# Sharpening Cutlery knifes



## smoothjazz077 (Aug 5, 2013)

I am looking to sharpen my wife's cutlery knifes, and not sure if I should use my water stones, or buy a dedicated knife sharpener. I have read that you should sharpen the knifes at at 15 to 16 degree angle. Just wondering what other members do for knife sharpening.

Thanks

Scott


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Those knife sharpening gizmos are convenient, but dont leave nearly as fine an edge as a water/whet/diamond/ceramic stone, but by the same token it takes a little more finesse to get a solid edge with the stones. Personally, i recommend the stones, just because its a good skill to have. The 15 degree edge is a pretty good recommendation, although you do have to remember that that is a 15 degree point, not 15 degrees on either side of the blade. 

http://boyslife.org/video-audio/2247/how-to-sharpen-a-knife-or-ax/

That gives the pretty good basics of knife sharpening. The most important thing to remember is to keep a constant angle


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Soft stainless knives aren't easy to sharpen. Some aren't even worth the effort. Those sharpening gizzmos don't really sharpen, they just realign the edge. But even that can be an improvement if the knife is really dull. There are 2 standard angles, 15 or 20 degrees depending on whether they're Japanese or European style.

Water stones are the way to go to do it "right" if the knives are worth it. Check these guys out for the real scoop - very serious kitchen knife folks - 

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/forum.php


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

My wife has an electric sharpener and she sharpens her own knives. I've never watched her, but I got to say they are sharp. I've cut myself more than once on those things. Her knives came with a long sharpening stick (I don't know what its called) and it does a pretty good job as well only it takes a little longer.


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

I'm the cook and I'm pretty fussy about my knives. An old woodsman taught me how to sharpen knives and it's the easiest and best way I've ever used. Have a fine stone 1000 or so anchored firmly. Take the knife and hold it like you would when using it. In essence, you try to slice a thin layer off the top of the stone with a gentle motion using the entire length of the knife. First one side, then the other. You will quickly get a feel for that fine slice. Start with the knife fairly flat on the stone and tip it until you feel the edge cutting the stone, so to speak, you won't actually slice a layer off. With a good light overhead, look directly on the knife edge for any signs of light reflecting. You may have to wiggle it a bit and learn to look carefully. 

Sharpening steels do not sharpen, they only burnish the edge back into shape. You see a lot of cooks and butchers working the knives on a steel but it's only needed if there is a nick in the edge. I have a diamond stick, similar to a steel. Once you learn to use a fine stone, you will never use a steel or diamond sharpener again, and certainly not those knife grinders or carbide pull through gizmos.


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## Rogue Oranum (Dec 12, 2014)

When sharpening your kitchen knifes there's no much of a difference then your work tool, by this I mean the sharpening angle should be between 15 or 20 degrees for the best results. The best way of doing it is by using water stones which do the job really well.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

If I am in a hurry and not trying to sharpen a good knife then I just grab one of the commercial sharpeners.

If I want to do a good job then I will my collection of Arkansas stones. These beat any of the man made stones hands down. Of course you strop them at the finish.

George


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## banjopicks (Jan 3, 2009)

I used m new Shapton Pro 1000 and 8000 to sharpen a couple of kitchen knives. When I was done I felt obligated to warn my wife about the sharpness and she put them in a special place.


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## Nick Sandmann (Oct 24, 2014)

Lesson I recently learned doing this: Make sure the knives you are sharpening are made of a quality steel.

I took some cheap'ish kitchen-aid knives from my kitchen out to my shop and figured I'd sharpen them up on my water stones. I got a nice edge on them but the steel started crumbling on the thin edge right off the 8000 grit stone, and you could see the jagged lines where the edge crumbled without any magnification.

Make sure the knives are worth the trouble to sharpen like this.


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

I have a little powered wet wheel. It works quite well for sharpening my wife's cutlery. It hollow grinds them.


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## Trav (May 30, 2011)

This is the gizmo I have in my shop kitchen. It makes my cooking knives scary sharp. So simple everyone can do it.


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## Trav (May 30, 2011)

Oops forgot the pic


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Ttharp said:


> This is the gizmo I have in my shop kitchen. It makes my cooking knives scary sharp. So simple everyone can do it.


Sharp is a relative thing. Would you stick your chisels or plane irons into one of those?

It's a grinder. Sometimes renewing the edge geometry is sharp enough... sometimes not. I use something similar on my cheap knives.


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## Trav (May 30, 2011)

Well, please give me your criteria/specifications for determining if something meets your standard of sharp. Also what testing methods would you like me to use to see if my statements were accurate. SMH



I know that this little dodad sharpener will make my knives sharp enough that I am actually worried that I will cut myself with them when I wash them by hand in the sink. My cooking knives don't have a large guard on the bolster. The addition of some soap and water makes the handles slippery and I cringe at thinking what the knife would do if I ran my hand the full length of the blade. 

I would recommend the sharpener in question to anyone who was looking for this type of product. 

I would also use this product if it would work on my plane irons and chisels. Alas it does't and I am stuck using 3m micron film

I will however concede that it is possible to make something sharp sharper. However at some point you will trade edge longevity for a thinner edge. This is not something that is desirable in a kitchen knife.


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## WillemJM (Aug 18, 2011)

I have a set of Wusthof knives made in Germany, seeing normal household use now approaching 20 years. I have never needed anything else than a few swipes over the steel iron that is part of the set. It leaves the edge sharp enough to shave hairs. 

For carving Turkey, or a large Pork roast, I do better with these than an electric knife.


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Ttharp said:


> Well, please give me your criteria/specifications for determining if something meets your standard of sharp. Also what testing methods would you like me to use to see if my statements were accurate. SMH


If it works for you, that's all that matters. Whether you can shave hairs off your arm or not doesn't matter if the knife gets the job done.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

*knife sharpening*

check out the knife web site;

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/sharpeners.html

They sell sharpening fixtures and stones. They have a series of knife sharpening videos and a forum with a sub-group dedicated to sharpening.

I located one of the top knife sharpeners on that forum that lived just a few miles from me and visited him for sharpening instruction and had him repair a high end knife for me. He is also the Nubatama distributor in the USA and also sells other brand stones. At the CKTG web site, check out Ken's corner (Ken Schwartz).

Jack


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## pweller (Mar 10, 2014)

I've got one of these that work surprisingly well. This is a manual diamond stone from Chef's Choice. I think I got mine at Target.










Basically, it just has two diamond stones set at a pre-determined angle, and in two different grits. It's really all you need.

Sharpening kitchen knives is totally different from sharpening tools. For example, if I'm sharpening gravers for the lathe, the finish of the graver is really important because it imparts a mirror image of the edge onto my part. So, a smooth finish on the cutting tool results in a smooth finish on the part.

Of course, I'm not interested in the 'finish' on my tomato, so the actual finish on the cutting edge of a kitchen knife isn't important to me. If it cuts well, that's all I care about.

Furthermore, I like to have a fast way to sharpen kitchen knives, just because they need to be touched up fairly often. I don't want to have to pull out multiple grades of whetstones just to do that.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

*depends on the knife*

I understand getting a store sharpener if that's what you need but, after buying a hand forged knife with center edge steel hardened to RcH66 I think I'll stick to water stones when needed. I bought the larger version of this knife the 240mm or 9 1/2" Gyuto with ebony handle 

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/Prod...i-No-Meito-Chef-(Gyuto)-Knife---Fujiwara.aspx

I guess it depends on what knife your sharpening.


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## pweller (Mar 10, 2014)

I pretty much agree with jacko9. To me, cooking is only about the food (not the knives), just like woodworking is only about the results, not the tools.

For me, tools are nothing but a means to an end, and the only measure that counts is the end-product. If a fancy tool/knife doesn't improve the results, then I'm probably not interested in it.


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## Paul_R (Nov 26, 2014)

I can get an ok edge on knives and tools sharpening freehand on stones or diamonds. I get a fantastic edge using "gismos". For knives that gizmo is a KME system with Arkansas stones followed by a strop with CBN emlusion = mirror polish and scary scalpel sharp. I use a Veritas MK II on my tools and honestly, with this gizmo I don't even try freehand sharpening any more it's so easy and foolproof. I use XX course and X course diamonds for reprofiling and fast material removal (and to lap my stones) and I use water stones for the rest.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

A nice gismo for knife sharpening is the Edge Pro;

http://www.edgeproinc.com

I totally agree with you on the Veritas MkII. Over the years I've had several chisel gismos and the Veritas MkII put them to rest.


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## Ogee (Feb 21, 2014)

I currently am using the Razor Sharp system to maintain my cutlery. The kit consists of 2 laminated paper wheels that you mount on to a bench grinder. One wheel is coated with silicone carbide and the other is for polishing with the jeweler's rouge.
All it takes is a few passes on each wheel.
My concern is that the knives won't stay sharp. Where I once was able to get 6 months' usage from a professionally sharpened blade, I'm now getting 6 weeks.


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