keeping knives sharp questions

[Howdy]

While I am too cheap to send out my kitchen knives, I do want them to be sharp.  I have always used an electric sharpener and wondered if it was doing a good job.  It's time to change and learn how to put a good edge on my knives. 

I could go to the store and purchase a stone but what kind is best and/or how to maintain the correct angle needed is something I don't have a clue about. 

Any ideas and suggestions would be welcome. 

[Chuck White]

I have had a "Norton"  3-stone sharpening setup for close to 20 years and it works pretty good.

It consists of coarse, medium & fine grit stones.

As you turn them to chose the grit you want, the stones will rotate through a honing oil bath.

Get the stone you want to use covered with oil and start sharpening your knives.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NORTON-61463685356-3-In-1-Knife-Sharpener-/221203915364?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3380c7e264

[drobertson]

Howdy, Howdy!  I hate to say this but I will anyway,  I use a 6" india stone most often, however, I bought one of the cheapo's from wallyworld, it has the carbide on one side, ceramic on the other, and believe it or not, this lil thing works good, all the kitchen knives are back in shape,   david

[Magicman]

For kitchen knives I'll have to admit to using the V ceramic/carbide sharpening tools.


 
Both of these work, but the yellow one is cheaper and works better.  Both are made by "Smith".

The Lansky type sharpeners work very well.  They have a mini vise and rods that hold the various sharpening stones at the correct angle.  These work very well bringing a "messed up" knife edge back into specs.

[Al_Smith]

I suppose I have a 2 gallon bucket full of stones plus a Case XX butchers steel .Stainless steel knives became poplular because they will not rust but give me a good old carbon steel knife any day .Those you can get sharp .

[WildDog]

I don't like shoulders on my knives, I like to do my knives on a stone, with the exception of my pocket knives. I than use a steel to touch up. My pocket knives (only original USA made Old Timer )  stone than leather strap or my boot.

For my wife's stainless steel kitchen knives I go down Magic Mans route, but touch up with a steel. Nicky's real hard on knives any steel, glass, rock surface is fair game to cut on ??? My carbon knives are kept away from her in my shed.

give me a good old carbon steel knife any day .Those you can get sharp

100% agree, just this afternoon ordered a new 5 1/4 in Green River sheep skinner, $30 delivered. 

[pappy19]

For kitchen knives I'll have to admit to using the V ceramic/carbide sharpening tools.


 
Both of these work, but the yellow one is cheaper and works better.  Both are made by "Smith".

The Lansky type sharpeners work very well.  They have a mini vise and rods that hold the various sharpening stones at the correct angle.  These work very well bringing a "messed up" knife edge back into specs.

I use the yellow one too and it works very well. I also usually just use a steel after every use and they stay sharp for a long time. For hunting I take a Diamond Eze to touch up a knife or hatchet.

[BaldBob]

The great thing about the Lansky system that Magicman mentions is that you can precisely sharpen the knife to the angle best suited for the use you will be putting the knife to. The same angle is not optimum for all uses. V type sharpeners will sharpen to the angle that is best for general purpose use, but cannot, for instance, sharpen to a very acute angle that is best for fine work (eg skinning), or a very coarse angle that is best for heavy duty work(eg chopping).

[Al_Smith]

My fathers' family had a butcher shop in Pittsburg Pa. during the great depression .So I  guess I could probabley put a good edge on a blade as a youngster because I grew up with it .

I bought my wife a set of Burgvogel Stainless knives some time ago .Probabley 410 stainless .It is next to impossible to get them sharp with a steel .Now one of those Norton stones and some elbow grease they can take an edge like a straight razor .

Now carbon steel you just give it a few licks with the steel every so often if you are cutting meat .My dad told me as a boy you steel the knife to keep it from going dull .Keep it sharp all the time .

[Delawhere Jack]

Once the knives are sharp, a trick to keeping them sharp is to never let the edge touch a counter top or plate, pan etc. Used to drive my dad nuts when one of us would cut something and drag the main edge of the blade across the plate. He's grab the knife away and show you, "lift the handle at the end of the cut so only the tip touches the plate!!"

[Mooseherder]

I am a fan of Steeling a Knife before each use.
This is a 6 inch Boning knife that has been in my kitchen drawer for 20 years.
I know it's been there that long because the knife and steel were house warming gifts from a fellow Meatcutter when we bought this house.
It is the same knife we use for production meat cutting in our Stores.
I do have a 3 stone sharpener similar to Chuck White's but this knife has never seen it.
You can see about half of the metal is gone from it.  That's just from passing it on the Steel over the years.
It is no where near production type sharpness but good enough to accomplish our kitchen needs.
Passing the knife with nice even strokes on each side with the knife laying almost flat on the steel brings the edges back together nicely.
I'll ask my wife to video tape me using the steel and cutting a whole chicken into parts this weekend.
These knives should never be used on a plate.  Cutting boards or surfaces only.



 

[Brucer]

Our main kitchen knives are laminated Japanese knives. They have a very hard carbon steel core laminated between two layers of stainless steel. The carbon core is so brittle that using a steel on it will destroy the edge.

I sharpen the knives by hand with a Japanese water stone. It's much softer and a lot more aggressive than an oil stone -- and you wet it with water, never with oil. I found a 1000 grit stone does a better job than, say, a 2000 grit or even finer stone. The coarser grit creates invisible micro-serrations that easily cut into soft, smooth-skinned vegetables (such as tomatoes). I put a double bevel on the knives. The body of the blade has a very flat bevel which I touch up every 10 sharpenings or so. The edge of the blade has a small secondary bevel at a steeper angle. This lasts longer and the cutting edge is less likely to fracture.

[Farmerjw]

I used to have a source for knives like Mooseherder shows in his post.  They were very high quality knives that were used by butchers and were worn out for their standards but made EXCELLENT skinning knives with the size they were worn down to.  Have enough for my lifetime stashed away.  I have had the privilege of watching some good to great butchers work and it is like a dance.  It is an art that they do, like painting a picture with a knife.  A full grown steer in minutes is reduced to two halves and hide is rolled up, some innards are pinned in the carcass and it is put in the cooler.  Amazing work, and without thought, the butcher reaches down to his steel, takes a couple of strokes and continues the dance. 
But not to hijack this thread, butchers buy and use quality knives and for us, those worn down ones have done beautiful work to the deer we harvest and hogs we roast.

[Mooseherder]

I get a kick from watching Chefs on TV whacking each side of the knife they are holding on the steel and wonder how they think that is good for a knife.  Smooth even strokes on each side of the knife bevel bring the edges back.  You should be able to cut a sheet of paper from the edge after.  Knives also tend to stay sharper when one person uses it rather then a community knife. They can use my knife just let me be the one who is putting it on the steel.

[Chris Burchfield]

I use a 12" diamond sharpening steel for our kitchen knifes.  With the cutting edge away from me, I stroke the blade top and bottom with a reducing count from 10ea., then 9, 8, down to 1 & 1.  Keeps an even sharpened edge.

[mesquite buckeye]

I use the Arkansas oil stones: soft, hard, extra hard in that order. If the knife is really nicked up I touch it up on a coarse Washita stone. You can do the same on a carbide stone.

With practice and patience, this system produces a fine polished edge that will split hair, so be careful with the knives afterwords, as they will inflict deep, nasty cuts if you slip with them.

I also like the Lansky system. It will work even if you aren't that consistant or steady. I take the 1000 grit stone with me when I am budding citrus to touch up my knife in the field. Lots smaller than a bench stone and you can just keep it in an apron along with some oil, a rag, your knife and the budding rubbers. A few strokes when the blade starts to pull a little harder will fix you right up.

[tyb525]

I use the Lansky system on pocket knives, it works well for me. Bigger knives and really small knives can be awkward though.

[Brad_bb]

I'll echo what many others have said here.  Using a steel regularly, just a couple swipes before you put it away will keep your knives sharp.  My mom used ask me at least once a year to sharpen all of her kitchen knives.  I took a knife skills (cooking) class and they taught me to use the steel regularly.  It wasn't easy to get my mom in the habit of using the steel, but she's done pretty well and I haven't had to sharpen her knives for 3 years now.  The best way to have sharp knives is to never let them get dull.

[Mooseherder]

I made a couple videos today.  One was steeling my knife and the other was cutting a of couple chickens.
Here is the knife on steel.   I'll start a new thread on cutting Chickens into parts in the Food section.
You can see my dog comes around when the tools come out. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETuCThHaJp0&feature=youtube