SMF

I haven't sharpened ours lately, and they need sharpening. Through the years, I've always tried to keep ours sharp. Recently I got an old PIke hone that is for sharpening knives and tools, etc., not razors of course. What works best for you guys who attend to the sharpening of your own household knives? The Pike calls for using oil. I suppose I can do that. It's times like this that I miss my brother the most, he made knives and one phone call would get me off on the right track. All of my time spent sharpening razors seems to have completely corrupted by knife-sharpening files. I suppose there are dozens of knife forums brimming with this type of information.

Gary, check out cookfoodgood.com, chefknivestogo.com and cheftalk.com. That BDL fellow on the first website has almost as much knowledge about knives as Gordon does shaving, and is a fun read.

Thanks Ron, I'll check it out!

I use a sharpening steel for kitchen knives. They give excellent results when you know how to use them.

Chris

Sharpening steel works for me.

I'm still old school, but I have been eyeing the Chefs Choice sharpeners. Currently I still use a diamond "stone" for sharpenng and a diamond "steel" for everyday touching up. I guess if those didn't work for me I'd be all over the Chefs Choice sharpeners like stink on poop. They're in my sights, but I'm not putting pressure on the trigger finger yet.

I use a Norton 220/1000 combo stone.. I am in the same boat. Most of my wife's knives and scissors need sharpening. I will get around to it in the next week or two.

I maintain my kitchen knives religiously with a steel and I have maintained a sharp edge with no need for separate sharpening for a long time.

I mainly use a "standard" 12" steel which has some texturing for edge alignment with a mild sharpening effect. I also have a smooth steel for polished edges and a coarse steel that imparts a bit more sharpening effect than the standard model.

I have a diamond-coated steel, but I haven't had much success with it. I haven't put much effort into it, either. I'm curious about a ceramic "steel."

I have an Edge Pro Apex sharpening system that I ordered online several years ago. This is a sharpening system with different stones and a framework that sets them up at preset angles. It is supposed to be a superior system, but I haven't used it yet. My main knives haven't needed it, but I do have a couple of less used knives that could benefit from some attention. This is a fairly expensive system, but it costs less than a set of good knives. Here are two links, one for the Edge Pro site and one for Edge Pro units on sale at Amazon:

http://www.edgeproinc.com/

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1& ... pro%20apex

- Murray

I like the Edge Pro system, especially since you can find super stones from other manufacturers that are sized to fit it. It's virtually foolproof (though it's never met me). I've always used Friedrich Dick steels to realign and polish my German and American knives, and the Idahone Fine ceramic sharpening rod is excellent on Japanese edges.

Spyderco sharpening sytems works for me and a steel to keep it sharp

I have a Chef's Choice Manual Diamond Hone model 450 2-stage sharpener, which doesn't 'sharpen any of my knives very well. I've tried a number of sharpening systems, including wet stones, but can't get the results I want. I'm thinking that it's me not the tools.

Never mind kitchen knives, our stove died, and I spent all day Saturday trying to sort through a conversion from electric to gas 'cos we have always wanted gas vs electric, only to find out we'd need major reno work in the kitchen in order to meet code (another thread for another day).

We have a metal rolling edges thingie that we picked up a couple of years ago in a Calphalon store --- it's been excellent in keeping good edges. I'll use a burnisher for a quick sharpen before I go at a tomato or onion though.

CMur12 wrote:I maintain my kitchen knives religiously with a steel and I have maintained a sharp edge with no need for separate sharpening for a long time.

+1

The wife and I have an old set of Wusthof knives (we bought them for ourselves after we were married) ... I use the steel regularly and have been able to keep the knives (as my wife would say) uncomfortably sharp. Not as sharp as a shaving razor but sharp enough to slice through your fingers with the greatest of ease.

Of course they are stainless steel, and consequently don't hold the edge for a long time ... but the steel works well enough if used regularly.

Cheers-
Dave

Update on the knives. A guy has several Youtube videos posted about this. He demonstrates using the steel, but he also talks about establishing a new bevel and edge on knives that need that. It turned out we already have a steel that came with a set of knives a while back, but our current knives were too dull and the factory "edge" was too far gone for the steel to do any good. After watching him do it, I was able to follow the guy's example and I used my Norton 220/1000 combo razor hone to create bevels and edges sharp enough to cut and slice again. They're fine now, and maybe the steel tool might be useful to keep them sharp in the future. Our knives aren't the high market range chef knives, they're just what I consider satisfactory for everyday household kitchen use.

Gary, I've been cooking for a very long time and I have yet to buy a terribly expensive knife.

The best knives I've found when balancing cost vs quality are the Forschner Victorinox line. That's all I've ever wanted or needed. The rest comes down to keeping them in shape. The latter can't be bought but is learned.

I like the old French made Sabatier brand and when old I mean not just the company but the carbon steel knives.

I always liked the looks of the Sabatier carbons, Squire. They weren't as fragile as the Japanese, but were nearly as maneuverable, cut equally well, and a good fit-to-hand.

When I moved last year, I sold off my German and Japanese knives, all except for a relatively inexpensive Forschner/Victorinox chefs and F. Dick serrated bread/utility. I'd like to add a second Victorinox for smaller tasks. I don't go for "best" or fancy anymore on kitchen equipment: durable and utilitarian is where it's at. The few pots and pans I've kept are multi-taskers, come from restaurant supply houses, and can withstand what passes for cooking around here. I do have my eye on another steel, not an F. Dick Dickeron top-of-the-line but their cheapest-good polished, a packing house staple. Eventually I'll get around to buying an American-quarried combo stone for real sharpening.

Squire wrote:I like the old French made Sabatier brand and when old I mean not just the company but the carbon steel knives.

I have a couple of carbon steel Sabatiers, an 8" cook's knife and a paring knife, and I really like them. I favor carbon steel for any knife, when I can get it.

By the way, Wüsthof just came out with a 200-year anniversary set (cook's knife and paring knife) in carbon steel with rosewood handles. They have them at Chef's Catalog. They are described as 8" and 3 1/2", but they are actually 9" and 4".

A very inexpensive carbon steel knife that I use a lot is a Chinese cook's knife (often referred to as a "Chinese cleaver," even though it isn't a cleaver) that costs $9.95 from the Wok Shop in San Francisco's China Town ( www.wokshop.com ). It has a traditional carbon steel blade with wrought iron cladding that is lightweight and measures 8" by 3.5".

I agree that Forschner makes good kitchen knives. Though I don't have one of their cook's knives, I like their bread knife better than my forged Henckels and the paring knife that I use the most is a 3 1/2" Forschner that costs $5.95. You can tell by looking at it that it's not an expensive knife, but it has all the hallmarks of a good knife.

I like knives, and I have approached kitchen cutlery much like I have wetshaving. I have an array of cook's knives and paring knives, and I have my eye on a couple more. Even so, I have way more shaving equipment.

- Murray

Count me in on the carbon steel camp as well.

I have a Robert Herder (or Windmuehlenmesser) "series 1922" chef's knife and a paring knife and they're pretty much all I use.

Available in the US here:

https://store.kaufmann-mercantile.com/c ... hefs-knife

Close to USD 300 seems pretty steep, though, and you can get them at half that price shipping included from this uk vendor:

http://www.knivesandtools.co.uk/en/pt/- ... -knife.htm

The makers have their own website:

http://www.messer-mit-tradition.de/

I have almost, almost I say, convinced myself I really don't need any more kitchen gear but then remember I have been wrong before.