Question about sharpening

[crane]

How does everyone sharpen their knives? With a stone? Does anyone take thier knives to a professional?
I think I will be getting a Messermeister Elite 10" chefs knife and slicing knife from Santa this year. I was planning on just mailing them back to the company for free sharpening minus the cost of shipping. But now I am starting to think that I will be sending it throught the mail and waiting for it to get back to me so often that it might get annoying to wait for it.
I have heard that one of the most important asspects of using a sharpening stone is to be consistant with the angle that you drag the knife at. I have talked to a couple of people, inlcuding John Borg from Knifemerchant.com, and he seems to think that it is almost impossible to be that consistent, and I would be better off mailing the knife back to the company.
Right now I sharpen my Wusthofs with a gizmo with ceramic wheels. You just drag the knife through the two wheels, it seems to work fairly well, but I am sure they could get an even better edge.
I am interested in hearing what everyone has to say. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

[mudbug]

You may find the following previous threads very informative:

Questions about sharpening stones

Knife Guide

[Jock]

I sent my Wusthofs out to be professionally sharpened once. I wasn't impressed. They removed too much material so there is a small gap between the heel of the blade and the bolster. As much as it is a chore (3 or 4 times a year) I prefer to sharpen my own knives using a $20 stone with a rough side and a smooth side. I used to keep the stone wet with water but I read recently in Cooks Illustrated that a dry stone is better and faster. And so it is. (It wears the stone faster too.) With practice and a strong wrist you can keep a fairly consistent angle.

Jock

[kokopuffs]

Jock:

My hobbies are lapidary (stone cutting and polishing for bolo ties and belt buckles) and gunsmithing among many other interests. All rely on intimate knowledge of abrasives. I can assure you that ALL STONES REQUIRE LIQUID TO FLOAT PARTICLES OFF OF THEM to prevent the pores from clogging.

The best all around sharpening stone is the CARBORUNDUM BRAND (not the Norton brand) COARSE SILICONE CARBIDE stone. Get one that measures at least 8 inches in length.

[Nicko]

I happend to feel the Cook's Illustrated is an excellent magazine and offers some good insight. Obviously someone with your experience (Kokopuffs) in sharpening will probably have more knowledge than the research at CI, but they like most publications won't hit the mark everytime. I think that when you read a magazine just like reading a recipe you have to use your own common sense since it may not be accurate. Personally I don't think one poorly researched article should make or break a magazine. I certainly don't stop reading the paper because one journalist wrote a bad article.

What issue was the article in I would like to read it.

[kokopuffs]

I think that the article on sharpening was written within the past 6 months.

[Nicko]

Thanks, I will check it out. Curious Kokopuffs, do you have any of your bolo ties or belt buckle work online? I would love to see some pictures of your work.

[kokopuffs]

I'll see what I can do about getting photos online. They're not for sale, however.

[Jock]

Thanks for the feedback Kokopuffs. I don't recall exactly what the brand name is of the stone I have. It is 8" long with a gray course side and a red smooth side.
Nicko, Kokopuffs is correct, the article was written within the past few months. I will dig out tomorrow and let you know what issue.
Regardless of the specific technique, my preference is still to sharpen my own knives.

Jock

[kokopuffs]

I was shouting at the world and no one in particular regarding that article. It seems that the younger generation, raised in tract homes instead of the farm, has lost touch with certain manual skills - not to mention that they didn't see much blood upon growing up, namely animal slaughter. These are gross generalities, I know. And I'm bound to offend a few out there.

Jock, it sounds like you own an INDIA stone, aluminum oxide; the gray side being coarse and the red fine. Go to ebay and do yourself a favor. Procure a CARBORUNDUM brand coarse silicone carbide stone. It'll sharpen your knives in a minimal amount of time and effort.

[Jock]

Thanks kokopuffs, I will check it out. I'm sure there is somewhere in San Francisco I can get a Carborundum stone.
I'm curious to know if Crane made a decision on sharpening knives. Or has all this debate put him off?

Jock

[crane]

Well, I am slightly confused because of some conflicting information I had found on the internet and different searches on this site. I think that I will definately be better off taking the time to learn how to sharpen the knives well myself. I do still have a couple of questions. Why do you want to use a coarse stone to sharpen your knives? Won't that cut more of the metal from the blade away, and leave you with a rougher edge? I am also a little more hesitant to sharpen a messermeister on "any-ole-stone" because of the edge. The blade is somewhat similar to a Global. I have read from alot of places that you need a special stone, or a higher grit stone to sharpen them well. It may have just been a ploy to get people to buy more Global products, like their stones, but I still wonder if their is any truth to it.
However, after taking in all of the information that I have found, I think that if I buy a stone to sharpen my knives, at the very least my few Wusthofs and possibly my Messermeisters (soon to be receiving), I will be getting a three way stone mounted thinggy with stone grits of around 250, 500, and 700.

[crane]

However, I have not ruled out the Carborundum silicone carbide stone.

[Jock]

I use my knives daily and I give them 8 or 10 swipes on a steel before every use. That way I only have to sharpen them 3 or 4 times a year. Sherpening, by definition, means removing material. Using a course stone gets the edge closer to being sharp faster than using a fine stone. (Either way the same amount of material has to be removed.) Once the blade is sharp using the course stone, a fine stone is used to hone the edge to a smooth, sharp finish.

Nicko, the "Knife Sharpening 101" article is in the August 2001 issue of Cook's Illustrated.

Jock

[momoreg]

It seems that the younger generation, raised in tract homes instead of the farm, has lost touch with certain manual skills - not to mention that they didn't see much blood upon growing up, namely animal slaughter.

What does this have to do with knife sharpening?