Sharpening Kitchen Knifes

[johnnytheboy]

Just wondering if anyone had any tips for sharpening kitchen knifes mines have all been dishwashered to death, i bought one of these http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/57145296 and was surprised to see it was made by fiskars, the thing is it isn't giving me the edge i was looking for.

[FGYT]

i think they are ceramic sharpeners if so will only takea small amount of metal off at a time.. good to maintain an edge but can take for ever to put one back on ( in my exp of ceramic)
i use Diamond (DMT and a DC4) stones same as all other knife types

ATB

Duncan

[Shewie]

Try a traditional butchers steel, hard to beat for house knives I think.

[johnnytheboy]

I have a steel and i tried it but i wasn't overly sure i was doing it right as it seemed to be making little impression, i checked out how to do it, and i think i was doing it right, it was a lidl steel so i'm no sure if it is any good or not. FGYT your right it is ceramic roller that is in there.

[HillBill]

The bladetech ones are ok for kitchen knives.

http://www.bladetech.co.uk/blade_tech.html

[Shewie]

I have a steel and i tried it but i wasn't overly sure i was doing it right as it seemed to be making little impression, i checked out how to do it, and i think i was doing it right, it was a lidl steel so i'm no sure if it is any good or not. FGYT your right it is ceramic roller that is in there.

The father-in-law`s a butcher so he showed me how to do it properly. It`s amazing to watch him do it after 50 years in the trade, his hand is just a blur. I like to start off slowly and build it up, I can keep most of my fingers that way.

[John Fenna]

The bladetech ones are ok for kitchen knives.

http://www.bladetech.co.uk/blade_tech.html

About all I would use them on
If you have good kitchen knives you might want to follow the same sharpening regime as for your best bushy knife:
I would recomend Aldi diamond block sharpeners, followed by wet&dry on mouse mat followed by a good stropping....
If, like me you, have cheapo specials in the kitchen, and the other half rams them into glass/ceramic "cutting boards" bladetech type sharpeners are ideal....
I often use some of my bushy knives in the kitchen due to their superior cutting ability compared to the "kitchen" knives that my wife uses.....

[HillBill]

About all I would use them on
If you have good kitchen knives you might want to follow the same sharpening regime as for your best bushy knife:
I would recomend Aldi diamond block sharpeners, followed by wet&dry on mouse mat followed by a good stropping....
If, like me you, have cheapo specials in the kitchen, and the other half rams them into glass/ceramic "cutting boards" bladetech type sharpeners are ideal....
I often use some of my bushy knives in the kitchen due to their superior cutting ability compared to the "kitchen" knives that my wife uses.....

I agree 100% don't use them on anything you value too much. I bought one, but only for SAK, opinel knives. Its not that bad but it can way too easily knack a decent blade if you ain't careful. Use VERY light pressure and a smooth slicing action

[Mungo]

The father-in-law`s a butcher so he showed me how to do it properly. It`s amazing to watch him do it after 50 years in the trade, his hand is just a blur. I like to start off slowly and build it up, I can keep most of my fingers that way.

I learned when I was a butcher - it takes time to get up to speed though.

My understanding though is that a steel doesn't really sharpen a knife, so much as align the small burs that appear over time on the edge. While I guess it improves the cutting, it doesn't actually remove any steel or create a new edge.

You need to both sharpen a kitchen knife (I use a water stone 1000 grit) every couple of months, and then use a steel on the knife every other use, depending on how much you're using the knife.

At least that's what I believe... :-)

Mungo

[British Red]

I would recomend .... diamond block sharpeners, followed by wet&dry on mouse mat followed by a good stropping....

Works on my (good quality) knives - the same technique as any other flat ground knife!

[johnnytheboy]

They are just ikea stainless my kitchen knifes cheap but i was suprised how good they actually are for the money, the vegatable knife i use is only £4 (link below) but what a great knife it is for chopping onions shallots etc, I want to try to keep them in good knick, they maybe cheap but if it saves me buying more then a wee bit elbow grease will do the trick. What i have noticed is that i think they are blunt because of the amount of nicks in the edge, serious dishwasher action it looks like, how can i flatten the edge down to get the nicks out? it is a very fine edge, i thought if i flatten out all the nicks then resharpen it should make an improvement? whats everyones thoughts?

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10099878

[HillBill]

The bladetech sharpener will have them nicks out in no time

[johnnytheboy]

Perfect, will get one on order asap

[davek]

I used to use a steel away from me till I learned this tip.

Put your elbows in a position where you can't reach your fingers with the knife while steeling. Then while you are steeling - don't move your elbows.

I've found that if I put a good edge on a good kitchen knife, don't put it in the dishwasher, and steel after every use 4 or 5 swipes, I won't have to sharpen again for a very long time.

I learned when I was a butcher - it takes time to get up to speed though.

My understanding though is that a steel doesn't really sharpen a knife, so much as align the small burs that appear over time on the edge. While I guess it improves the cutting, it doesn't actually remove any steel or create a new edge.

You need to both sharpen a kitchen knife (I use a water stone 1000 grit) every couple of months, and then use a steel on the knife every other use, depending on how much you're using the knife.

At least that's what I believe... :-)

Mungo

[HillBill]

Perfect, will get one on order asap

If you do get one mate just take it steady, light strokes and hold it against a kitchen top with the sharpening part off the edge and pull your knife down smoothly let the carbide do its work.It does take quite a bit off.

[squantrill]

I sharpen kitchen knives with a stone to get the edge (after the wife has killed it!) then steel it up I used to have smooth steels but only have a serrated edge steel now.. anyhow back to story steel up speed is not best slow but precise to align up the edge you formed with the stone. If I want to impress anybody ill then use a leather belt just to get it a little better.. But this gives a good push sharp knife..

Simon

PS Lightly does it on the steel I just lay the knife on it and use it more like a polish..

[Andy]

ceramics can cut fast. I have a shapton ceramic stone that cuts much faster then a japanese waterstone of the same grit. (it also leaves a finish which is enough for a kitchen knife so it's the only stone I use on cheaper knives)

If you want to have an easy way of putting a good edge on fairly cheap kitchen knives then so long as your ok adding scratches to the blade you can just use wet&dry paper on a deforming suface (hard side of a mouse pad). I find people don't tend to slip back to a different angle that may already be there with these. Useful if the current angle is rubbish. Since most people end up with a fairly thick convex edge when sharpening knives with a steel the wet&dry paper can be used to thin the edge quickly. If you get a small burr at the end of the sesson with wet&dry you can remove this with a fine steel. Since I have one I tend to use a spyderco sharpmaker in place of a steel and then use it for touching up the edge quickly and without any mess.
With kitchen knives I tend to have the knife almost flat when working with the wet&dry

here's an old kitchen knife

[Ozhaggishead]

I work as a chef so this is the something a wee bit about,here's my 10 cents guys.

First knives thing is dishwashers is just don't mix unless you what blunt knives,never do this always wash by hand.

Steels work fine but there is a bit of a knack to using them as Mungo said.But you still need to use a stone now and again to keep you knife sharp.

Also never put you knife in the sink full dishwater or store on a shelve above eye level.: