Dull knives

[Dave BN]

I don't mind carving the turkey but I hate my dull knife! Especially the dull point. How do you all sharpen a knife-especially the tip?

Dave

 

[kcm.MN]

It would help to know what you have for sharpeners, plus whether the knife is serrated or not.

I use a few different sharpeners, never relying fully on any one. Some knives seem to prefer one sharpener over another - mostly because they aren't all the same exact angle. However, a couple of my knives have a steel so hard that they actually need a different angle.

First is one similar to this. It has a V-notch in the end, and 2 permanent, non-moving carbide edges. This is good for hogging off a lot of metal if really dull, but can also grab and take out small chunks of your blade, which means even more work:

Next is this dual-grit sharpener. I usually use this for kitchen knives. One side is course and the other fine. Mine has diamond grit on both sides, but others have carbide, ceramic, or some variation:

I always finish up with this little gem - the Rada knife sharpener. It uses hardened steel wheels to help form and smooth the knive edge. I never use much pressure with this - just light passes.

I don't like serrated knives, much less trying to sharpen them. However, I saw a video a long time back of a sharpener similar to this (or maybe was this), where they demonstrated how this sharpener would work with serrated blades. It looks to me like it would sharpen both sides, and that's a no-no with serrated. Ideally you should sharpen only the serrated side and leave the smooth side alone. Have been thinking about getting one of these to add to my sharpener collection, but am quite happy with what I have.

I have yet to find an electric sharpener that was worth it's weight in cow dung. Also, I don't worry anymore trying to get my edges sharp enough to cut cardboard from 3 feet away. *lol* I normally get them JUST to the point of shaving hair. But then, these are either work knives that get rode-hard-and-put-up-wet, or they're kitchen knives....and I hate to admit how the wife stores her knives. Don't tell anyone, but they just go in a drawer....all thrown together. :shock:

 

[Mutt and Jeff]

These dull fast, but they remove the metal and sharpen so well.
I've been shipping them to friends for Christmas

They are $14 and free shipping
search this at walmart.com

600 17 Grit Diamond Knife Sharpening Hand Held Steel Rod Fish Hook Sharpener

 

[Butch(OH)]

If one knows how to use one it is hard to
beat a butcher steel for finishing a keen
edge. However if the knife it is butter
knife dull I first use a carbide V notch
tool similar to the red one KCM pictured
then finish with a butcher steel. It a
whole lot quicker than the Washita stones
I used to use.

 

[old]

I've used a wet stone to sharpen knifes for decades and if done right the tip get as sharp as the rest of the blade I was taught to sharpen knifes by the son of a guy who sharpen sulples for doctors years ago

 

[Kc1937B]

I like the wet stone best my self I like to sit down take me time and really hone the knife. Alot of time all you need to do is run your knife threw a steel to realign the microscopic teeth in your blade. If your looking for an electric sharpener the masterchef sharpener does a descent job for something quick. Or you can buy a cutco knife there not cheap but definitely worth it all me deer knives are cutcos and when. There dull you can send them in and they sharpen them for free and they have a lifetime guarantee.

 

[jeffcat]

In my experience you find that knifes are just messed around with. Drag it back and forth a stone and think you are done. Wet stones mean water and not oil. The sharpest and most assume blades in the world come from Japan. Watch the video and see if you can get YOUR knife to do that. I have two blades that are kinda close but not that good. Sharpening a blade is like a ZEN thing. Time and patience. The Japanese blades for food are at an angle around 15-17?. Also they make an edge that is only one sided. Like a chisel. Peels meat off instead of chopping through it. Those blades are so sharp they cut between the cell walls and not through the cell. Watch the video. This is just simple sharpening. Those stones start around $50. Up to the picture.

Sharp.

 

[Adirondack case guy]

CAREFULLY!!!! HeHe.-------------------------Loren

 

[Goose]

I clamp them in a vise and run a DA sander across the edge from each side.

 

[504]

Just my opinion, but I think the dishwasher is the biggest reason for dull kitchen knives. I can sharpen a good paring knife, and the next time I use it it is hard to tell which side is the sharp side.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I have noticed the same thing. It doesn't affect so so sharp knives but put a real sharp one in a dish washer and it comes out half sharp

 

[BillinCentralMO]

Mother had a stoneware bowl she touched up her blades with. I use various stones.

 

[da.bees]

For general purpose, kitcen, scissors and such,the first two devices pictured by kcm.MN is hard to beat for easy and fast. I use one on my everyday pocketknife. For my casterating,skinning,field dressing knife,I sharpen on oilstone then maintain edge for months between sharpenings with a pocket steel. For specialized tasks,there's special sharpening methods.

 

[Stephen Newell]

It's a lot of work to sharpen a knife. It might be worthwhile to just pitch your knives and buy a new sharpened knife. Sharpening a knife is a matter of polishing an edge on the blade and that can take many hours going through finer and finer stones to achieve a sharp edge. You just sort of pretend you are slicing off a sliver of the stone over and over and over. Once you get it sharp you strop in on a piece of leather loaded up with jewelers rouge just like they used to do with a strait razor.

 

[MarkB_MI]

I use Japanese water stones of various grits. They're sold by Japan Woodworker, which was purchased a few years ago by Woodcraft.
Water stones

 

[Fred Werring]

I use a Work Sharp sharpener.

Yes, you can get a better edge with a good set of stones, but only if you have the time.

My wife is very hard on knife edges (think cutting on dinner plates instead of a cutting board), I can put a good edge on all the knives in a half hour

Keep a steel close by for quick touch ups when the knife starts to feel a little less sharp.

The link is to the basic sharpener I have. They make others with different angles and whatnot, but this has worked for me
Fred
Worksharp

 

[Keith Molden]

I bought a work sharp at Cabela's last week and really like it. I've never been able to put an edge on a knife that would stay. I can shave the hair on my arm with my pocket knife after I followed the directions. I carved the turkey yesterday with one I had sharpened with it. It's a keeper. Keith

 

[Blackhole49]

The key to a good knife is really good steel (which most new knives don't have). I have a craftsman high carbon steel knife I found in the woods 45 years ago. The wood handle was in great shape and after cleaning all the rust off of it and spending several hours with progressive sharpening stones, that knife holds an edge like nobody's business. A couple passes on my steel and it is like a razor. That said, I keep it away from my wife. She could dull an ax chopping hot butter.

 

[4wdtom]

I keep a small stone (about 1"x 1/4"x 5") behind the sink and once in a while sharpen one or two of the kitchen knives under a small stream of water right at the sink. Only takes a few seconds per side of the blade to keep them sharp. Probably not the best quality knives so the steel is probably on the soft side especially being stainless, but what a difference it makes when cutting.

 

[Brian G. NY]

(quoted from post at 00:14:52 11/29/19) In my experience you find that knifes are just messed around with. Drag it back and forth a stone and think you are done. Wet stones mean water and not oil.

I suppose "wet" stones may need water or oil.....however, "whet" stones generally need neither.

 

[RedGreenGuy]

As a part time butcher , I learned to apply a little liquid soap to the stone and dip under very slow running water occasionally as I sharped blade. This process keeps stone clean. After sharpening, feel from non-cutting edge of blade up to sharp edge. Feeling for feathered edge. (fine sharp edge that is bent over) To remove this bent edge, lightly drag turned/bent edge on stone. If you have sharpening steele, (a VERY SMOOTH round screw driver shaft makes a good sharpening steele) grasp knife handle so sharp edge is facing up. Apply moderate pressure between steel and sharp edge near knife handle and slide on steele the length of knife blade at the same angle you sharpened knife on the stone. (best to make this movement AWAY FROM YOUR BODY and slide along length of steele) Do this on both sharpened sides of blade several times. After some practice you will be able to keep the feathered edge up and not bent over by occasionally "steeling" the feathered knife edge.

 

[Bill in IL]

I will also second and suggest the work sharp sharpener. Razor sharp in about a minute per knife. The only drawback is swapping belts but its really quick and easy to do. I dont know where my stone is anymore.

 

[Bob Harvey]

I have a very old (and good) steel that I use before every use - couple of strokes = done. We also have a guy with a converted small school bus that sets up in the Mall parking lot on Fridays, his work is excellent ! I foolishly loaned one of my Marples chisels and it came back looking like a fork ! I roughed it out on the fine grindstone (powered) and went at it with a wet stone. Still not satisfied, took it to the knife sharpener guy and it came back with 1.5 mm edge that is scary sharp $6.