Knife Sharpening - Mail order

[McGyver]

I'm sorry Tom, YOU ARE WRONG!

Ask Chuck Stapel about angle. The angle of a knife edge has EVERYTHING to do with holding an edge!


"You are going to lose material any time you grind/hone metal that's the whole point."
Yes, but there is a HUGE diff between "shaving" and "honing".

[PegLeg45]

You are going to lose material any time you grind/hone metal that's the whole point.
The angle is irrelevant. For a razor edge for shaving/ slicing you want to hone at a shallow angle, (back of blade close to tone ) for a "working edge" you want to lift the blade more it does not shave things as well but holds up better to hacking and chopping. You also need to maintain your edge, you don't just cut and put it away, every time you use it you need to give it a few swipes with a steel or ceramic. It sounds like that is where you are missing out.
If you get your knives sharp then the guy you send them to can't do any better, but  like any other tool you have to maintain it.
Do you clean your guns only when they are so dirty they jam ? A blade is the same way.

Pretty much sums it up.


Like Bolivar (the 1st cook) in the movie Lonesome Dove said on the subject, "A knife is like a woman.......every night, you better stroke it."

[PegLeg45]

I have found that a 20 degree angle works for the 'best of both worlds'........IMHO.

[tombogan03884]

I'm sorry Tom, YOU ARE WRONG!

Ask Chuck Stapel about angle. The angle of a knife edge has EVERYTHING to do with holding an edge!


"You are going to lose material any time you grind/hone metal that's the whole point."
Yes, but there is a HUGE diff between "shaving" and "honing".

I make my living with metal dude, and I have been doing this stuff for 40 years.

[McGyver]

Tom,

I just spent 3 hrs pissin  in your wheaties and lost it in cyberspace HELL!

I'll try again tommorrow!  EXPECT IT and be prepeared!

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

  God's telling you something 

[billt]

I know billt has a great sharpener he posted about. It's here in the archives.

http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=8829.0

I know of Billt's super duper Chef's Choice knife sharpener but that's not in the cards.

I've been using the Chef's Choice Pro 2100 Sharpener for over a year now, and I have to say I couldn't be more pleased with it. It seems like the more I use this thing, the better it works. A lot of this is because when you first start out with it you have to correct the angle on most all of the knives you use with it because most all of them are sharpened at the wrong angle. This machine will correct that, but in the process you have to remove a lot of material depending on how large the knife is to begin with, how dull it is, and how much the original angle is ground off of what it should be.

After you get the correct angle established on all of your knives , keeping up with maintaining the edges is a breeze. The entire sharpening module comes right out of the unit, and is commercial dishwasher safe. I usually just blow it out with compressed air, and it's good to go. Once you get the hang of operating this unit you can literally put a razors edge on most any knife with it. If you do decide to buy one research prices carefully because as you can see by the links I've shown, prices can vary greatly on these things for the exact same unit. One of these links has it cheaper than what I paid last year.  Bill T.

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/edgecraft-chefs-choice-2100-3-stage-diamond-hone-professional-knife-sharpener/6942100.html?utm_source=Shopzilla&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=Shopzilla+Campaign

http://www.everythingkitchens.com/chefs_choice_commercial_diamond_hone_knife_sharpener_2100.html

[Timothy]

Thanks for the link Bill, I've already reviewed it some time ago.

My issues are not that critical to spend that kind of money on sharpening knives.  I have three or four knives that I bought ten years ago worth about 350 bucks total.  I can get them sharpened by a pro for 10 bucks each that should last me quite a while.  I just can't justify spending 300-500 bucks on the Chef's Choice unit.

As I said, I can put a usable edge on them that lasts several days but I use them constantly.  At the cost of the CC unit, I can sharpen my knives for another 10 years and still be ahead of the game.

[tombogan03884]

Thanks for the link Bill, I've already reviewed it some time ago.

My issues are not that critical to spend that kind of money on sharpening knives.  I have three or four knives that I bought ten years ago worth about 350 bucks total.  I can get them sharpened by a pro for 10 bucks each that should last me quite a while.  I just can't justify spending 300-500 bucks on the Chef's Choice unit.

As I said, I can put a usable edge on them that lasts several days but I use them constantly.  At the cost of the CC unit, I can sharpen my knives for another 10 years and still be ahead of the game.

Just give them a few swipes with the ceramic every time you use them. It's what I've been doing with my Kershaw and it is still like a razor after 6 months.  ( ask how I know    )

[billt]

Just give them a few swipes with the ceramic every time you use them.

Speaking of ceramics, I just got back from Harbor Freight. They've got a coupon sale going on until the 30th for their Ceramic Kitchen Knives. $4.99 for a 3" Ceramic Paring Knife, and $11.99 for a 6" Ceramic Kitchen Knife. I bought 6 of them in all. These knives hold an edge forever. Some of these Ceramic Knives can go for up to $75.00 each in a lot of these cutlery shops. They have a real nice grippy rubber handle like a Hogue Overmolded Stock, and clean up easy. Can't beat the quality for the buck, that's for sure.  Bill T.