How to sharpen a knife

[jwmay]

Hey finally something I know something about. Written descriptions won’t get you there very quick. It takes a lot of practice. I have hundreds of hours practicing with straight razors. Anyhow, for kitchen knives, I’ve found nothing quicker and easier than this device. It works remarkably well. It worked for me the absolute first time, after watching one YouTube video. I think it’s called a sharpening steel.

 

[mickri]

I have only tried using sharpening stones all of my life. My dad could use a sharpening steel. He would even use a piece of concrete at times. I never even thought of using a belt sander until this week. I am using very light pressure and my hand as a guide. My hand is right behind the blade at the belt. I am feeling virtually no heat. Warm at most. I will have at it with another of my dull knives and see how it goes.

 

[Franko]

I believe that a lot of people ruin the edge on a blade trying to sharpen it when it isn't dull. I've used a set of Wustof Trident kitchen knives I purchased 20 years ago and they are still as sharp as ever. All I ever do is steel them when I use them.
You can restore the edge of a utility knife with a steel.

Unless you are trying to cut something as hard or harder than the knife's steel, they should stay sharp.
A few good practices can preserve the edge on a sharp knife.
Be gentle on the cutting edge, it's only a few molecules thick. Slice, don't chop.
Don't scrape food off a cutting board with the sharp edge.
Don't throw them in the sink or a drawer where the edges can bump things.
Don't cut on granite, ceramic plates, or iron cookware.

 

[pontiac428]

A sharpening steel's job is to straighten a thin-bladed knife's edge. It grabs nicks and dings and pulls them back in line. Most kitchen knives are soft 400-series stainless and not very hard from heat treat. The edge ends up microscopically jagged, with thin, relatively weak, SHARP edges. If you hone a kitchen knife, that killer edge won't last, but will respond very well to tuning up with a steel. On the other side, if you used a steel on a D2 blade it would chip, and if you used it on a S35VN or CPM 154 blade, it would dull the blade instead of sharpening it, probably ruining your steel on the way.

It's a fun subject. Blades are very personal tools. They are as old as civilization and have a million uses.

 

[jwmay]

Another thing to think about. Keeping knives sharp is easier than making them sharp. Smarten up the edge every time you use it with a few swipes on you’re preferred sharpening medium, and you never have to sharpen a dull knife after the first time.

 

[mickri]

I can hear the howls now. Don't be too harsh. After giving up on trying to use stones I have used things like this in the past



This is what I have been using for over 10 years.



It has a rough grit (brown) and a fine grit (white) 10 strokes on the fine grit and my knives will sort of cut for awhile. I bought it in a tackle shop in San Diego.

Let's talk about the burr that is supposed to form if you are using somewhat of the right technique. The videos I have watched seem to imply that you want to achieve a good size burr. And you can easily see the burrs in the videos. My burrs are on the small side. I can always feel them but sometimes can't really see them. What am I trying to achieve burr wise?

 

[jwmay]

It’s not as complicated as you’re thinking. Are we still talking about kitchen knives? I don’t think you need to raise a burr on a kitchen knife. That’s too delicate an edge for a knife in the kitchen. I think you’ll find that everyone has their own descriptions, and eventually, if you practice enough, you’ll have your own as well. Practice, practice, practice. You know you did it right when the knife cuts as you want it to cut. Sharpen and test. No good? Change ONE thing when you try again. Still no good? Change ONE thing about your technique again. Reading about it is fairly near to useless. With enough practice, you can feel the knife getting sharp on the stone. At that point, your test will just be to prove what you already know. You can do everything by the book and to the letter and still fail, if you haven’t developed any tactile awareness. Practicing with mindfulness is the only way to get good at it. It’s in the hands...not the head.

 

[turnitupper]

When I finish my coffee, I upturn the mug and give my knives a good old swipe on the unglazed ceramic ring on the bottom of the mug.
John.

 

[eeler1]

Don't be afraid of the belt sander, it works fine, many professional knife makers use them. BUT, don't use 80 grit or 120 grit or 240 grit, etc. as they will not only heat up your steel faster they will also remove a large amount of metal in a very short time. The belt is ideal for forming a kerf, you could use maybe 300-400 grit for shaping the kerf, then 600 grit or higher to sharpen. Finish with a leather strop belt. Even so, still takes a bit of practice. Use your junk knives for that.

Note that the belt kerf may not translate very well to stoning, so you do one or the other, but hard to do both techniques to the same knife. Unless you are really good, then the method probably doesn't matter.

 

[Bob Korves]

We would use a slower speed belt sander for grinding blades that had become worn to a thick chisel edge. We would not be grinding on the sharp edge while doing so, only building a secondary angle by removing excess metal at the inboard shoulder of the edge, not grinding the cutting edge. We would be very careful to not overheat the metal, and kept a container full of cold water for cooling the blade at short intervals. We also had nice fruit wood cutting boards and very heavy (like 24" thick when new) end grain chopping blocks, which were not so hard on the blades. I hate cutting anything on polyethylene. We used steels to straighten the sharp edges at regular intervals when doing heavier work.