Hi Mark
I just wanted to let you know that your suggestion of the Shapton 320 is a game changer! My Wusthof knives have been restored to sharp, and I even have a hairless patch on my arm to prove it. I would never have thought to go down in grit so I thank you for your suggestion.
Since my faith in sharpening is restored, do I need anything else besides what I have?
Also, Now I know about the process of going from dull to sharp, but I'm unclear about the process to keep the knives sharp. Should I be using a honing steel on German knives? Japanese knives. Should I be 'touching up' with the 5000 periodically, or should I start all over each time? The knives are used to cut soft things like vegetables/meat on a wooden cutting board. How long should I expect a knife to remain sharp - a few days? a few weeks?
Once again, thanks for rescuing me. I really appreciate it.
Tony
Faith Restored.
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ChefKnivesToGo
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Re: Faith Restored.
Hi Tony,
I'm glad you like the Shapton Pro 320. I love using that stone and I wish I had started using a low grit stone to start my sharpening sessions earlier when I first started. Most new sharpeners are attracted to the high grit finishers but the low grit stones are where the action is.
As for touching up your edges, I recommend you put the rod away and either use your fine grit stones for quick touch ups or if you find that tedious, use a strop.
This set will get you started:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/haamstkit.html.
As for when to do this, your knives will tell you. As soon as they start dragging through food as you cut with them it's most likely time to touch them up. Once they don't respond to touching up then it's time to run them through a full progression and grind a new, fresh edge.
Make sense?
Stay Sharp my friend.
I'm glad you like the Shapton Pro 320. I love using that stone and I wish I had started using a low grit stone to start my sharpening sessions earlier when I first started. Most new sharpeners are attracted to the high grit finishers but the low grit stones are where the action is.
As for touching up your edges, I recommend you put the rod away and either use your fine grit stones for quick touch ups or if you find that tedious, use a strop.
This set will get you started:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/haamstkit.html.
As for when to do this, your knives will tell you. As soon as they start dragging through food as you cut with them it's most likely time to touch them up. Once they don't respond to touching up then it's time to run them through a full progression and grind a new, fresh edge.
Make sense?
Stay Sharp my friend.
Re: Faith Restored.
With German knives that see a lot of use its really hard to beat a 300-400 grit hard bonded Aluminum oxide stone (AKA oil stone) and a steel. For home use a simple 1k stone and a strop does well.
J-knives are a bit different, you don't want to steel them because you can damage the edge or even chip it and trying to touch-up an edge with a 5k stone would be a long and frustrating task. I would almost always recommend dropping back to the 1k stone to refresh the edge and remove any damaged steels so that your edge retention does not suffer. This is typically much faster and yields a much better edge without frustration.
Edge retention is hard to put a number on because it can depend on several factors like the board, amount of product to be cut and your individual knife skills. But.... a good knife used once or twice a day can last several weeks with good care.
J-knives are a bit different, you don't want to steel them because you can damage the edge or even chip it and trying to touch-up an edge with a 5k stone would be a long and frustrating task. I would almost always recommend dropping back to the 1k stone to refresh the edge and remove any damaged steels so that your edge retention does not suffer. This is typically much faster and yields a much better edge without frustration.
Edge retention is hard to put a number on because it can depend on several factors like the board, amount of product to be cut and your individual knife skills. But.... a good knife used once or twice a day can last several weeks with good care.
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Re: Faith Restored.
For a J-knife, I mostly do as Jason B is saying. I don't go all the way down to a coarse stone, but use a mid-grit stone. This won't take long - a couple passes - because the edge isn't dull. Then I polish.
The question of how refined is up to each user - their taste & their combination of foods. Those who do a lot of meat often stop at 2k-4k. But I just used a gyuto with a 12K edge on pork butt (non-bone portion) and it had no issue with the layers of fat & connective tissue.
The question of how refined is up to each user - their taste & their combination of foods. Those who do a lot of meat often stop at 2k-4k. But I just used a gyuto with a 12K edge on pork butt (non-bone portion) and it had no issue with the layers of fat & connective tissue.