In a commercial kitchen where I was working ( I did not work in a kitchen I managed the building) the chef had a fantastic set of knives £3000 worth. He used to have them professionally sharpend twice a year and when I saw how sharp they came back, you could have shaved with them he had a fine honing stone for general honing in between times.
1 Like
Sure but, genuine question, so what? The knife cuts better and that’s all I need.
2 Likes
I must admit my method is very similar. However, we would both be sacked in a professional kitchen. Your young chef has the correct technique.
2 Likes
As with anything if it works for you thats fine. A steel in the hands of my brother for example can render any knife pretty useless and the only cure is to put an edge back on properly. If thats needed then the best way is with some kind of fixed angle guide so its a guided sharpen.
The “family heirloom” steel did belong to a professional… but he died long before I inherited it… thus I was never able to learn from him.
Certainly seen Butchers doing this windmill-variation (up in the air) … years gone by, back in UK.
EDIT: I also have a “family heirloom” butcher’s ham knife (very long, flat/thin, shallow blade) dates from about 1860 and it’s hanging in pride of place alongside my “modern” knives.
We have a family heirloom steel inherited from the outlaws that feels nearly smooth, yet puts a sharp cutting edge back on a good knife with a few strokes. It will pass the soft tomato test of that video someone linked a while back.
I wonder if we can get a little dogmatic about these things sometimes?
2 Likes
On SF???
2 Likes
Well the thread title is knife sharpeners and you have the input of an engineer who knows sharp. Then we have the non engineering input, if you can raise a jagged burr and you are happy then ok.
Ouch that is a rough looking knife
My knife rack has a built in ceramic knife sharpener, it was useless and produced a similar chipped edge but the knives still cut or tore whatever. I had to remove the sharpeners to save the blades
@JaneJones - thanks very much for the link to the website - it’s brilliant!
2 Likes
I bought mine in Boston, MA, about 20 years ago and it still sharpens perfectly. One side of the handle is marked ‘Diamond’ on the other ‘Jewelstik’. There’s one of the same brand on Amazon.com, but not on .fr.
Wet stone is the best followed by leather honing. You can get some excellent Japanese stones to fit that are cheaper than those from Tormek.
I use a T8.
1 Like
I have a couple of Pierres à aiguiser. I make sure to wet them thoroughly before sharpening a knife. The angle is important too.
1 Like
Pieres d’affûtage - currently 2 choices available at Lidl each with both a coarse grain and a finer grain. In knives Lidl do still seem to source a lot from Germany and this looks like the Wüsthof whetting stones.
Above is product number 100391223 7 euros.
100386291 is only 6 euros but one of the variant choices is not available.
Somewhat controversial but… One can just buy a Kiwi knife and throw it away when it gets blunt!
The skill or otherwise is holding the same angle stroke after stroke.
Again how to hold the same angle stroke after stroke without some kind of gauge fixture.
I’ve done the same.
Reasonable price from www.fine-tools.com/ based in Berlin. The website has an English option.