Kitchen knife sharpening
Discussion
Hi all
I can never get my kitchen knives sharp, I have a decent ( well it was an expensive present) steel but maybe it's the way I use it or is it down to the quality of the knives themselves bought out of Tesco and the likes
Can someone help in what knives to buy and how to keep them razor sharp, I would like one for slicing meat ?
Cheers and look forward to hearing from you all
I can never get my kitchen knives sharp, I have a decent ( well it was an expensive present) steel but maybe it's the way I use it or is it down to the quality of the knives themselves bought out of Tesco and the likes
Can someone help in what knives to buy and how to keep them razor sharp, I would like one for slicing meat ?
Cheers and look forward to hearing from you all
I bough one of these to debone a goose a couple of years ago:
https://www.victorinox.com/uk/en/Products/Cutlery/...
It's very good, I expect the rest iof their range works well too.
You can find plenty of knife sharpening videos on Youtube.
https://www.victorinox.com/uk/en/Products/Cutlery/...
It's very good, I expect the rest iof their range works well too.
You can find plenty of knife sharpening videos on Youtube.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I use Robert Welch knifes and their sharpener rather than a steel and have no issues with sharp knives.
I use Robert Welch knifes and their sharpener rather than a steel and have no issues with sharp knives.
mgsontour said:
Hi all
I can never get my kitchen knives sharp, I have a decent ( well it was an expensive present) steel but maybe it's the way I use it or is it down to the quality of the knives themselves bought out of Tesco and the likes
Can someone help in what knives to buy and how to keep them razor sharp, I would like one for slicing meat ?
Cheers and look forward to hearing from you all
A steel will help maintain an already sharp knife, not sharpen a blunt one.I can never get my kitchen knives sharp, I have a decent ( well it was an expensive present) steel but maybe it's the way I use it or is it down to the quality of the knives themselves bought out of Tesco and the likes
Can someone help in what knives to buy and how to keep them razor sharp, I would like one for slicing meat ?
Cheers and look forward to hearing from you all
Keep knives on a rack or in a block, not a drawer. Don't dishwash, wash by hand. Use a wooden or nylon chopping board.
Do that an a knife will stay sharp for a long time.
If you do a search on here you will find endless threads about what knifes to buy etc None of them ever reach any conclusion other than buy one ot two good knives rather than a big set of rubbish.
Have a read, set a budget and you'll get some suggestions. Everyone has their favourites from £5-£500.
Edited by 21TonyK on Sunday 28th March 13:13
A steel is used for maintaining a sharp knife, not resharpening a blunt one. They are not that easy for everyone to use and most people don't even use them in the correct direction!
I can't have nice things due to the missus, so make do with a £15 Procook knife which I use for everything except cutting cheese and a cheapo (prob Tesco) knife sharpener with coarse and fine much like this:
Doesn't take any skill to use and keeps my knife plenty sharp enough for even over ripe tomato (apologies for not owning a specific tomato knife). It falls through meat.
You could spend 10x if you wanted, but unless you really must eat grape halves untouched by (your) human hands there isn't really much point.
Victorinox have always been recommended by my chef friends; very good quality, reasonable price.
FWIW that sharpener above will completely re-cut a sharpening edge if you need to, visible metal shavings and all, but you should only have to do that once.
I can't have nice things due to the missus, so make do with a £15 Procook knife which I use for everything except cutting cheese and a cheapo (prob Tesco) knife sharpener with coarse and fine much like this:
Doesn't take any skill to use and keeps my knife plenty sharp enough for even over ripe tomato (apologies for not owning a specific tomato knife). It falls through meat.
You could spend 10x if you wanted, but unless you really must eat grape halves untouched by (your) human hands there isn't really much point.
Victorinox have always been recommended by my chef friends; very good quality, reasonable price.
FWIW that sharpener above will completely re-cut a sharpening edge if you need to, visible metal shavings and all, but you should only have to do that once.
I have been trying to increase my knife skills but you’re on a hiding to nothing starting off with a blunt knife. I bought a sharpener from Pro Cook, it does help a little but my knives still struggle. A steel I believe isn’t for sharpening, it’s for straightening the edge. A whetstone is what you use for sharpening.
Gnits said:
A quick squiz looks like he is similar in technique to that taught to me by my mother.She used to hand sharpen surgical blades before they used disposables so is pretty handy.
To add to the others and to move in another direction, what you need in addition to the steel is a knife grinding block. These tend to be cheap but are harder to use as the knife edge can bounce and move around more (once you're use to letting the knife do the work) and as a result you' ideally need to practice with, as you will end up with scratches on the flat/non-blade part 
I've been considering a wet grinder, but they cost and I can't justify it for the use I'd get (I saw reviews for the Lidl twin wheel grinder and while it was described as reasonable on the dry wheel, the wet wheel got poor reviews).
I've been considering a wet grinder, but they cost and I can't justify it for the use I'd get (I saw reviews for the Lidl twin wheel grinder and while it was described as reasonable on the dry wheel, the wet wheel got poor reviews).
A whetstone is definitely the way go go. I have a set of mid range knives that needed sharpening up and having watched a few vids I knew this was the way I needed to go to get that edge back.
Ensure you get one with a couple of grades, for getting the burr and then refining it and one with an angled plastic helper to ensure you maintain a consistent angle through the process.
I find it easy enough to spend 10 - 15 mins or so per knife whilst listening to the radio or whilst dinner is cooking. Also use an old baking tray to capture the water and run off so it’s not too messy.
Very happy with the results from this one and looks decent on the side between uses.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084H74BXQ/ref=cm_sw_e...
Ensure you get one with a couple of grades, for getting the burr and then refining it and one with an angled plastic helper to ensure you maintain a consistent angle through the process.
I find it easy enough to spend 10 - 15 mins or so per knife whilst listening to the radio or whilst dinner is cooking. Also use an old baking tray to capture the water and run off so it’s not too messy.
Very happy with the results from this one and looks decent on the side between uses.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084H74BXQ/ref=cm_sw_e...
Developing a skill and equipping yourself to sharpen like the Burrfection guy is going to take time and a few tools. I can do this and also edge my skis which is using the same skills and principles
I use a minosharp
It won't give you perfection but will get the knife reliably and usably sharp (easily cut lightly held paper and will cut micro thin tomato slices) with little time and skill
I use a minosharp
It won't give you perfection but will get the knife reliably and usably sharp (easily cut lightly held paper and will cut micro thin tomato slices) with little time and skill
Yea you are probably right!Whetstone is best for sharpening but you need to practice to get good at it. I whetstone my older set of knives and though they came out sharp, I managed to scratch the face of the blade and the bit where the handle meets the blade. Also the Whetstone tends to wear down unevenly over time so it's best to keep it flat by using something to grind down the whet one surface.
I daren't try it with my Wushofs yet so I use a drag through grinder for those.
I daren't try it with my Wushofs yet so I use a drag through grinder for those.
It does show how times have changed - and I mean going back 20-30+ years. My father was fortunate that he was given a steel by a professional butcher who was a friend of his, then when the knives needed grinding he just took them to a professional grinder. Not sure I've seen one of those in a long time, last time I remember seeing an advert was ~1999 in Fleet, Hampshire, where a local hardware store advertised the services of one.
Two minutes with this and my kitchen knives are like razors.
https://www.harborfreight.com/4-sided-diamond-hone...
https://www.harborfreight.com/4-sided-diamond-hone...
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