, there are 2 very good sharpeners.

Which is great if:

The knife you have is not harder than the knife they tested.
You do not want to put a more acute angle on a blade, or make a micro-bevel. Or, are trying to sharpen a single edge blade.

bboulier

I used to just use a set of Arkansas stones, but a couple of years ago I bought a Furi Ozitech:

http://www.amazon.com/Furi-FUR626-Ozitech-Diamond-Sharpener/dp/B000F8SIOW

It's fantastic.  Really simplifies the sharpening process.  Have given it as a gift to all my sons, who now also have sharp knives.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I used to just use a set of Arkansas stones, but a couple of years ago I bought a Furi Ozitech:

http://www.amazon.com/Furi-FUR626-Ozitech-Diamond-Sharpener/dp/B000F8SIOW

It's fantastic.  Really simplifies the sharpening process.  Have given it as a gift to all my sons, who now also have sharp knives.

I have this one. Not a huge fan. maybe I'm not using it right but I haven't had great success with it.

BRush00

So there seems to be some proper chefs on this site huh?

I've got a set of knives, nothing fancy, certainly not 'razor' sharp, though, they do the trick.  I've also got a 2 sided whet stone from Henkels that I pull out once in awhile (this one I think  http://www2.zwilling.com/en-US/sortiment/Cutlery--knives/Chapter--kapitel/How-to-sharpen-a-knife--2662/Page--2.html )

I'm curious though... I've always learned that good knives are HAND WASHED, not dishwasher safe.  Can anybody comment?

travisstrick

High heat will damage the edge of any knife. All my henkels are hand washed even though they say "dishwasher safe"

The Cen-Tex Smoker

High heat will damage the edge of any knife. All my henkels are hand washed even though they say "dishwasher safe"

good idea. I use Henkels and have been putting them in the dishwasher. This is how this thread got started. They are DULL and lose edge rapidly after using my crap sharpener

travisstrick

I have only sharpend mine twice in four years. I use a honing steel regularly.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I have only sharpend mine twice in four years. I use a honing steel regularly.

Time for an upgrade.....

BRush00

High heat will damage the edge of any knife. All my henkels are hand washed even though they say "dishwasher safe"

aaaahhhhh it's the HEAT that's bad for em.... got it.

Thanks