[LeCroissant]

I have a F.Dick cook's knife. At first it was just amazing, slices through dull tomato with ease, shreads paper like you wouldn't believe. Now even thought i use the steel rod before use I can't slice dull tomatoes anymore.

I wash and dry the knife after use, store in wooden rack upright, don't use on metal etc...

Can anyone offer some suggestion? is it my steel rod technique? about 30-40 degrees angle pull from top to bottom towards body.

p.s. yes i know, what am i doing cutting up old tomatoes...

[scott123]

I know that this thread has involved a good deal of reading up to this point but for those of you that want to delve a little deeper into knife sharpening, here is one of the most thorough online resources I've seen on the subject:

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=26036

And this goes into a little more detail about specific knives:

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=40472

These guys do not mess around.

[chefboy2160]

Hey kokopuffs , remember when we could get good stoned at venice beach.
And then I remember we could work our way up the coast for Pismo and you could get good stoned there too and eat some great clams . Uh Oh , this thread is about stones and sharpening knives (Yikes , flashback has come to a dramatic end).
Sharpening knives is realy a simple affair. The time it takes depends on type of steel and the stone or abrasive used in the sharpening process.
All you do with the stone is put the bevel back on the knife and going from course to fine makes the teeth get finer and closer together .
All the steel is for is aligning the edge back up to center .
Thats why I use the low end chefs knives called Forschners . The steel is soft enough to require very little time on a stone and it lasts suprisingly well with just a few strokes on the steel . Also they are rather inexpensive compared to the big brand names ( My parents swear I was adopted off of the streets of Jerusalem ) so if stolen its not that big of a pain to replace.
Oh and another tip I picked up years ago was to dry stone(except of course with them japanese wet stones) . Now excuse me whilst I return to the flashback and the great clam chowder at Pismo Beach................

[kokopuffs]

Chefboy:

I don't know you and I've never been to Venice beach. Yes, I use a 35 year old Forschner boning knife that's flexible yet most of the remainder of my knives are veeery old Sabatiers, whose steel is quite pitted.

[LeCroissant]

Thanks for the link, wicked reading for a beginner. However, I think i will find a professional knife sharpening service to begin with, maybe even watch and learn if they allow it.

On another note about thin knives, when I went to Vietnam I found the knives to be extremely light and thin, the blade is some type of dark close to black colour material, yes it is prone to rusting but the locals use it for shaving or julienne vegetables, or hacking into a green papaya to finely shred it.

[kokopuffs]

Monsieur Croissant:

The blade that you describe is, I believe, good ol' fashioned carbon steel - veeery prone to blackening, rusting, and taking an edge sharper than most modern stainless steel blades. I mean, since "they" shave with it...

[LeCroissant]

because I'm a Miss... lecroissant is the name of my favourite local pastry shop.

Do you know how to keep these type of knifes rust free? my dad sharpens it with a cheap stone. They say your safer with a sharp knife than a blunt knife however these asians knives are so light weight and sharp it's frightening at times when you see the locals speed chop and slice up food.

[kokopuffs]

Wipe dry immediately after EACH use. For long term storage, coat with oil.