Description How to sharpen a knife like a professional butcher. Jimmy Kerstein, author of The Butcher's Guide an Insider's View, shows how to sharpen knives using a three way oil stone.
Dear Mr. Kerstein, This video really brought back some old memories and helped me to get much of some of the "flashier" techniques out of my mind. My Father was a butcher and meat cutter and was very traditional. I remember beef on rails (before box beef), aged beef and my Dad's same technique on his Norton IM313 tri-stone, the Forschner brand before it was Victorinox, Swibo knives, and F. Dick knives, before they got trendy, and that my Dad used a porcelain honing rod for some things. Thank you, sir, for keeping alive this art form, and for generously sharing sharing it. -Sandrine
Great video. I was a meat cutter for over 10 years at a couple different supermarkets. A ole timer taught me his sharpening technique when I started out and his methods were identical to yours! At first I had to sharpen my knifes weekly. After a while, and countless knife strokes, I finally "perfected" the angles and rarely had to even use the oil stones to keep my knifes sharp. Once you get a knife sharp, all you have to do to keep it sharp is use the honing steel correctly. Although I quit cutting meat a couple years ago, I still have the original Forschner knives that the ole timer gave me and they stay sharp! Practice and patients are key.
I have the same IM-313 system we actually do everything the same , I've been at it for 32yrs ,only difference , I use more oil only because I usually do a few knives at a time , really enjoyed your video, it cemented the way I've been sharpening , thanks much to you and your wife and the rest of your crew.
I was a butcher/mkt. manager for 26 years for Winn Dixie. Started in 1980 until 2006. I have a sharpening stone exactly like that one. It is the stone from the original meat market I worked at. I took it home in 1998 when the location I was working at closed due to competition from HEB and Walmart. Forschner knives are all we ever used back in the day. They are still great knives but called Victorinox today.
Thanks for your comment. Like you, Forschner knives were my tools of choice. As a retired butcher who loves to cook they are still my top choice. Having a familiar tool to keep them sharp is nice as well.
Thank you! I have two fine old stones that were my grandfathers, then my fathers....now mine. Before using them, I took my knife to a shop and they scuffed the sides of my Wusthof chef knife. Is there a way to buff those marks out?
I’m sorry Larry, I don’t have any ideas to remove the scuff marks. Now that I’m retired I do enjoy the time it takes to put a good edge on a good knife. Kind of funny how something that used to be work, is now enjoyable.
@@jimmykerstein2049 No worries! Deciding to appreciate having good quality knives and not bother with it. Sharpening…brings back memories of dad and grandpa doing that around the farm. And grandpa had a sharpening wheel by the garage. Good memories!
Maybe try putting the camera on a tripod next time? The video was very shaky and at times out of focus, and go a little slower so viewers can actually see what your doing. Other than that good video!
test18258 Thank you for your constructive criticism. I just used the stabilizer enhancement on RU-vid. Hopefully it will help to make the video easier to view. If you work with knives, nothing is more pleasant than using a knife with a nice, sharp edge.
Thanks for sharing the information, I understood everything. You're not claiming to be a videographer, I'm always amazed how ungrateful people are, so sad.
Actually my Norton stone is less than 15 years old. The Norton company dates back to the 1800’s. A new one like mine costs about $200. Although it takes time to develop the skills to use it efficiently, skilled craftsmen prefer the edge the stone leaves. Electric diamond sharpeners are fast and the better ones do leave a sharp edge. The downside is they also remove more metal and shorten the life of the knife. You can sometimes ruin a good knife with the heat generated, changing the temper of the steel, or sometimes gouging it. However you sharpen them a sharp knife is always a pleasure to use.
Jimmy, I've been trying to contact you in regards to video taping your services. We met last year at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Cant remember if it was the Xmas Expo. Anyway, I am a professional videographer and you expressed interest in hiring me to film your tutorials. I'll wait to hear from you and then I can send you my email. Your website came back with an error message stating that you 'exceeded your bandwidth.'
The camera “man” is my wife, Debbie. Our purpose was to share information to help sell my book. The book has been sold out for awhile now, so I guess we achieved our goal. Producing slick, professional videos has never been part of the process. RU-vid is a great source of free information. I guess you get what you pay for.😎
@December_Mist I do videos mostly for my own entertainment and to share information. I don’t receive any endorsement $$. The brand of knives that I used for decades of meat cutting are Forschner Victorinox. They are top quality tools for a reasonable price.
When you drag the blade across the stone to spread the oil it makes me cringe. I've been sharpening my own knives for years and I NEVER do that - regardless of the fact that I'm going to sharpen the blade properly.
He does not say,? But I use regular Honing Oil,? That I get from Smokey Mountain Knife Works.? A Qt.? Is very Cheap.? And lasts a long time.? I have used Mineral Oil,? In the Past,? Works great also.? These Oil Stones need to be Washed out Good .? From time to time,? To remove the Oil & Metal Pieces,? that are collected in the Stones.? To make them work properly again.?
The oil I use is Norton brand Sharpening Stone Oil. I purchased it at the same time as the oil stone. It is a food grade oil. I think that any good food grade oil would work well. Keeping the stone clean is important. I do not use the reservoir in the bottom of the stone to add oil. Instead I add just enough to the top of the stone to lubricate while sharpening. After use, I wipe off the stone with a clean shop towel.
You should have ended your comment with great advice. That is if you have any to offer. My videos are only offered to share knowledge, not for any other purpose. The camera person is my wife of 49 years. I think I’ll keep her.
@@jimmykerstein2049 I’m sure she’s an amazing wife but she’s making you look pretty incompetent when serving as your camera person. I was being nice. Your advice is lost because nobody can actually see what you’re doing. I can’t fathom why you’d impact your reputation as a content provider by posting something so shoddily done. Didn’t you wonder why you got tens of thousands of views but only a couple hundred likes? Never mix family and work. :-)
Thanks for your unnecessary RU-vid career advice. I don’t post for view counts or any financial rewards. Feel free to not waste your time viewing anything that I post. Have a nice day 😁
@@jimmykerstein2049I wasn’t saying this out of entitlement, you just seemed like the kind of person that doesn’t phone it in and adheres to the philosophy that if something is worth doing it’s worth doing well. I really wasn’t sure you were aware that the image was unusably blurry every time the video zoomed in. If I misread you and this feedback was unwanted I’m sorry.
Why bother with all that messing around? A twin electric grinder will sharpen a knife on both sides all in one go in a few seconds and will be just as sharp for the purpose.
Redblade as someone that’s been in the business a long time. Using an electric grinder kills knives a lot quicker. Yeah you save a lot of time but you remove a hell of a lot more material than is necessary.
