Spec me a knife sharpener

sHo0sH

sHo0sH

sHo0sH

Soldato
Joined
10 Apr 2011
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My new housemates kitchen knives have been pretty neglected and need a good sharpening. So firstly I need a sharpener that will put an edge on what is probably a £30 set of knives.

Secondly, I have just bought a Shun Premier Santoku knife as I am fed up with using blunt knives and felt like treating myself, so will probably need a honer, and eventually a waterstone.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
I bought a whetstone with a rough and smooth side for a fiver off amazon tbh i never really got knifes sharp with that i think there really more for just making a edge and then you use a steel to bring that edge up to a sharpness. At least for me when my cheap as chips knifes need sharpening i.e wont cut a tomato easily i just use a 8 quid steel and i can sometimes get quite a nice sharp edge on them. Sometimes it doesnt work sometimes it does im still learning the way to use a steel properly and consistantly.

Imo and is probably what i will be doing sooner or later is get a diamond coated steel or something like that as that way it will give an edge and sharpen at the same time i.e the diamond particles would strip metal off like a whetstone does to do the edge kinda thing.

I probably messed up with what steel and whetstone does above but generally u know for urself what each does anyhow. ;)

Only thing i hate about my cheap 1-3 quid knifes i have is after i get a sharp edge after cutting a tomato its blunt again haha. Probably cheap metal for the knifes i dunno but man i wish when i use the steel and get a good sharp edge on it it would actually last for awhile before needing a sharpen again. :( Would get better knifes but whats the minimum cost to get a few knifes that actually last a few weeks after a steel going over it when needed?
 
Watch a few youtube vids on honing and sharpening. It's well worth it.

I bought these:
http://www.edenwebshops.co.uk/en/ct/eden-quality-sharpening-stones.htm
Expensive I know, but they seem to get the job done comfortably. I recommend actually just getting the higher grit stone, don't bother with the really rough on unless your knives are absoluately terrible, or you want to sharpen a hatchet or something.
A steel rod works well for honing but you need to consider the relative grades of steel between your knife and the rod. If you have a really hard japanese steel knife, a lower grade honing rod isn't going to do its job. You will need a ceramic rod or a really good steel rod.
I'm still not actually sure if I'm sharpening my blades correctlty yet. I got a realtively cheap (but good) knife from M&S so I use that to practice on. I think patience is the key.
 
I use the Lansky sharpening system - http://lansky.com/index.php/products/dlx-5-stone-system/

I use it for my kitchen and field knives - it takes a bit of time the first time as you re-profile the edge, but it's quick after that.

I can't be bothered to learn to use a whetstone so this system is ideal for me - I got mine from ebay for £37

the Lansky site seems down - look on ebay for lanksy sharpening system - you want the 5 stone (not diamond) one
 
the Shun will have the same blade angle as Global knives but will be different from generic kitchen knives

for the shun i recomend a MinoSharp wet sharpener (the one with a pink and a white ceramic wheel) i use these for my Global and Shun knives and they are excellent.

edit: be very careful with a whetstone as they are difficult to use properly and can very easily damage your knive if used incorrectly
 
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Personally i would bin them. but that's just me.

as for your Santoku just get a decent steel and run it a couple of times before each use.

dont waste time and money on these gadgets, and wetstones over kill on a brand new knife.

my shun boning knife is still as sharp as the day i bought it about 5 years ago.
 
A steel will indeed keep a blade well honed, however it won't resharpen in any sense of the word. Over time, or after a small disaster (accidental dropping, allowing someone else to use it and they chop on a plate (:() etc) it will eventually need resharpening.

I personally go for a whetstone and a decent steel. The whetstone technique really isn't too difficult and provides great results, I usually sharpen till it will slice through a piece of paper held up and leave no jaggies.
 
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