Sharpening Kitchen Knives

[Peanut]

I've worked for 3 companies servicing CT's and MRI. Each company had a different requirement for tools you are expected to have. So, they supplied new employees with a new set in a metal case, different manufactures over the years, professional quality, all sorts of different colored screw drivers.

A few years ago I was putting a new engine in my truck. It got really annoying trying to find the right screw driver so I painted all of them with spray paint. All my flat tips got white paint, phillips got a bright blue. I don't know why I didn't think of that years ago.

 

[Weedygarden]

I've worked for 3 companies servicing CT's and MRI. Each company had a different requirement for tools you are expected to have. So, they supplied new employees with a new set in a metal case, different manufactures over the years, professional quality, all sorts of different colored screw drivers.

A few years ago I was putting a new engine in my truck. It got really annoying trying to find the right screw driver so I painted all of them with spray paint. All my flat tips got white paint, phillips got a bright blue. I don't know why I didn't think of that years ago.

That is a great idea. I can paint mine different shades of pink!

 

[Peanut]

That is a great idea. I can paint mine different shades of pink!

I keep nut drivers in that bag too! They were colored coded by size. When I used them daily for work it was useful, that was 18 years ago. I've long forgotten the code. Now I might need a nut driver 1 or 2 times a year, they all got painted yellow.

I just counted the items in my screwdriver bag, 23 screw drivers, 8 nut drivers, 5 regular files, a set of tiny files(8), 3 wood chisels, another plastic container with tiny nut drivers, screw drivers and tiny wrenches. I carry 3 bags of tools in my truck and a socket set.

 

[PopPopT]

Thanks for the suggestions on serrated sharpening! I'll look in to some of those ideas. It'll be a good winter project.

 

[Peanut]

I forgot I started this thread. A few weeks ago I found the best kitchen knife sharper since sliced bread. It's a carbide sharpener made by Lansky. I have a second one on my wish list with the big internet store... When this one wears out I'll have a back up.

 

[SheepDog]

I think I will just stick to my ceramic rods. I use them to hone the knives before and after I use them. There isn't a dull knife in my house.
Those carbide sharpeners are great for folks who don't care to learn how to keep a knife but they can ruin an edge in just a few strokes.

 

[jimLE]

i have 2 cheap sharpeners for my some cheap to real cheap kitchen knives.and work just fine for me.the edge the knifes gets around 2 weeks or longer if i figure right.

 

[joel]

I have 5 different sharpeners.
I use a file on the Bush ax to keep the edge while using it.
I have a steel washer sharpener for kitchen knives.
A carbine striker works just fine on work knives, I sharpen all the knives at work, no problem.
The trick is to start with an edge & keep it sharp, it takes a little skill, but it is not difficult.
I use a stone for knives I carry,again it a skill.
My Father taught me & a Knife maker friend use the same skill, I thought he would use a new wave type of sharpener.
But he said a stone in the hands of same one who know how to use it, is all you need.
His knife cut though turkey ribs like butter, with 58c rockwell, it did not leave a mark on the blade.
Thinks Peanut, I will get on of those compact sharpener.

 

[LadyLocust]

I have a have the best knife sharpener. It's my brother. He will sharpen a knife like I don't know what! There is one drawback to using this sharpener though. If he happens to find some sand or debris in your pocket knife, you are liable to get an ear full about the treatment of knives

 

[ssonb]

I am like SD....I tend to be a knife snob....After many years and going thru many different knife sharpener gizmos I now have an Ace variable speed water lubricated knife sharpener. It is a copy of the Tormec KS system. (Read less expensive here). They both use 11 inch wheels available in various grit from 800 to 10000 that are water lubricated as the wheels pass thru a retainer at the bottom. The system has guide rods ,clamps ,gauges and shields which are needed because the knife blade are are angled and hand held pointing into the stone.
I have given up on setting up this machine for the wife's kitchen knives , after all the work in getting the base angle set and then polishing to a scary sharp edge she will still chop and cut food on ceramic and pewter plates...... She now has her own pull thru sharpener and I use the Ace for my carry and field knives.

 

[Bacpacker]

I'll have to look into the Ace sharpener. My dad has a Tormec and it is far and away the best I've ever used. If the Ace model is comparible to the Tormec, it's a good one.

 

[Meerkat]

Hubby uses a stone. It works fro us.

 

[Grimm]

I grew up using some gnarly looking knives in my parents' kitchen. Turns out they are the same knives my parents had to buy and use when they worked at the beef packing plant in Kansas before I was born. The handles are wood and seen better days and the blades are black except where the blade has been sharpened on a stone. My dad taught me how to sharpen them with the stone and nothing else. I have yet to find a kitchen knife I like as much as those nasty things. That is one more item I am keeping when they kick the bucket. ;P

I do have a small selection of Cutco knives I brought into my marriage. K had cheap pieces of tin from the dollar store. He still to this day does not know how to sharpen a knife even with the kitchen gadget type sharpeners I have gotten him for Christmas. I swear my girls will know how to properly sharpen a knife with a stone before they leave my home.

 

[SheepDog]

Good for you Grimm!
Sharpening a knife is a skill that pays dividends.
Having respect for cutlery comes with knowing what it is to have a sharp knife.

 

[Spikedriver]

I really like a diamond rod for sharpening any knife. I have cheap kitchen knives, and they get the cheap pull through sharpener, just to make them "good enough". I don't use them that much anyway - I'm a bachelor, after all. My everyday use knives get the diamond rod. Of course they are of AUS8 or Sandvik steel, so they take an edge much better...

 

[SheepDog]

I have some cheap "cutlery" that I never touch. I have my kitchen knives that get dressed with a ceramic rod before and after each use. I haven't had to sharpen them in over 10 years. I have a good set of stones but the only thing they have been used for in the last ten years is dressing actions.