Knife sharpening

[sarahkeast]

After my divorce I treated myself to a 'good' kitchen knife from Pampered Chef [not much pun intended, just tired of crappy cheap knives] and it has been good for a year or two.

I am now finding it blunts really easily and doesnt hold an edge. I am using my Grandma's old knife sharpener, a thing with 2 rows of round discs where you draw knife thru the valley.

Is it the sharpener? I know nothing about these things, and if so, what should I get. I certainly expected this knife to be better, sharper and hold its edge a lot longer than it is.

Thanks

[darkbrowneggs]

I use a butchers steel
Butchers Steel

I keep a good edge on it, but I am not good using it the way the butchers do, what I do with mine is to hold the point of the steel down (I have a convenient dink in my old kitchen table) then draw the knife blade up and down the steel keeping an angle of around 45 - 60 degrees. Have been doing this for years on all my knives, including some of the serrated ones and it works a treat

A steel is the sort of thing you might pick up for next to nothing second hand - maybe try a car boot or charity type shop They last for virtually ever

All the best
Sue

[Odsox]

I also use a steel, but it takes a bit of getting used to.
I personally wouldn't put a quality knife anywhere near one of those disc sharpeners, all they do is gouge lumps off of the edge.
Failing that, an oil stone is good too. Get a nice acute angle on the cutting edge and it will stay sharp for months (unless you try cutting bone )

[Millymollymandy]

I find both kinds of sharpeners go blunt (by that I mean they stop sharpening knives) in no time at all so usually I just get my OH to sharpen the knives with the thing he uses for the garden tools! I'm sick of buying new knife sharpeners.

[gregorach]

A stone is for putting an edge on, and a steel is for keeping it. It's very rare for my kitchen knives to need to go anywhere near a stone, as I tend to give them a few passes over the steel just about every time I use them. A decent kitchen knife deserves a decent sharpening steel.

Sharpening is a very valuable skill, but it is a skill - i.e. it takes practice. Everyone sharpens their knives slightly differently, so a knife should really always be sharpened by the same person.

[sarahkeast]

Thanks for all the advice guys I really appreciate it.

I will buy a steel as I have a stone in the shed, if the steel doesnt do the job I can resort to the stone.

Any recommendations on brands etc ? They seem to range in price from £10- 40+. I strongly believe you usually get what you pay for, but also know that some things are so basic it is more about the name....

And I plan on buying online as I; a, hate shopping, b, never have time to look around junky boot sales, they frustrate me despite the potential 'savings'

[scrap]

Most sharpening stones you'll find at the poundshop or local hardware store are a bit rough gritted.
Fine for the crude work, but they'll basicly turn the knife edge into a miniature sawblade.
To finish the edge properly,a finer grit like 2500 up to 4000 (number of sharpening grits per square inch)will polish the edge like a razorblade.
Remember to keep the stone wet during the entire process.
If you use the stone dry you'll smear metal particles into the grit upto the point where it just doesn't sharpen anymore.
If used properly a 2500 grit stone produces a dirty looking grey sludge on it's surface and on the knife.
Don't feel tempted to keep rinsing this off as this it the stuff that does most of the actual sharpenig/polishing.

Good luck

[grahamhobbs]

Sarahkeast you don't say whether it's stainless steel or carbon steel. Stainless steel does not keep it's edge so well and is more difficult to sharpen.

[darkbrowneggs]

Victorinox was always a good brand

All the best
Sue

[phil55494]

One thing I was told by a friend when if worked at a kitchen supplies shop - get a steel that is longer than the longest knife you want to sharpen on it. That way you can always draw the full length of the blade along the steel.

[sarahkeast]

Graham, says on it that is it " Cro Mo V Steel"

whatever that means !

[gregorach]

Sarahkeast you don't say whether it's stainless steel or carbon steel. Stainless steel does not keep it's edge so well and is more difficult to sharpen.

That may be true of your bog-standard 440A, but not necessarily true of a more sophisticated stainless steel of the like often used in proper kitchen knives. Carbon steel discolours rapidly in kitchen use, and can stain your veggies.

Graham, says on it that is it " Cro Mo V Steel"

whatever that means !

Chromium / Molybdenum / Vanadium. Should be pretty decent stuff.

[becks77]

How do you wash the knife? unless it has a bone handle mine go in the dishwasher I know they shouldn't however, this method of washing will blunt a knife. Just a thought.

[Shirleymouse]

I have a fairly good steel from Sainsburys, I think it was about 7 quid but that might have been with a money off voucher. I use it every couple of weeks. I was wondering whether I could also use it on serrated knives - do you do it the same way?

I rem when I was little a fairly elderly man used to come round every few months and ask if we had anything that needed sharpening. He used to do all the knives, garden tools, even lawn mower blades - why don't we have any tradesmen like that anymore??

[gregorach]

I was wondering whether I could also use it on serrated knives - do you do it the same way?

No use on a serrated knife, I'm afraid.