Man - this is still very Sharp if you used it for 1.5 yrs without sharpening. I still enjoyed having you walk us through the different steps of the process. Thank you!
Sharpness means it'll be great at cutting. Edge retention means it'll hold a sharp state for a long time. A knife can have both, but usually you can't have an ultra mega extreme monster sharp knife that holds its sharpness for long, the opposite's also true. If you want a really sharp knife to retain its sharpness you'd want a harder steel and / or a bigger angle (something between 20º per side, opposed to like 16º or less); other than that you'd want your knife to have a micro bevel, so it stays sharp for longer periods of time.@@learner5090
I am sharpening knives every week, for my wife. But my own knives every month because I don't use them a lot. My favourite set of stones is King 1200 and Bester 4000, but I have got also King 800 and few other non Japanese stones which is used mainly for flattening Japanese stones and other tasks, small hard slip stones cam be used for some of serrated knives. I use also stones for woodworking tools and in mechanical engineering works.
its hilarious how many people ask for this video on other videos but don't know that it already exists! i've been reading it in comment sections everywhere!
Was that a Sakai Kikumori High-Carbon? I’m surprised that High Carbon steel used at home3-4 (x’s) weekly would hold an acceptable edge that well, for that long of a time.
Man, I having a "hard" time trying to be ambidextrous while sharpening knives.....but I can see a professional like you doing all the job with the dominant hand grabbing the knife all the process long... Not sure what to do....
Hello Vincent, I was planning on buying a medium stone. I've got bunch of knives with different grade of steals. My question is, King 1000,(hyper or deluxe) King 800, Naniwa 800 or Mizuyama1000 , I know all of these work for different purposes but which one would you choose if you have to choose only one? I feel like you are gonna say Mizuyama but It`s the least accessible one from where I live since I live outside of the US. Thank you so much.
At 4:37 he starts with the Naniwa Professional 800 and says it’s one of his favorites (mine too). My only other regular experience in that grit range is a Shapton Glass 1000 which is good, but I prefer the Naniwa. I’d also say that some people think the 800 is closer to a 1000 in actual use (metal removal and scratch pattern). Enjoy!
Hi! I have a question. If i sharpen my knives, is it necessary for me to follow the factory bevel or is it a big deal if i sort of grind out a bit wider than the factory bevel? My dilemma is that i try to keep a 15 degree angle but it tends to be, i guess, too low?? I would really appreciate your input! Love your videos! Keep creating more informative content! 🔪
The factory bevel of a knife is set at a specific angle in order to achieve the highest level of sharpness, but also strength of the edge. If you choose to lower the angle, you will have a sharper feeling edge, but chipping would be more likely with incorrect usage, and especially if the steel is hard. Lowering the edge of a good quality German knife to around 15 degrees won't be an issue, Wustof does this.
I too love to have very low angles - for I, my outside edge is somewhere around 8-10.’ Now I sharpen asymmetrically, so my inside edge at around 16-18,’ which acts(in part), to support the more acute inside edge’s durability. Another thing you could do, if you didn’t wish to sharpen asymmetrically (though you should read into it and consider doing so I would always suggest,, would be to place a micro bevel on either side of your bevel, this too will help to support and reinforce your edge, helping to increase the time in which it takes for your edge to eventually roll, and /or chip. Side note, the last time an edge of mine chipped, it was my (Shirogami #1 or Pure White Steel #1), when I inadvertently cut into the paper/metal of a twist tie around the stems of some Cilantro - as soon as I felt the resistance from the end of the twist tie, which has made it’s way around the band that had formed around the stems and up Into the cutting area of the produce, I immediately stopped cutting, however just that little bit of resistance/pressure I had felt/applied into that blade, at such an acutely-low angle of 8-10’ (and at that time with asymmetrical sharpening and/or micro bevel employed by I, caused a very small, sub1mm microchip to appear on the bevels-edge. This was easily removed, taking a longer, more patient, and steel preserving approach to simply remove it over time. during typical weekly sharpening on progressive stone->strop sharpening beginning at 1000#. I believe the chip was removed after 2-3 weekly sharpening sessions. Now I could have remove the chip immediately, using my Atoma Diamond Plate 120# (though this would have for sure taken off more steel than necessary, and if I had a less course # I would have started there in the Diamond plates.
My preferred method is to sharpen by pulling the blade toward me in strokes that travel the entire blade each stroke from heel to tip on the stone. This way no blade edge has any more contact with the stone than any other part of the blade edge. Therefore it is impossible to invariably develope any irregular (high or low) places along the straight edge of the blade over years of sharpening, since no blade edge ever has any more contact with the stone than any other. Also using a metal steel using more strokes will actually sharpen as well as debur the blade edge. This does not replace the eventual need for a sharpening stone, but forestalls it somewhat. Leather "steeling" is more effective, subtle, and refined on edges newly sharpened. My credibility: I was a meat cutter for many years.
If you go back to your very early instruction videos ,it looks like you have totally changed your style of sharpening. Before you went slowly in one direction moving from tip to Handel. Now you go back and forth fast ……. Why?
Hi Welsh, I'm still applying pressure in only one direction and working from tip to handle. When first learning how to sharpen i still recommend lifting the knife up rather than moving back and forth but once you are more comfortable with sharpening you can move back and forth. In this video, I'm showing how i sharpen rather than going over the best way for beginners to learn
