Knives & Knife sharpening

eggbert said:
Man, I am an idiot.
I knew I had better implements to use, better knives even, but I decided to use my carbo next knife in a way it totally want designed to be used and managed to snap the end 4mm off.
To say I am pissed of with myself is an understatement.

Still I guess it gives me the chance to buy a new knife
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Just grind a new point on it. You'll have a carbonext knife that's 4mm shorter and depending on the shape, maybe a bit stubbier. I've done that to a couple of knives. It's really no biggie at all.
 
Grind it with a whetstone, or...?
 
I used a benchgrinder on one. Works well if you just go slow to prevent overheating. A coarse whetstone will work but depending on the size of the knife it could take ages. I've used a lump of granite to re-do a tip on a small paring knife. Basically if you use anything electric go really slow and hardly use any pressure and if you're doing it by hand it could take a few hours. It's really easy to do so don't beat yourself up. But it'll help if in future you don't use knife tips as screw drivers or bottle openers.
 
Alas not much space for a grinder in a first floor apartment.
I reckon it would ruin my whetstone too, so off to the (online) shops I go.
I might just get something my wife can use as well so it will be stainless and a 50/50 bevel as she is cack-handed.

Japanesechefsknife.com or chefsknivestogo.com being the options I know for cheapish knives.
 
Pjotr said:
But it'll help if in future you don't use knife tips as screw drivers or bottle openers.
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I was just trying to pierce a small hole in a plastic bottle. I have tools that would be fat more suitable for the job but they were at least 3 metres away!
 
eggbert said:
Alas not much space for a grinder in a first floor apartment.
I reckon it would ruin my whetstone too, so off to the (online) shops I go.
I might just get something my wife can use as well so it will be stainless and a 50/50 bevel as she is cack-handed.

Japanesechefsknife.com or chefsknivestogo.com being the options I know for cheapish knives.
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Of course I don't wish to undermine your decision to go and buy a new knife but you can send it to me and I can fix it for you.
 
eggbert said:
Japanesechefsknife.com or chefsknivestogo.com being the options I know for cheapish knives.
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A few of us have bought from Blueway Japan on eBay, they have Tojiro knives at good prices.
 
I might well take you up on that kind offer PJ. In my mind it is already a write-off so I wouldn't care if it was unfixable. It would just be a bonus if I got something back.
 
No problem. No way 5mm loss off a tip is a write off. I'll PM you with my address. Which carbonext knife is it?
 
Pjotr said:
No problem. No way 5mm loss off a tip is a write off. I'll PM you with my address. Which carbonext knife is it?
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Here is your chance PJ. Fix the knife but send him back an SE blade superglued to an ice block stick, tell him you tried your best but this was all that was left. Meantime fix the knife and keep it (or send it to me for having such a brilliant idea) :)
 
gthomas04 said:
Here is your chance PJ. Fix the knife but send him back an SE blade superglued to an ice block stick, tell him you tried your best but this was all that was left. Meantime fix the knife and keep it (or send it to me for having such a brilliant idea) :)
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I thought we'd already hatched this plan using PMs.
 
The old man picked this up for €2 in an Italian junk market to cut salami and cheese. It's well used, but has come good with a quick run on the steel. The color of the patina is a little darker than the picture suggests. It's a nice little piece of kit, I'm going to take it with me when I go to Sicily at the end of the year.

opinel.jpg


I didn't end up buying the wet stones I wanted, mostly because I find it very hard to justify the price of them when comparing it to the Edge Faux and the good job it does already. I decided that the stones were wanted rather than needed and I certainly didn't trust myself not to bugger up my Tojiro gyuto. This is an opportunity though, as I'll suggest the Bester 1200 as an Xmas gift down the track.
 
You could, but there is a small 'dead patch' that is hard to do at the handle end of the blade. If it ever got to the point that a steel couldn't fix it up, it'd be easier to just buy a new one.

Over the weekend I fixed up dad's Wusthof Classic 6" chefs knife. It was horribly dull and had been improved in my first go with the EF months ago, but it's scary sharp now after spending some time with the 1500 stone. The blade is a little thicker than the Tojiro DP, which actually seems to help when butchering meat. It's nice to be able to look at the knife rack and see 2-3 options for each task.
 
Mong. said:
You could, but there is a small 'dead patch' that is hard to do at the handle end of the blade. If it ever got to the point that a steel couldn't fix it up, it'd be easier to just buy a new one.
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Or get a little stone! One of those little diamond camping jobs is good. You can only do so much with a steel.

Mong. said:
Over the weekend I fixed up dad's Wusthof Classic 6" chefs knife. It was horribly dull and had been improved in my first go with the EF months ago, but it's scary sharp now after spending some time with the 1500 stone. The blade is a little thicker than the Tojiro DP, which actually seems to help when butchering meat. It's nice to be able to look at the knife rack and see 2-3 options for each task.
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Let the folks in the house know it's now a lot sharper than it was! I wouldn't butcher much with a Japanese knife. Not only do I not know enough about butchering and sometimes make cuts that no true butcher would attempt but I think they're just too sharp. With some jobs, and it's very similar with woodworking tools, blades can be too sharp for the job you're doing or at least the sharpness of a blade is not as important as the toughness/flexibilty/size/thickness.
 
A must read article here.

I'm racing out to get myself a couple of those steak knives he mentioned from the website
 
Mark1966 said:
A must read article here.
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That's about it really. It's a little bit over the top as with double edged knives you really don't need to use three stones and end up on a 3000 grit stone. I rarely go beyond 1200. It gives the knife a really nice bitey edge which is a lot easier to use on tomatoes or anything with a bit of a tough skin.

Mark1966 said:
I'm racing out to get myself a couple of those steak knives he mentioned from the website
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At $250 a pop they're a real bargain! Selling Japanese style steak knives is ridiculous. Unless you serve your steak on wooden platters you'll be spending half your life sharpening the damn things. It makes no sense at all. People that will buy $250 steak knives will not buy the shitty quality steak you need a really sharp knife with.
 
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