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This is just my modus operandi: I tend to nerd out about something for a few months until I reach a level of understanding/skill that I’m happy with, is useful (as a hobbyist) and I can retain, then I move on to the next thing.
Welcome to my world. 🙂
This is just my modus operandi: I tend to nerd out about something for a few months until I reach a level of understanding/skill that I’m happy with, is useful (as a hobbyist) and I can retain, then I move on to the next thing.
You will probably end up with 30 to 40 knives if not careful ...
I've got a Global knife that came with one of these in the box:
https://www.amazon.ca/Global-Speed-Sharpener-GSS-01-Silver/dp/B002OHF8IQ
Is it not advisable to use it, then?
The STW pasting pics glitch.
I reckon its unique. Of all the forums im on this is the only one that doesnt allow direct from your pics folder to be uploaded, and it seems even from anywhere else 1/2 the time.
I went down this rabbit hole when I got my first Japanese knife last xmas (got a couple now) and have found just stropping it with a leather strop and green paste has kept it razor sharp after tonnes of use over the last year. Literally razor sharp it will shave hair off my arm.
I use a cheap 1000/3000 whetstone to sharpen the TK maxx Santoku for everyone else to use (as well as get sharpening practice in case I ever do need to sharpen the proper knives.
Gnarfgh!
It's a Global Speed Sharpener.
The really annoying thing is I didn't even post a picture, I posted a link to an Amazon page. Which stw helpfully replaced with an embedded piece of content. Which now appears to have broken (or may fall foul of third party tracking blockers?)
Anyway it's a Global Sharpener, came in the box with an expensive Global knife, and I've been merrily drawing my knives through it ever since. So I'd be interested to know when and how it should be used, because there was no info with it!
My nephew is a chef, and they all just pay to get their knives professionally sharpened. The restaurant's don't pay for it...
I went down this rabbit hole when I got my first Japanese knife last xmas (got a couple now) and have found just stropping it with a leather strop and green paste has kept it razor sharp after tonnes of use over the last year. Literally razor sharp it will shave hair off my arm.
Oh yes, leather strop with green paste should be sufficient as I do that too. If the knife is sharp there is really no need to use force while slicing and the edge will last longer provided your chopping board is not too hard.
I use a cheap 1000/3000 whetstone to sharpen the TK maxx Santoku for everyone else to use (as well as get sharpening practice in case I ever do need to sharpen the proper knives.
You can get rather decent Japanese knives from TK Maxx when they are in stock. Try to get the one three layer cladding because that's surprisingly good for the price. I have at least 6 of them ... arrrghhh ...
From TK Maxx this brand. Get them because they are good and half price. https://www.hamburg-schmackhaft.de/schnappchen-kai-kochmesser-sekimagoroku-4000st-test-tk-maxx/
My nephew is a chef, and they all just pay to get their knives professionally sharpened. The restaurant’s don’t pay for it…
In the far east you can get them sharpen from the knives shops but not very common in the UK. I think people should offer this service a bit more.
@doris5000 - depends really, if you don't want to go to the effort/hassle of learning to use whetstones & stropping then that's probably as good as any pull-through sharpener to use for your knives (I'd assume it's the right angle for the edge on Global knives anyway). Just be aware the compromise for the convenience of a pull-through sharpener is you're removing more metal each time you sharpen (vs a whetstone) and the edge won't stay sharp as long.
Once you learn how to use a whetstone it doesn't take long, 5 minutes to get an edge sharpened on a 1000 - 3000 grit stone + strop (assuming you're doing it regularly and not trying to get rid of chips etc.). Learning to use a whetstone in the first place can take a fair amount of time though and restoring a damaged edge or thinning takes a lot more effort.
It's a good shout from a poster above about just using a strop + paste regularly, that's much less forgiving of technique and will still be useful if you decide to try whetstones later. I'm not sure about using a strop after a pull-through sharpener though, will probably clean up some of the edge damage but also might remove the micro serrations so could end up feeling less sharp initially (never tried it though so I'm just speculating...)
Thanks Fuzzy. What would be a suitable 1000/3000 stone that I could use dry? (Because I'm a bit lazy, and would probably only make a mess). I'm browsing a couple of knife sites but it's daunting! And preferably closer to £30 than £300.....
It's tricky recommending cheap stones from Amazon, I assume they're all much of a muchness but that might not be the case. If I were just looking for a cheap stone to use with a decent knife in good condition I'd probably go with something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/GR%C3%84WE-Wetzstein-K%C3%B6rnung-1000-3000/dp/B00JM6OKY0/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=whetstone+1000+3000&qid=1637672818&s=kitchen&sr=1-5 although this is even cheaper and comes with more stuff (although the 'stuff' is probably useless) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sharpening-Whetstone-Sharpener-Waterstone-Flattening/dp/B07YYC3TP2/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=whetstone%2B1000%2B3000&qid=1637672818&s=kitchen&sr=1-4&th=1
If you have older knives (that aren't in too bad a state) then practice on the 1000 grit side, it's fine enough you won't take much metal off but should be enough to form a burr (which for me anyway is key to understanding the process). When you do feel you're ready to start on the Global knife just use the 3000 to start with, that should be fine to get a very sharp edge on what was already a sharp knife.
Personally I mostly only use a 1000 grit stone for my regular sharpening as it's fast enough (given the knives I'm sharpening won't be in too bad a state) and you can get a good enough edge for food prep. 3000 might be worth it on a very hard steel just to get an even better edge but I can rarely be bothered (you get increasingly small returns on the effort the higher the grit you go).
Mine's a King 1000/6000. 40 bucks delivered.
Works great. Confirmed by the two bald patches on the front of my thighs. If shaving sharp us the goal, I'm 2 up.
The problem with water stones is that they dish in the middle as they are so soft. Its the softness which enables the quick build up of slurry which makes sharpening much more effective. We used to use soft green wheels ,which break down in a similar manner to a water stone, to sharpen tungsten carbide tools before diamond wheels became more accesible.Its the same principal used in both, constantly exposing fresh, sharp grit particles to the metal results in rapid removal of the metal.
I use both water stones and my latest acquisition, a diamond plate , by Trend i think. Not cheap, but I sharpen blades and chisels regularly for myself and my friends so its not a big problem.
Had really good results with both, would tend to prefer the diamond plate for a chisel though in order to get the back totally flat.
You can reflatten the dishing out of water stones by rubbing the face on a piece of emery taped to a sturdy piece of float glass, or, if you have access to one like I do, a granite or cast iron surface table . Draw an 'x ' on the dished face of the stone with a pencil, across the corners of the stone, and rub until all traces of the pencilled ' x' just disappears. Hey presto, flat, but not necessarily parallel, water stone.
But on a new, sharp knife, just use the strops until you really cant get away with it any longer.
You can reflatten the dishing out of water stones by rubbing the face on a piece of emery taped to a sturdy piece of float glass
A granite floor tile works too instead of glass as it's ground flat
...better than my attempt to link to YouTube..it's the lovely old fella from Global. .
Our knives aren't as fancy as the OPs - just Wustof's. I've wasted loads of money getting to something that reliably sharpens - as someones already said most pull through knife sharpeners work by serrating the edge and remove a lot of material
We've had one of these for at least the last 5 years. Diamond coated wheels in the two slots, one to sharpen one to hone. Foolproof, easy, quick. Doesn't remove loads of metal, knives always sharp and blades haven't gone out of shape. Recommended.
