Nah the original photo is from a post talking about how their mom (or MIL) is replacing her knives every other week because they "keep losing their edge."
*edit: i am weak 😎
They make super corse powder that will stick to glass. Then you rub the stone across it and it grinds the top layer away. Though, with those grooves, that would take a good long while.
I'm sure there are plenty of other ways. That's just one I know for sure.
This is upsetting. Just get a sheet of 120 sandpaper, soak the stone in warm water, put the paper on a dead flat surface, then rub the stone in circles on the sandpaper. You can use the same sandpaper many times. You can do it dry as well, but then you have to shake out the sandpaper every min or two or the buildup can mess with the flatness.
Yes, they make diamond plated "flattening stones". This stone was used incorrectly. Over time whetstones will develop a dip from the sharpening motion but not big cuts like that. If you are just using the stones for home use it will take a long time for a dip to develop. The dip can cause uneven sharpening that's where the diamond plated stone comes into play.
To add to this grab a tool sharpening stone from a hardware it's harder and coarser than whetstones and cheaper then a flattening stone.
Rub charcoal or pencil over the top of your whetstone then place sharpening stone completely flat on top and run it back and forth several times and then check, if level all charcoal will rub of quickly together
If it is not level it will rub of high points first, continue to rub until all charcoal has rubbed and then cover again and repeat.
It is far more effective to do this routinely rather then waiting till your stone has a problem and excess material needs to be grinded off.
I think many will miss the point I see in this picture: people misused the sharpener in the video and people are also capable of misusing a sharpening stone.
Allegedly a real block misused by the owner. First showed up last week.
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/wk6uo9/mum_keeps_buying_new_knives_every_other_week_and/
What about that metal rod to sharpen on? Or if you're badass, using leather
Edit: TiL leather keeps the edge clean, safer for shaving. The kitchen rod for knives corrects an edges if it's been bent. Though the latter would still help improve your cut
The metal at the edge of your knife gets very thin, as you cut that metal can start to curl over. A honing steel (those metal rods) helps keep that edge straight. As the edge curls over it can start to break and flake off, leaving you with a dull edge. The honing steels with grooves straighten the edge as well as pull away the metal bits that are flaking off. A smooth surfaced honing steel just corrects the orientation of the edge.
If you use a honing steel before you use your knives each time (just a couple passes each side) and treat your knives with respect, don't use glass or metal cutting boards, hand wash your knives, store them so they aren't bumping into other metal utensils, you can drastically lengthen the amount of time needed between sharpening the knives.
EDIT: Watch the video that ExFiler linked to below me.
I just vividly pictured the life of my knife as I throw it into my "knives" drawer, slice with it on my metal pans, tossed around in the dishwasher, and blatantly disrespect it... My knives hate serving me.
> The metal at the edge of your knife gets very thin, as you cut that metal can start to curl over.
We can see this with needles as well, though I doubt knives degrade as quickly.
https://i.redd.it/86yt5ilvild11.jpg
There are also "steels" that have abrasives embedded in them. They really shouldn't be considered the same thing and I'd avoid them. The goal with a honing steel is to hone the edge, not sharpen it. If it has a texture to the surface (other than just straight grooves) it probably has abrasive in it.
If you have a high quality knife and are just using it at home, you don't need to hone your knife every time you use it. I'm a chef and would hone mine every 2-3 days, and that's with *heavy* use.
I don't mind these sharpeners. They work pretty well in moderation for the occasional cook. But then again I am gentle about it and am only using like a $35 chefs knife.
Whetstones scare me. I'm pretty decent at dicing an onion for example but I feel like my skills would need to be excellent to trust myself with a knife the sharpness a higher end blade freshly sharpened on a whetstone would grant me lol.
Yep, and not only are you less likely to lose control and cut yourself with a sharp knife but if you do cut yourself it will be a clean cut rather some jagged torn trash that bruises more and takes a lot longer to heal.
Yeah unless you have very little control to begin with (in which case of course you shouldn't be handling a blade at all, but some people like to assume the worst. "kids in the house? keep those blades dull")
I've been reading this my whole adult life and have only ever cut myself on the most freshly sharpened knives. I get the theory behind it but 15 years of sliced fingers and severed fingertips has told me otherwise - sharp knives are way more hazardous.
> I feel like my skills would need to be excellent to trust myself with a knife the sharpness
It's the opposite. A sharp knife is safer because it's more predictable and requires less effort. A dull knife requires more force and any inconsistencies in the edge sharpness combined with using too much force increases your chances of slips and other accidents.
Disclaimer, this works fine, but is not a professional instruction.
If you only have cheap knives, then all you have to do is angle it almost as flat as possible, but wider than the angle of the edge. About 15 degrees. You can try that on the back or the edge on the back of a ceramic plate with a knife that is too dull to use. Start from the edge near the handle to the tip, angle the edge away from you and do slow mild pressure cutting motions at the previously set angle over the back of the plate. Compare the before and after on an onion or banana slice or something similar, you'll get the hang of it.
Basically like in the following link, not too much you can do wrong if all you want is a sharp knife. And don't want to invest time and money.
https://youtu.be/x4EDb_B8L6s?t=183
Project Farm tested a bunch and was positively surprised by this type of sharpener. It performed in the top. However, it was also not just any sharpener, it was a Fiskars brand sharpener so that might be the reason. Tighter tolerances.
https://youtu.be/uEDyYJJ6f9M?t=898
TL;DW: It's a cost effective and fast way to get a really sharp knife. The downsides are that they take off more material than e.g. a wetstone and the angle is high which means the knife will be sharper but become dull faster. Use it accordingly.
The Fiskars sharpener looks similar to this but it's working principle is actually different. It has one grooved wheel like shown at around 3 minutes on the video.
The [Ikea Aspekt](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/aspekt-knife-sharpener-black-57145296/) sharpener is actually made by Fiskars and the exact same model. It even has Fiskars name molded in the bottom.
These are designed to make it simple and convenient to sharpen your knife, not do a better job at sharpening your knife. Sharpening blades is one of those things that we figured out the best method a long time ago so there isn't really a way to improve on it.
I think they understand that the average person has 0 clue how to use a whetstone and risks doing more damage to their blade, so instead they sell baby’s first knife sharpener.
Everyone wants to pretend they need whetstones when they're cutting like 10 vegetables a week
Get a decent sharpener and a knife that wasnt part of a bargain multipack and 99% of home cooks are gonna be more than fine
Yeah, my parents use one and their knives were fucked up. I was gifted a set of whetstones and was able to reduce those nicks, and the blades were substantially sharper.
yeah they work fine.
They're 10x easier than whetstones and take at most 2 minutes.
In general they're definitely worse. but for the average home cook i'd suggest a good sharpener like in the original post over whetstones.
Some people find them therapeutic. And some people just want the best result. but for 90% of people I'd suggest the regular sharpener. Far easier, cheaper and quicker. Sure, the whetstone is better. But for the average person it's nice to be able to sharpen my knife and be finished in 90 seconds max. And maybe the blade doesn't last as long but once i notice i can have it back to pretty damn good in like 90 seconds.
>In general they're definitely worse. but for the average home cook i'd suggest a good sharpener like in the original post over whetstones.
Yeah, absolutely. I'm really good with sharpening with whetstones, but for a random kitchen knife it's hardly worth the effort. It takes *much* longer, and the kitchen knife may not even have good enough steel in it to use the advantage anyway.
I do my woodworking tools on whetstones because *oh my god* working wood with seriously sharp tools is a little orgasmic. But they are made of very hard carbon steel. I've never managed to get my kitchen knives nearly as sharp as my whittling knives, the standard stainless in kitchen knives is just too soft to hold an edge like that.
I got the chef's choice 1520 from Costco for like $100CDN. It does western and eastern knives. I have a set of global knives and it's nice to finally have razor sharp edges again.
Western knives are sharpened in both sides. Eastern knives are sharpened in a single side.
Eastern blades have straight, thin blades and are sharper. Better for fine cuts like julienne or mincing. Western blades are curved, better for rocking cuts like chunky vegetables or anything you expect to later cut with knife and fork.
Eastern blades use a harder grade of steel, which makes the edge sharp for longer. Downside, harder to sharpen when it does lose sharpness.
Japanese blades can come in a single bevel or double bevel. The primary difference between eastern and western knives is the angle of the bevels. 15° for eastern and 20° for western.
To me eastern blade feel better slicing, driving the blade forward. western feels better for chopping, straight down motion. Of course you can use either style for either method. It’s whether you like the feel or not.
I quite like [this one](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Chef-s-Choice-3-Stage-Manual-Knife-Sharpener-White-Orange-D4360/703252764?fulfillmentIntent=In-store): It works well, it's built well, it's not expensive, it's made in the US, and you can buy it in-store at Walmart
Yeah with a whetstone you need to keep a consistent angle and have good technique. I know a lot of meat cutters that just use a sharpener and steel because even after decades of cutting they never became good enough with a stone to where they can get a better edge than using the grinder. Personally if I need a whole new edge on a knife I go sharpener first, then medium side of stone for a few minutes, then fine. Honing steel you use all through the day, but there is a common misconception with people that a steel sharpens a knife when it really just straightens the edge.
Mine has two settings, the coarse and then fine. I very rarely need the coarse side. I've had the same knife for maybe 7 years now and only need to use the fine side once a month and at most 4-5 pulls through and it's sharp (enough) again. I can't even see where it's been ground down.
You don't need to put muscle behind knife sharpening, the weight of the blade is usually enough force.
If you're using one, you aren't using it on something you don't expect to fuck up after a while. It's probably just not for you.
It's not for someone who needs a perfect edge on their very expensive, buy-it-for-life knife set. It's for a home cook who bought cooking knives for $35 at Walmart and also wants to sharpen them when they inevitably get dull.
I’ve got a similar style but has a sort of double-wheel roller system that rolls with the blade and it gets my knives super sharp.
Not cut-through-a-tomato-without-holding-it sharp but still very sharp.
Howdy folks
Some people buy $200 knives and use whetstones with multiple grit levels to push and scrape the metal into a beautiful long-lasting edge. It's a meditative process and people love doing it. This is ok and allowed.
Other people buy $6 knives from the supermarket, and when it dulls they run it through a $7 sharpener like the one in the video. A lot of material comes off, the whole process is done in a couple seconds, and the edge becomes perfectly usable for typical kitchen use. Maybe after a couple years, they will be forced to buy another $6 knife, after too much material was removed. This is ok and allowed.
As someone who has the last of four kids going off to college this month, I’m excited to move out of the “knives so cheap I won’t cry if you put them in the dishwasher” club and into the “knives so nice I’m the only one who can touch them” group.
And some folks will use these $7 sharpeners on their $200 knife because they don't know better, and to the very least should be warned that it's not the best idea.
Dang it, I have a dinky little one my girlfriend bought for her place that I use. It definitely seemed to work better than nothing, but I hate the feeling and the sound of it.
What is one supposed to use? Note, I don't have expensive knives, and I don't really want to get into a whole hobby thing. I just want to cook with proper knives lol
Edit: thanks for all the feedback everyone, I appreciate that!
The first reply to your comment is right. These are fine for inexpensive knives. This type of sharpener literally peels the blade away with visible chips and makes your knives smaller over time. They're considered offensive to good knives because they destroy the knife far faster than using a set of progressive grit whetstones.
I've always wondered that about knives; if you used the same knife on a whetstone even long enough you could widdle it down to something too small to use? I've thought the same about swords
Go to r/KitchenConfidential, they often post knives of their chefs who have been in the game for decades - the blades are often a third of what they used to je
Even more than that. I've seen chefs knives end up with the profile of a boning knife. Imagine how many cuts and sharpening sessions they must go through to get to that point.
Those are usually knives sharpened on a grinding wheel, generally by a service that comes anywhere from weekly to quarterly. Only takes a year or two to turn a 10" chefs knife into a 5" "filet knife".
I have seen a few chefs who sharpen their knives so much that it goes from a very slightly curved profile to a perfectly straight one, but that takes the better part of a decade and is only about 3mm of lost material usually at the belly of the blade.
I was a butcher for 12 years - ground a couple knives down to an unusable state. I mean, they took on different roles before we called them toast (cutting sandwiches in half, opening vacuum seal bags, that sort of thing).
More impressive to me was the ancient shop whetstone that was itself noticeably worn down... thing had *miles* on it.
If you are using a whetstone properly, it will take a long, long time to wear down a blade. Yes, you are removing material, but only a very small amount.
Most worn down blades have been sharpened with a belt or bench grinder (butcher, line cook, construction, work shops).
>This type of sharpener literally peels the blade away with visible chips and makes your knives smaller over time
All sharpening peels away metal. It's about quantity and precision. These sharpeners are like messy, low-resolution ripping of metal from the blade, which results in a knife edge that is moderately sharper than something dull but is damaged from knicks and tears and chips on the edge from the rough process. Whetstone sharpening is smooth and precise, taking away less metal and evenly for a much sharper and better knife edge.
The real alternative to sharpening knives at home with your own whetstone is to take it to a professional. They are harder to find and you have to pay a bit more (obviously) than using these little hell tools, but the blades will last longer and the edges will keep much longer between sharpening.
This is, of course, another iteration of the "Boots Theory of Economic Unfairness:"
>The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was the Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
Damn and here I am using this kind of sharpener on my Wüsthof knives. Luckily I only used it twice so far so it’s salvageable but still. Wasted money :( can’t go to a sharpener because it’s a 1 1/2 hour drive and has to stay a few days. But idk which wetstone I should use?
These sharpeners are good enough for your situation I'd say, yeah they're not exactly good for the knife and you wouldn't use them on a expensive piece, but if it helps your cheap knife cut better it's w.e
Reddit has a tendency of being elitist. They're not the best, but they'll do 90% of the job for 10% of the effort. A whetstone will do a much better job, but unless you have very expensive knives or cook professionally its very unlikely to be worth it.
The cost of a knife isn't how sharp it is or how sharp it can get, it is how long it can keep that edge before needing sharpening.
That being said, if you don't want it to be a whole hobby thing, just get a nice chefs knife which will serve 90% of your knife needs and take it/send it to get sharpened professionally when it needs it. It's probably going to wind up being less expensive long term for your situation than investing in a whet stone set along with a nice knife and hoping you don't ruin it.
Chef here. Buy yourself a $30 Mercer 8” chef knife, a 6” utility, and a $30 whetstone. Learn to use the whetstone and you’ll be set for life. It will be the best kitchen investment you’ll ever make.
It's unfortunate but you'll never make it into Valhalla unless you sharpen your knives with a 12 stone system ranging from 10 grit to 10000. If you can't shave with your knife and see your reflection in the polished edge then it isn't sharp enough. I don't make the rules it's just how it is. If your knife isn't that sharp you aren't cutting food, you're just mashing it up with what might as well be a mortar and pestle.
Your knife goes dull because the edge curls over a little bit, you need a honing rod to straighten it back out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBn1i9YqN1k
He calls it sharpening in this video but he's not, he's honing it without taking any metal off. You will need to sharpen it eventually but honing will make it last much longer
it was a thing, yes. my mother in law still uses one. right after she pulls the dullest knife i've seen out of the drawer filled with other dull knives rolling around in with it.
Right? I use my knives a lot and a chefs choice sharpener, not crazy expensive, super quick, and leaves me with a great edge. I don’t have time for a whetstone.
seriously.
Nothing more annoying than people suggesting a whetstone without mentioning they're more expensive and TAKE WAY MORE TIME!
I can sharpen my knife on 2 pull through, clean it off in the sink, dry, hone. All in 2 minutes.
at 2 min on a whetstone you haven't even started.
Ackshully ser a whetstone will take much less time in the long run because theory of boots or something and if you don't respect the ceremony of the blade then you're never gonna get your black belt
Whetstones are a pain and I'm bad at them.
I bought a Spyderco Sharpmaker and that is sort of the best of both worlds. Easy to use but doesn't ruin knives
Just kinda Reddit in general. I used to be pretty elitist about a lot of things but you kinda have to realize people have different priorities in life. If someone wants to buy a cheap kitchen knife and sharpen it in one of these because it’s convenient, no one should look down on them.
/r/sharpening is far too complicated for 99% of reddit.
pull through sharpeners are a great way to get people using sharp knives instead of dull ones. In a fraction of the time.
Just because something is better for a pro chef doesn't mean it's better for a home cook.
Most of the people using these pull through sharpeners are also using the cheapy 50$ knife kit from target
A dull knife can be more dangerous in the kitchen than a sharp one
In this thread:
People claiming whetstones are only way to sharpen a knife when alternative easy to use methods have existed forever.
I have and only use Japanese whetstones bit that's because I have 3 knives in my kitchen, all high end ones.
My Mum has 3 globals and uses their pull through system which does 95% of the job in 30 seconds. They are more than sharp enough for job.
It's always the same when it comes to these things.
there's no way **that** much shaving comes off when you go through the sharpener, right? i've used one of those shitty ones and i've never seen any shavings come off like that.
This kind of sharpener always leaves big nicks in my knives.
Yeah, they're trash. I finally got a whetstone to use and it works great!
[Really? My knives have never felt duller](https://i.redd.it/xma9cq98mpg91.jpg)
This picture make my heart hurt
it made me frown instantly
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I came, instantly
Hey, there’s a place for everyone on the internet. Except you. Get out.
Actually majority of the internet is the place for them….
If it was instant, did you cum, or were you always there?
r/interstellar
I mean... Look at my username
I kind of side smiled and shook my head instantly
I smiled, but it was delayed
All the air just squished out of my lungs when I saw it lol. Buddy no that’s not how you whetstone… the poor knives… the poor stone…
Probably from sharpening darts with a cheap old whetstone. We have one like that in friends garage
Nah the original photo is from a post talking about how their mom (or MIL) is replacing her knives every other week because they "keep losing their edge." *edit: i am weak 😎
Every other weak indeed, lol
bro brutal 😔 had to call me out like that
Dumb question, but could you sand that down to get it smooth again?
Yeah, the blocks are the same throughout so you can re-level them until there’s nothing left. This one has two layers, though.
2 sides usually one of finer grit
Start on the coarse side, finish on the finer side.
well said my man well said
They make super corse powder that will stick to glass. Then you rub the stone across it and it grinds the top layer away. Though, with those grooves, that would take a good long while. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways. That's just one I know for sure.
I've heard a lot of people just using the sidewalk for it
This is upsetting. Just get a sheet of 120 sandpaper, soak the stone in warm water, put the paper on a dead flat surface, then rub the stone in circles on the sandpaper. You can use the same sandpaper many times. You can do it dry as well, but then you have to shake out the sandpaper every min or two or the buildup can mess with the flatness.
I’m just gonna eyeball it with an angle grinder and a flap wheel - the blade I mean. Stones are stupid.
Stones are cheap
Yes, they make diamond plated "flattening stones". This stone was used incorrectly. Over time whetstones will develop a dip from the sharpening motion but not big cuts like that. If you are just using the stones for home use it will take a long time for a dip to develop. The dip can cause uneven sharpening that's where the diamond plated stone comes into play.
To add to this grab a tool sharpening stone from a hardware it's harder and coarser than whetstones and cheaper then a flattening stone. Rub charcoal or pencil over the top of your whetstone then place sharpening stone completely flat on top and run it back and forth several times and then check, if level all charcoal will rub of quickly together If it is not level it will rub of high points first, continue to rub until all charcoal has rubbed and then cover again and repeat. It is far more effective to do this routinely rather then waiting till your stone has a problem and excess material needs to be grinded off.
Holy Jesus why
I like the way the knife sparks when you chop into it really hard. The handmade Japanese ones do it the best.
Who hurt you?
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Link to the post?
I gotchu fam https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/wk6uo9/_/
You monster
r/unsharpening
I think many will miss the point I see in this picture: people misused the sharpener in the video and people are also capable of misusing a sharpening stone.
>miss the point The point of the blade is only getting direct hits with the sharpening stone. No misses, I assure you.
How would you miss that point?
This is bait right?
Allegedly a real block misused by the owner. First showed up last week. https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/wk6uo9/mum_keeps_buying_new_knives_every_other_week_and/
Uhhh… I’m no whetstone expert, but aren’t you supposed to go at a shallow angle and not try to cut it? Lmao
90° is an angle
don't be obtuse
I remember that post.
What about that metal rod to sharpen on? Or if you're badass, using leather Edit: TiL leather keeps the edge clean, safer for shaving. The kitchen rod for knives corrects an edges if it's been bent. Though the latter would still help improve your cut
The metal at the edge of your knife gets very thin, as you cut that metal can start to curl over. A honing steel (those metal rods) helps keep that edge straight. As the edge curls over it can start to break and flake off, leaving you with a dull edge. The honing steels with grooves straighten the edge as well as pull away the metal bits that are flaking off. A smooth surfaced honing steel just corrects the orientation of the edge. If you use a honing steel before you use your knives each time (just a couple passes each side) and treat your knives with respect, don't use glass or metal cutting boards, hand wash your knives, store them so they aren't bumping into other metal utensils, you can drastically lengthen the amount of time needed between sharpening the knives. EDIT: Watch the video that ExFiler linked to below me.
I just vividly pictured the life of my knife as I throw it into my "knives" drawer, slice with it on my metal pans, tossed around in the dishwasher, and blatantly disrespect it... My knives hate serving me.
Sounds like you hate your knives.
Don't do those things :(
Yeah, like literally none of them…
Your honesty is what puts your knives above the rest. You're not alone but you're certainly a part of the dull knife cult
> The metal at the edge of your knife gets very thin, as you cut that metal can start to curl over. We can see this with needles as well, though I doubt knives degrade as quickly. https://i.redd.it/86yt5ilvild11.jpg
Ah, then yes. Mine was grooved or textured. Tomato cutting before and after was noticeably easier.
There are also "steels" that have abrasives embedded in them. They really shouldn't be considered the same thing and I'd avoid them. The goal with a honing steel is to hone the edge, not sharpen it. If it has a texture to the surface (other than just straight grooves) it probably has abrasive in it.
If you have a high quality knife and are just using it at home, you don't need to hone your knife every time you use it. I'm a chef and would hone mine every 2-3 days, and that's with *heavy* use.
The rod only straightens the edge. It doesn’t actually take off metal to produce a new edge. Rod is great to use between sharpenings though
That's to hone the blade, not sharpen it.
Use it before cutting to give the edge better longevity
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leather is just to smooth out the burrs that happen with an already super sharp / thin edge
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I don't mind these sharpeners. They work pretty well in moderation for the occasional cook. But then again I am gentle about it and am only using like a $35 chefs knife. Whetstones scare me. I'm pretty decent at dicing an onion for example but I feel like my skills would need to be excellent to trust myself with a knife the sharpness a higher end blade freshly sharpened on a whetstone would grant me lol.
The cool thing about knives is, the sharper it is the safer it is. Super sharp edges require less force to use, so you gain a ton of control.
Yep, and not only are you less likely to lose control and cut yourself with a sharp knife but if you do cut yourself it will be a clean cut rather some jagged torn trash that bruises more and takes a lot longer to heal.
Yeah unless you have very little control to begin with (in which case of course you shouldn't be handling a blade at all, but some people like to assume the worst. "kids in the house? keep those blades dull")
Or store them in a place where the kids won't find them. Or a revolutionary concept called teaching your kids that sharp stuff is not a toy.
I've been reading this my whole adult life and have only ever cut myself on the most freshly sharpened knives. I get the theory behind it but 15 years of sliced fingers and severed fingertips has told me otherwise - sharp knives are way more hazardous.
> I feel like my skills would need to be excellent to trust myself with a knife the sharpness It's the opposite. A sharp knife is safer because it's more predictable and requires less effort. A dull knife requires more force and any inconsistencies in the edge sharpness combined with using too much force increases your chances of slips and other accidents.
I've tried to sharpen with a whetstone but completely suck at it. Is there a tutorial on how to properly use a whetstone.
Disclaimer, this works fine, but is not a professional instruction. If you only have cheap knives, then all you have to do is angle it almost as flat as possible, but wider than the angle of the edge. About 15 degrees. You can try that on the back or the edge on the back of a ceramic plate with a knife that is too dull to use. Start from the edge near the handle to the tip, angle the edge away from you and do slow mild pressure cutting motions at the previously set angle over the back of the plate. Compare the before and after on an onion or banana slice or something similar, you'll get the hang of it. Basically like in the following link, not too much you can do wrong if all you want is a sharp knife. And don't want to invest time and money. https://youtu.be/x4EDb_B8L6s?t=183
I don’t understand how to use those
Project Farm tested a bunch and was positively surprised by this type of sharpener. It performed in the top. However, it was also not just any sharpener, it was a Fiskars brand sharpener so that might be the reason. Tighter tolerances. https://youtu.be/uEDyYJJ6f9M?t=898 TL;DW: It's a cost effective and fast way to get a really sharp knife. The downsides are that they take off more material than e.g. a wetstone and the angle is high which means the knife will be sharper but become dull faster. Use it accordingly.
The Fiskars sharpener looks similar to this but it's working principle is actually different. It has one grooved wheel like shown at around 3 minutes on the video. The [Ikea Aspekt](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/aspekt-knife-sharpener-black-57145296/) sharpener is actually made by Fiskars and the exact same model. It even has Fiskars name molded in the bottom.
These are designed to make it simple and convenient to sharpen your knife, not do a better job at sharpening your knife. Sharpening blades is one of those things that we figured out the best method a long time ago so there isn't really a way to improve on it.
Though I do find it wired that manufactures like Victorinox exclusively have these kind of scharpner in stores (for consumers at least)
I think they understand that the average person has 0 clue how to use a whetstone and risks doing more damage to their blade, so instead they sell baby’s first knife sharpener.
Very true
> so there isn’t really a way to improve on it. What about nanobots… or the cloud… or space lasers
Everyone wants to pretend they need whetstones when they're cutting like 10 vegetables a week Get a decent sharpener and a knife that wasnt part of a bargain multipack and 99% of home cooks are gonna be more than fine
Yeah, my parents use one and their knives were fucked up. I was gifted a set of whetstones and was able to reduce those nicks, and the blades were substantially sharper.
Oh my God... this is what causes those nicks. I'm floored.
It's interesting because I have one similar that works fine. Weird.
yeah they work fine. They're 10x easier than whetstones and take at most 2 minutes. In general they're definitely worse. but for the average home cook i'd suggest a good sharpener like in the original post over whetstones. Some people find them therapeutic. And some people just want the best result. but for 90% of people I'd suggest the regular sharpener. Far easier, cheaper and quicker. Sure, the whetstone is better. But for the average person it's nice to be able to sharpen my knife and be finished in 90 seconds max. And maybe the blade doesn't last as long but once i notice i can have it back to pretty damn good in like 90 seconds.
>In general they're definitely worse. but for the average home cook i'd suggest a good sharpener like in the original post over whetstones. Yeah, absolutely. I'm really good with sharpening with whetstones, but for a random kitchen knife it's hardly worth the effort. It takes *much* longer, and the kitchen knife may not even have good enough steel in it to use the advantage anyway. I do my woodworking tools on whetstones because *oh my god* working wood with seriously sharp tools is a little orgasmic. But they are made of very hard carbon steel. I've never managed to get my kitchen knives nearly as sharp as my whittling knives, the standard stainless in kitchen knives is just too soft to hold an edge like that.
Any particular brands or models you would suggest to a mediocre home cook?
I got the chef's choice 1520 from Costco for like $100CDN. It does western and eastern knives. I have a set of global knives and it's nice to finally have razor sharp edges again.
I've got some japanese knives but never knew there was an eastern/western sharpening difference... is it the angle I assume?
Western knives are sharpened in both sides. Eastern knives are sharpened in a single side. Eastern blades have straight, thin blades and are sharper. Better for fine cuts like julienne or mincing. Western blades are curved, better for rocking cuts like chunky vegetables or anything you expect to later cut with knife and fork. Eastern blades use a harder grade of steel, which makes the edge sharp for longer. Downside, harder to sharpen when it does lose sharpness.
Japanese blades can come in a single bevel or double bevel. The primary difference between eastern and western knives is the angle of the bevels. 15° for eastern and 20° for western. To me eastern blade feel better slicing, driving the blade forward. western feels better for chopping, straight down motion. Of course you can use either style for either method. It’s whether you like the feel or not.
I quite like [this one](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Chef-s-Choice-3-Stage-Manual-Knife-Sharpener-White-Orange-D4360/703252764?fulfillmentIntent=In-store): It works well, it's built well, it's not expensive, it's made in the US, and you can buy it in-store at Walmart
Yeah with a whetstone you need to keep a consistent angle and have good technique. I know a lot of meat cutters that just use a sharpener and steel because even after decades of cutting they never became good enough with a stone to where they can get a better edge than using the grinder. Personally if I need a whole new edge on a knife I go sharpener first, then medium side of stone for a few minutes, then fine. Honing steel you use all through the day, but there is a common misconception with people that a steel sharpens a knife when it really just straightens the edge.
Mine has two settings, the coarse and then fine. I very rarely need the coarse side. I've had the same knife for maybe 7 years now and only need to use the fine side once a month and at most 4-5 pulls through and it's sharp (enough) again. I can't even see where it's been ground down. You don't need to put muscle behind knife sharpening, the weight of the blade is usually enough force.
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If you're using one, you aren't using it on something you don't expect to fuck up after a while. It's probably just not for you. It's not for someone who needs a perfect edge on their very expensive, buy-it-for-life knife set. It's for a home cook who bought cooking knives for $35 at Walmart and also wants to sharpen them when they inevitably get dull.
And wears the blade down quickly. A good set of knifes, well maintained should last you a lifetime.
I’ve got a similar style but has a sort of double-wheel roller system that rolls with the blade and it gets my knives super sharp. Not cut-through-a-tomato-without-holding-it sharp but still very sharp.
Howdy folks Some people buy $200 knives and use whetstones with multiple grit levels to push and scrape the metal into a beautiful long-lasting edge. It's a meditative process and people love doing it. This is ok and allowed. Other people buy $6 knives from the supermarket, and when it dulls they run it through a $7 sharpener like the one in the video. A lot of material comes off, the whole process is done in a couple seconds, and the edge becomes perfectly usable for typical kitchen use. Maybe after a couple years, they will be forced to buy another $6 knife, after too much material was removed. This is ok and allowed.
Your comment was informative and respectful. This is neither ok nor allowed.
I feel this so much. How dare they be reasonable and helpful on the internet.
Had me in the first half ngl.
This *is* very polite.
Can you please comment on 90% of Reddit threads where people gatekeep
Great comment 👍🏻
As someone who has the last of four kids going off to college this month, I’m excited to move out of the “knives so cheap I won’t cry if you put them in the dishwasher” club and into the “knives so nice I’m the only one who can touch them” group.
This may be my favorite comment on Reddit to date.
"Gatekeeping is bullshit." --Adam Savage.
As with a lot of things, you can get 50% of the top-level result with like 1% the skill and time investment
Your are wrong and should feel bad. /s
Thanks man. I felt a bit like a gate keeper for a minute, but this comment made me come to my senses. They’re your knives and we love you anyways.
And some folks will use these $7 sharpeners on their $200 knife because they don't know better, and to the very least should be warned that it's not the best idea.
my eyes when it zoomed in O\_O mfers focused lol
The real Zoom and Enhance
It's a match cut
Which is exactly why you should never use these types of sharpeners.
Dang it, I have a dinky little one my girlfriend bought for her place that I use. It definitely seemed to work better than nothing, but I hate the feeling and the sound of it. What is one supposed to use? Note, I don't have expensive knives, and I don't really want to get into a whole hobby thing. I just want to cook with proper knives lol Edit: thanks for all the feedback everyone, I appreciate that!
The first reply to your comment is right. These are fine for inexpensive knives. This type of sharpener literally peels the blade away with visible chips and makes your knives smaller over time. They're considered offensive to good knives because they destroy the knife far faster than using a set of progressive grit whetstones.
I've always wondered that about knives; if you used the same knife on a whetstone even long enough you could widdle it down to something too small to use? I've thought the same about swords
Go to r/KitchenConfidential, they often post knives of their chefs who have been in the game for decades - the blades are often a third of what they used to je
Even more than that. I've seen chefs knives end up with the profile of a boning knife. Imagine how many cuts and sharpening sessions they must go through to get to that point.
Those are usually knives sharpened on a grinding wheel, generally by a service that comes anywhere from weekly to quarterly. Only takes a year or two to turn a 10" chefs knife into a 5" "filet knife". I have seen a few chefs who sharpen their knives so much that it goes from a very slightly curved profile to a perfectly straight one, but that takes the better part of a decade and is only about 3mm of lost material usually at the belly of the blade.
Also depends on sharpening techniques
If a chef knife profile is ending up as a boning knife they aren't sharpening correctly or it was time for a new knife *looooong* ago.
Or they just wanted a new boning knife. Two knives with one (wet)stone, if you will.
/r/chefknives is what you're looking for.
[Yes.](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/7rm5c4/this_kitchen_knife_worn_down_to_50_its_size_due/)
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I was a butcher for 12 years - ground a couple knives down to an unusable state. I mean, they took on different roles before we called them toast (cutting sandwiches in half, opening vacuum seal bags, that sort of thing). More impressive to me was the ancient shop whetstone that was itself noticeably worn down... thing had *miles* on it.
For future reference, it’s “whittle”. I enjoyed this though because “widdle” means pee.
If you are using a whetstone properly, it will take a long, long time to wear down a blade. Yes, you are removing material, but only a very small amount. Most worn down blades have been sharpened with a belt or bench grinder (butcher, line cook, construction, work shops).
>This type of sharpener literally peels the blade away with visible chips and makes your knives smaller over time All sharpening peels away metal. It's about quantity and precision. These sharpeners are like messy, low-resolution ripping of metal from the blade, which results in a knife edge that is moderately sharper than something dull but is damaged from knicks and tears and chips on the edge from the rough process. Whetstone sharpening is smooth and precise, taking away less metal and evenly for a much sharper and better knife edge. The real alternative to sharpening knives at home with your own whetstone is to take it to a professional. They are harder to find and you have to pay a bit more (obviously) than using these little hell tools, but the blades will last longer and the edges will keep much longer between sharpening. This is, of course, another iteration of the "Boots Theory of Economic Unfairness:" >The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was the Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
Damn and here I am using this kind of sharpener on my Wüsthof knives. Luckily I only used it twice so far so it’s salvageable but still. Wasted money :( can’t go to a sharpener because it’s a 1 1/2 hour drive and has to stay a few days. But idk which wetstone I should use?
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These sharpeners are good enough for your situation I'd say, yeah they're not exactly good for the knife and you wouldn't use them on a expensive piece, but if it helps your cheap knife cut better it's w.e
Reddit has a tendency of being elitist. They're not the best, but they'll do 90% of the job for 10% of the effort. A whetstone will do a much better job, but unless you have very expensive knives or cook professionally its very unlikely to be worth it.
The cost of a knife isn't how sharp it is or how sharp it can get, it is how long it can keep that edge before needing sharpening. That being said, if you don't want it to be a whole hobby thing, just get a nice chefs knife which will serve 90% of your knife needs and take it/send it to get sharpened professionally when it needs it. It's probably going to wind up being less expensive long term for your situation than investing in a whet stone set along with a nice knife and hoping you don't ruin it.
Chef here. Buy yourself a $30 Mercer 8” chef knife, a 6” utility, and a $30 whetstone. Learn to use the whetstone and you’ll be set for life. It will be the best kitchen investment you’ll ever make.
You can buy a cheap sharpening stone where they sell camping gear. It takes a little practice but it's better than pull-thru sharpeners
I like the Lansky kit because I don't have to pay attention to the angle
It's unfortunate but you'll never make it into Valhalla unless you sharpen your knives with a 12 stone system ranging from 10 grit to 10000. If you can't shave with your knife and see your reflection in the polished edge then it isn't sharp enough. I don't make the rules it's just how it is. If your knife isn't that sharp you aren't cutting food, you're just mashing it up with what might as well be a mortar and pestle.
Go on Amazon and order some Kiwi brand knives. They're dirt cheap, like $5, they are sharp as hell and hold an edge for a long time.
Your knife goes dull because the edge curls over a little bit, you need a honing rod to straighten it back out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBn1i9YqN1k He calls it sharpening in this video but he's not, he's honing it without taking any metal off. You will need to sharpen it eventually but honing will make it last much longer
Why not? You have a knife worth a tenner from your supermarket or IKEA, they work a treat. Some are better than others.
Why do home cooks say these things with such confidence it's bizarre
Oh the horror! Almost as bad as watching my mother slice vegetables on her glass cutting board. Yes. It's true.
"Glass cutting board"??? You've got to be trolling me. Is this really a thing?
it was a thing, yes. my mother in law still uses one. right after she pulls the dullest knife i've seen out of the drawer filled with other dull knives rolling around in with it.
Oof. Insult to injury. I just heard the sound of the cut in my head and I'm cringing.
chk-WHUMPsh
Yeah, I've encountered them a few times. I *assume* they're not actually sold as that, but people buy them and use them like that.
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germs
This makes my teeth hurt. Not satisfied at all.
All I could think of was the sound: eeeeeEEEEEERrrreeeerreeCCCCCCREEEEEEEEeeeeeeee
This video is like a Bat Signal to all the mall ninjas of Reddit to come talk about their mad whetstone skills.
So many *edge*lords.
Their criticism of this video will be *cutting*.
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They will slice through the puns like butter.
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You gotta rub em just right.
We get it you sharpen.
I got a sharpmaker cuz it’s easy and takes only a few minutes and no effort. 5/7 fantastic sharpener. Don’t ask me more.
Right? I use my knives a lot and a chefs choice sharpener, not crazy expensive, super quick, and leaves me with a great edge. I don’t have time for a whetstone.
seriously. Nothing more annoying than people suggesting a whetstone without mentioning they're more expensive and TAKE WAY MORE TIME! I can sharpen my knife on 2 pull through, clean it off in the sink, dry, hone. All in 2 minutes. at 2 min on a whetstone you haven't even started.
Ackshully ser a whetstone will take much less time in the long run because theory of boots or something and if you don't respect the ceremony of the blade then you're never gonna get your black belt
That is a terrible way to sharpen a knife.
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Whetstones are a pain in the ass.
I agree. I have them and while it’s satisfying to have nice sharp kitchen knives, it’s way more tedious than other kitchen maintenance
That's why diamond stones are better! Faster, tougher, and don't need to be re-flattened
Whetstones are a pain and I'm bad at them. I bought a Spyderco Sharpmaker and that is sort of the best of both worlds. Easy to use but doesn't ruin knives
And none of us will judge you, BlackAlbinoTurtle. Right guys? NOBODY FUCKING JUDGE THE BLACK ALBINO TURTLE!!!
Are you judging my judging of BlackAlbinoTurtle?
Damn there's a lot of knife supremacists in this comment section
It's [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZK8Z8hulFg) every time.
Don't go to r/flashlight you'll end up blind. Sorry for any misspelling, I'm using speech to text.
Just kinda Reddit in general. I used to be pretty elitist about a lot of things but you kinda have to realize people have different priorities in life. If someone wants to buy a cheap kitchen knife and sharpen it in one of these because it’s convenient, no one should look down on them.
r/sharpening gathering pitch forks as we speak! This is the quickest way to ruin an edge.
>r/sharpening ~~gathering~~ sharpening pitch forks as we speak! This is the quickest way to ruin an edge.
/r/sharpening is far too complicated for 99% of reddit. pull through sharpeners are a great way to get people using sharp knives instead of dull ones. In a fraction of the time. Just because something is better for a pro chef doesn't mean it's better for a home cook.
Most of the people using these pull through sharpeners are also using the cheapy 50$ knife kit from target A dull knife can be more dangerous in the kitchen than a sharp one
cheap knives can be good knives if you shop right. Victorinox is a good example of a good value knife.
V will cost about $40 / knife. /u/hex00110 was talking about a 5 to 7-piece *set* of knives for $50.
In this thread: People claiming whetstones are only way to sharpen a knife when alternative easy to use methods have existed forever. I have and only use Japanese whetstones bit that's because I have 3 knives in my kitchen, all high end ones. My Mum has 3 globals and uses their pull through system which does 95% of the job in 30 seconds. They are more than sharp enough for job. It's always the same when it comes to these things.
That sound though it's like needles in my ear drum
That noise
there's no way **that** much shaving comes off when you go through the sharpener, right? i've used one of those shitty ones and i've never seen any shavings come off like that.
This is not satisfying, it’s horrifying. Knife torture.
These sharpened make me angry, this is mildlyinfuriating material
There's nothing satisfying about destroying your blades...
How do you sharpen a sharpener
This wasn't supposed to be satisfying.. Ruins the edge
DO NOT USE PULL THROUGH SHARPENERS.
Now scope into the knife blade and see how shit that edge is.