Quote:
Originally Posted by B-Line
Yup... Still in LA.. Usually my bro just sharpens the knives for me.. But I have to leave the kitchen when he does so.. The sound drives me NUTS..
Are the people you know knife sharpeners? Or just friends who will give me an edge? Either way, thanks for the offer.
And how often should they be sharpened? Check with trying to slice a piece of paper?
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Call Chef Wong's buddy. He will HONE the edge. Buy a good steel from him. Ask him to brush you up on steeling.
Knives need 2 types of sharpening.
Initial Honing
Maintaining the honed edge with a steel
Honing removes metal and reduces the size of the "teeth" and gets them into alignment. Knives do not need a burr. Burrs are bad. It is an excess of metal on one side of the edge. Feels sharp to the finger, but Performs no useful function.
A knifes's edge is just a refined saw blade. Small teeth (honing) and aligned (steel). The smaller and straighter the teeth, the sharper the edge. Too fine and edge dulls quickly.
A steel is used daily to just keep the teeth aligned. One or two brushes ONLY before each use. Do not stand there like some guys on tv just swiping for minutes. An old trick is to hold the steel point down onto the cutting board. Place the top, rear of the blade against the steel's guard and rest the heel on the blade on the steel. It should be between 22-25 degress naturally (on an 8-10" chef's knife). Simply swipe the blade downwards one to two times per side.
As ar as frequency??? Hone when it is no longer sharpened by a steel. Some knives of mine can go a year in a pro kitchen, some I would hone every 4-5 months. It depends on how well you use your steel. You can hone them as often at you like, you just wear away the blade.
