Sharpening with a whetstone How to get started
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Date: 2021-04-26
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Comments and reviews: 10
SuperCanteloupe
i've never done much kitchen knife sharpening, but as an oboe player i have some familiarity with the process because you need very sharp knives to make reeds on which to play. the big differences are in knife shape (i use double hollow ground knives) and how i treat the burr. i only use a stone for regrinding the edge of the knife when it's gotten too dull or bent out of shape to sharpen. more of the time though i'll use ceramic crock sticks to sharpen the blade and a steel rod to hone. and when i use the sticks and the steel to sharpen and hone, i am actually aiming to create a burr and keep it, not get rid of it, because having a sharp burr on the knife is how it most efficiently and effectively scrapes cane off the reed, similar to shaving. this is also why i end up sharpening or honing my knives a lot when i'm making reeds, because the burr will get dull after so much scraping, and a dull knife makes scraping way more difficult.
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i've never done much kitchen knife sharpening, but as an oboe player i have some familiarity with the process because you need very sharp knives to make reeds on which to play. the big differences are in knife shape (i use double hollow ground knives) and how i treat the burr. i only use a stone for regrinding the edge of the knife when it's gotten too dull or bent out of shape to sharpen. more of the time though i'll use ceramic crock sticks to sharpen the blade and a steel rod to hone. and when i use the sticks and the steel to sharpen and hone, i am actually aiming to create a burr and keep it, not get rid of it, because having a sharp burr on the knife is how it most efficiently and effectively scrapes cane off the reed, similar to shaving. this is also why i end up sharpening or honing my knives a lot when i'm making reeds, because the burr will get dull after so much scraping, and a dull knife makes scraping way more difficult.
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Jerry
Might be pertinent to mention that most sharpening services will use belt grinders (same as when the manufacturer first sharpened it. Much less physical work and won't hurt the temper of the blade if they know what they're doing. That puts a bit of a convex edge on the knife so it's slightly thicker right behind the edge.
So, if you're sharpening a knife on a stone that hasn't been before, it'll take a bit more time and effort to raise that burr, so keep that in mind. Subsequent sharpenings will be easier than that first one though.
Waterstones are traditional and common, but seeing the mess in the video is real. A lot of that can be avoided by using diamond stones. They don't make a mud slurry, they're steel plates so they don't dish out with use, and they don't need to be soaked. Lot of personal preference goes into stone choice though.
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Might be pertinent to mention that most sharpening services will use belt grinders (same as when the manufacturer first sharpened it. Much less physical work and won't hurt the temper of the blade if they know what they're doing. That puts a bit of a convex edge on the knife so it's slightly thicker right behind the edge.
So, if you're sharpening a knife on a stone that hasn't been before, it'll take a bit more time and effort to raise that burr, so keep that in mind. Subsequent sharpenings will be easier than that first one though.
Waterstones are traditional and common, but seeing the mess in the video is real. A lot of that can be avoided by using diamond stones. They don't make a mud slurry, they're steel plates so they don't dish out with use, and they don't need to be soaked. Lot of personal preference goes into stone choice though.
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pino
If you sharpen a japanese profile knife with a device like that you need to commit seppuku.
I start on a 400 then a 800 then a 1000 and then a 2000 and then 5000 and then a strop and its super sharp. And i have a 64 HR japanese knife as a main. The main error most people make shorpening on a stone is pulling against the cutting end of the knife that will ruin a hard knife. You only push on the knife when sharpening on the pull motion not at all on the pull morion as that make it likely to chip.
Free tips: the really fine stones are a lot softer beware you dont dig in with the tip off your knife. And you will not really find a burr on realy hard steel knifes (HR60>.
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If you sharpen a japanese profile knife with a device like that you need to commit seppuku.
I start on a 400 then a 800 then a 1000 and then a 2000 and then 5000 and then a strop and its super sharp. And i have a 64 HR japanese knife as a main. The main error most people make shorpening on a stone is pulling against the cutting end of the knife that will ruin a hard knife. You only push on the knife when sharpening on the pull motion not at all on the pull morion as that make it likely to chip.
Free tips: the really fine stones are a lot softer beware you dont dig in with the tip off your knife. And you will not really find a burr on realy hard steel knifes (HR60>.
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Evan
Knife collector and sharpener here.
The type of stones being used in this video are Japanese Waterstones. They require soaking and flattening before use, and use water as lubricant.
If you end up buying Arkansas stones, you still need to flatten them, but you don't need to soak them and they use oil as lubricant instead of water. Very messy, but typically the cheapest kind of stones you can buy.
If you get diamond stones, no flattening, no soaking, and you can use water as lubricant. Least effort, but usually quite expensive.
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Knife collector and sharpener here.
The type of stones being used in this video are Japanese Waterstones. They require soaking and flattening before use, and use water as lubricant.
If you end up buying Arkansas stones, you still need to flatten them, but you don't need to soak them and they use oil as lubricant instead of water. Very messy, but typically the cheapest kind of stones you can buy.
If you get diamond stones, no flattening, no soaking, and you can use water as lubricant. Least effort, but usually quite expensive.
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retropulpmonkey
Adam - I must admit I groaned when I saw the topic, as I thought this ground had been pretty well tread by many others. I clicked anyways, because I've come to trust the quality of your content; how you tend to highlight some fascinating, perhaps important, nuances that others might rather gloss over. You, and your fantastic expert, bringing to light the details of the geometry of the teeth on the blade's edge in the final product is another case-in-point for why you've become one of the first subs I click.
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Adam - I must admit I groaned when I saw the topic, as I thought this ground had been pretty well tread by many others. I clicked anyways, because I've come to trust the quality of your content; how you tend to highlight some fascinating, perhaps important, nuances that others might rather gloss over. You, and your fantastic expert, bringing to light the details of the geometry of the teeth on the blade's edge in the final product is another case-in-point for why you've become one of the first subs I click.
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Glacier
Adam has made a fantastic point here, a lot of the advice here can be felt out! I've been getting a remarkably sharp edge just by intuitively feeling what the blade needs based on the existing edgework. Also, this got mentioned in another comment, but if you have appropriate grit wet/dry sandpaper, that's stuck on an appropriately flat surface (glass is a good one) is a great way to test out whether the effort is worth the results!
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Adam has made a fantastic point here, a lot of the advice here can be felt out! I've been getting a remarkably sharp edge just by intuitively feeling what the blade needs based on the existing edgework. Also, this got mentioned in another comment, but if you have appropriate grit wet/dry sandpaper, that's stuck on an appropriately flat surface (glass is a good one) is a great way to test out whether the effort is worth the results!
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coolman22
You don't really need wet stones. I use 1 with 2 faces. A rough sharpening face and a smoothing face. Works pretty fine as I'm not cooking for a restaurant. Id reccomend to most people don't go crazy with stones. It'll get dull fast and it'll take around 15 minutes each stone to get it nice
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You don't really need wet stones. I use 1 with 2 faces. A rough sharpening face and a smoothing face. Works pretty fine as I'm not cooking for a restaurant. Id reccomend to most people don't go crazy with stones. It'll get dull fast and it'll take around 15 minutes each stone to get it nice
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jaywalker02
If you are on a budget, the leveling stone is not required for purchase right, right away. If you're just doing your own knives at home, and now starting out, it's unlikely that you'll need to level off the go with new whetstone. (What I learnt from the store where I got mine)
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If you are on a budget, the leveling stone is not required for purchase right, right away. If you're just doing your own knives at home, and now starting out, it's unlikely that you'll need to level off the go with new whetstone. (What I learnt from the store where I got mine)
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Cameron
If you want to practice your sharpening but you don't want to spend a lot of money on stones, just go down to the hardware or automotive stores and get you some sandpaper. Start around 400 Grit and then the higher grits. Finally dropped the knife on some newspaper or cardboard.
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If you want to practice your sharpening but you don't want to spend a lot of money on stones, just go down to the hardware or automotive stores and get you some sandpaper. Start around 400 Grit and then the higher grits. Finally dropped the knife on some newspaper or cardboard.
reply
Trademark
How much does a professional knife sharpener even make? Is it roughly as much as the average chef? Are to paid per knife? Per hour? How long does s knife sharpener usually spend sharpening knives each day? I just can't believe this is a a career and I have alot of questions.
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How much does a professional knife sharpener even make? Is it roughly as much as the average chef? Are to paid per knife? Per hour? How long does s knife sharpener usually spend sharpening knives each day? I just can't believe this is a a career and I have alot of questions.
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