Recommend a decent knife sharpener

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Brigadier

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Merry Christmas all,

Says it all really.

Used a steel, but never got a good edge, so either the steel was worn, or I wasn't using it correctly.

Misplaced my oil stone, which is driving me daft (I do put things away frequently, never to see them again!)

I've even been experimenting with an old knife on a spare block paver, which I keep wet.
Results are ok, but I think it is a bit coarse-grained for a really good edge.


Technique tips also appreciated :) (got to do something to break the monotony of Boxing Day as well ;))
 
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Brigadier said:
Merry Christmas all,

Says it all really.

Used a steel, but never got a good edge, so either the steel was worn, or I wasn't using it correctly.

Misplaced my oil stone, which is driving me daft (I do put things away frequently, never to see them again!)

I've even been experimenting with an old knife on a spare block paver, which I keep wet.
Results are ok, but I think it is a bit coarse-grained for a really good edge.


Technique tips also appreciated :) (got to do something to break the monotony of Boxing Day as well ;))
Click to expand...
How big a knife and what are you going to cut..The cheapo thing from supermarkets i find sharpens my knife to cut meat or slice through tomatoes etc...Seems sharp as a razor to me.
 
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None of the above.. Those kitchen sharpening tools are naff. Wreck blade edge.
Bit of leather (old belt is easiest) or old bit of leather from bag or something. Charity shops you can pick up leather and something flat to stick it to, then super glue to some wood or old dining place mat or something flat. Green cutting compound £6 or less off ebay although you can buy local. Some use blue compound.. Google smurf poo.
Using the leather strop you have made rub the compound on and draw knife along and it will quickly give a razor sharp edge if blade is in good condition. That's it.

Plan B

For knives that are really bad use wet and dry paper 400, 600 grade from screwfix or DIY
Then your made leather strop and cutting compound and its real quick, cheap and easy to get razor sharp knife. See youtube. Ignore the diamond and stone sharpening advice.. They all work well though but some get really stuck on a method. I found a quick rub on 400g wet and dry and draw along a leather strop you can get a razor sharp edge.

Ive got drill wheels. Water stones. Oil stones and diamond plates and guides and found you don't need any of it.

Here is mine
UoXcIlq.jpg
 
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There’s no link, not sure it’s available any more, I got mine from a market stall, think it’s a Robert Welch one, was £6 ish, still have it and use it.
 
I don't know the actual reason, but even professional chefs knives (that are continually sharpened) occasionally have to be reground by a professional knife sharpening company.
 
sparxxxx said:
I don't know the actual reason, but even professional chefs knives (that are continually sharpened) occasionally have to be reground by a professional knife sharpening company.
Click to expand...

Probably for the same reason that a truly repeatable test for knife sharpness isn't really "truly repeatable".
Using a knife (even to test it) dulls it a little: A chef's knife will dull a little with every cut, plus the abrasion of the cutting block.......


I suppose this also begs the question; how does a professional knife company regrind the knife (above what you can do at home)? And, how long will a professional chef's knife last, if it requires occasional regrinding?
 
Brigadier said:
Probably for the same reason that a truly repeatable test for knife sharpness isn't really "truly repeatable".
Using a knife (even to test it) dulls it a little: A chef's knife will dull a little with every cut, plus the abrasion of the cutting block.......


I suppose this also begs the question; how does a professional knife company regrind the knife (above what you can do at home)? And, how long will a professional chef's knife last, if it requires occasional regrinding?
Click to expand...
This is my father's knife, it's been in the family 30 years. We've replaced the blade five times and the handle twice.
 
A steel doesn’t sharpen a knife, it just straightens the burr and takes off any ragged edges.

I have a doubled sided waterstone. 1000 grit on one side, 6000 grit on the other. I then have a leather strop coated in green soap for final finishing.

once a knife is sharp, the strop will keep it sharp.
 
I have a friend in the Ships Provisioning business.

The knives are rented from a supplier that takes them away every week (or some such period) and exchanges for a sharpened and honed set. The following week they bring the first ones back, sharpened and honed.

The knife company only ever buys large butchers knives. Over time they get smaller and smaller as they get ground away. Eventually they are little filleting knives.
 
charliegolf said:
No idea what make, but I was given one of the 'safety' wheel grinders. It has a coarse side and a fine side. You slide the blade back and forth a few times coarse, repeat fine and I have to say, it's great. When you wipe the blade, it's amazing how much 'steel' that comes off!

Like this idea, mins's much simpler, no handle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lantana-Sm...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Click to expand...

Just checked my wifes one and it's the same as this. She says it's the best one she has ever had, (and she can be very fussy about her kitchen gadgets, believe me!).
Push the handle down to secure it to a worktop via a suction cup, 3 or 4 draw throughs, (you only draw the knife towards you, not back and forth), and it's like a new knife. Not sure if it's suitable for ceramic ones though as she hasn't needed to sharpen them yet.
 
When on holiday in Madeira me and the FIL used to catch a bus from Funchal and walk back along the levadas, we frequently saw a peripatetic knife sharpener with his pedal powered grinder going out to the rural areas, I saw a van the other day signed up with knife & scissor sharpening service
 
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