STROP Paradise

HI there,

     Every now and then,  a company that sells knife sharpening products will ask me if they can send me a sample and all that they ask in return is that I provide and honest opinion. In most cases, NOT ALL, but in most the products have been very good and I do my absolute best to get the word out.

     I am not interested in selling things myself and I can assure you, if I say that I like something, I do like it, it is something I would use professionally. I don't get any money or anything from the companies and most of the time, all of the time in fact, it is one time thing. They send the products, I test them out and then do my part to socialize the product and then it's all over.

     (Now if a company wanted to make an exclusive deal, i.e. we want you to promote our product only type of thing, it would have to be a very good product indeed but I can't see that happening).

   Recently I was sent a stropping kit from Garrett Wade Tools in the US, Brooklyn to be exact.

Stropping Kit from Garrett Wade Tools

   All the nice man wanted me to do was just try it out..

Strop Kit from Garrett Wade Tools (Doesn't include the dream knife..Takamura)

 
    The stropping kit included this beautiful paddle and two strops, one is felt, the bluish looking one for deburring and the other is a premium leather, in fact it is extremely smooth leather. The really cool thing is that these strops are magnetically attached to the paddle, so you just lift it off and they fit perfectly onto the paddle.   I was extremely impressed with the look and feel of the stropping kit, it is very nicely put together. It came with some green paste (Chromium Oxide) which can be loaded onto the leather of course.

    I was excited to try it out and it just so happened that 15 knives arrived to sharpen. It only took one knife to convince me that it is an exceptional product. I would recommned this to anyone and I will definitely be buying more of the leather "inserts". You don't have to buy the paddle again, you can just get more strops that come on a piece of wood that is stained to the same colour as the paddle and has a magnetic strip on each end, brilliant.

   Now the next time I will order the even higher level of leather, the bridle leather and I can't wait to see what that is like.

  Folks, there is a ton of great products out there, I have already talked about JENDE industries and their great nanocloth and CBN products, there are more of course. I don't get to try everything, not everyone sends me stuff........just the smart ones :)

    Again, Garrett Wade Tools recognized that I may have the opportunity to show people their leather strops and indeed I will do that. If anyone in the Halifax area wants to see and try them out, that is perfectly fine to me. 

 I like the felt strop, in the past I have ruined many many nice strops by nicking them, so with the felt used first, it takes any hits that the knife may give out. Now the damage I have done to strop is mostly just carelessness but I use them very very often. For the average sharpener, these things should last for years if you are careful. 

    Remember, Garrett Wade is not paying me to say these things, in fact, I am sure that they don't even know who I am so my opinion is mine and I am just sharing it.  It matters not to me what people use but since a lot of nice people seem to be visiting my Blog and are clearly interested in sharpening, then this a product that I can very highly recommend. It's fantastic actually, that is after about 30 knives now by the time I finished this. 

   

Thanks for reading my Blog.

Peter Nowlan

Strops and Sprays -My Thoughts

Hi,

    For folks who get serious about knife sharpening, during our journey we encounter a lot of different options that become available, besides of course the vast array of water stones out there. One of these "extras" I call them is CBN, Cubic Boron Nitride which is an extremely hard substance, when I say hard, I think Diamond is the only thing harder. This product comes available in a spray, the CBN particles are in suspension so you can use it to laden your leather or nanocloth strop with. The purpose of the CBN is to elevate levels of refinement up to ridiculously high numbers, in the millions.   Now I don't pretend to understand the science behind it but that doesn't mean I, or anyone else can't use it. I don't know how my Apple Watch works but I have it anyway and can manage it.

     As usual, I will place random shots in my Blog to keep it interesting.

 
     Here is an example of some CBN products from Jende industries, you can see the spray bottles and the nanocloth strops, quite a brilliant idea I think, to colour code the strops and sprays.  There are other sprays besides CBN but that's the popular one. I have used them all and have tried many through the years so I will give you my thoughts here.

Strops and Sprays

Shapton Stone Holders, the Field holder on the left and the awesome heavy stone holder on the right. The can of coke is what I brought back from Japan in 1987

     

     One of the things I have always struggled with, well over the last three years anyway is "do we really need all these extras, do we need CBN sprays on exotic leathers to enhance our sharpening?" I have asked myself that many times and I can honestly say that MY answer is a definite "NO"

    I completely understand that people create these products for the purpose of selling and making money from them and yes, they are pretty cool. I can honestly say that the edges of a knife do feel sharper after using them, they "pop".  That however is all I get from it, and I will explain myself and to clarify, I have nothing against these products.

   Novice sharpeners, and as far as I am concerned, we can be novices for years, but I think we need to focus and stay focused on the fundamentals of sharpening knives. Stick with the basics needs:

Three water stones, coarse/medium/fine, a stone flattener and a nice leather strop, even a nice bare leather strop will do, nicely.  Now, let's say that you have all these things and you get your knives sharp all the time, you have developed muscle memory and ready to explore some nifty things that you have been reading about like CBN on your leather or nanocloth or balsa. Go for it, give it a shot and see you how you like it.

    My only problem with it is that for years, I was reading about different refinement levels for different knives, 1k to 2k for European knives, 5k-8k for Japanese (HARD) knives. So why do I need a 64,000 grit edge on any of these knives, ever? I don't. Having said that, they do work and you will definitely see an improvement but is it worth it? 

    For me, no,  but I think that this is something you should explore and see what you think, it is fun to try different things once you have all the fundamentals well in hand.  

    For me, a man who sharpens knives professionally, I have a different mindset:

If I put a 64,000 grit edge on a knife, produced by stropping it on leather laden with the appropriate CBN compound, how long is that extremely refined edge going to last?

    Many of knives I sharpen are under heavy pressure in a professional setting so how long will that edge, or any edge last? I don't think it will last very long, in fact, I think it will vanish rapidly but I have not tested this at length, this is just me picturing that refined edge slicing through food and being stripped away quite quickly.

    So if I were to sharpen a knife and then strop it on series of strops each laden with progressively finer levels of spray, yes I will see/feel the edge of knife become very sharp indeed. A little sharper than if I just stropped it on bare leather. Now, if I give that knife to a professional chef and he feels it and is blown away by that edge, that is nice. HOWEVER, what happens if 50 minutes later that edge is gone, what will he think of me then? ( it will feel like smoke and mirrors)

    Is it not better to place an extremely sharp yet "smart" edge on that knife, one that will retain it's sharpness for as long as possible, and we know by now that there are many factors that influence edge retention besides grits and angles. 

   So the bottom line of for me is that if it is something that if you want to try out, I encourage it and just have fun with it. Don't rely however on a CBN spray to get your knife sharp, it must be sharp before the edge hits the strop. 

   So what you could do is just maintain your edge on that CBN laden strop as necessary to keep it up.  A professional in a kitchen is not going to do that, not a chance in hell, but you could. 

I really like the way Tom Blodgett at JENDE industries has set up his sprays and strops. For folks close to me they are welcome to try them out, I have all of them.

     I think of these products and options, you don't need them but they can be fun and effective and serious sharpeners just like trying things out, there is nothing wrong with it. My personal favourite is a very nice quality leather without anything on it but it has to be good leather. I also have two strops with the green paste, the chromium oxide and I like those as well. I just like keeping things simple, I enjoy trying everything but most of the time I just get back to the basic setup, that works well for me.

    

Now this is a big knife. I sharpened it using freehand and the Edge Pro to finalize the polishing of the bevels. That curve in the blade is hard to reach by freehand but the EP handled it beautifully.

   I don't have lot of experience with other CBN compounds, Tom recognized the opportunity, saw me as an influence to other sharpeners and sent me his products to test so I did that.  I know there are other brands out there, choose whatever works for you,  follow your instincts. 

    Someone else is sending me some leather strops to evaluate as well so I will talk about them.

I will say that the very best strops that I have ever seen, EVER are from Fendrihans, now these are several hundred dollars and are for razor stropping but I will have one, oh yes, I will definitely own one some day. I get most of my Shapton products from there.

   

    To finish off, I picture those men in Japan, many of them elderly men who many recognize as master knife sharpeners. I don't know when one becomes a Master at something like knife sharpening but clearly they are highly skilled artisans. Do you think that they rely on CBN sprays or use them at all? I have a hard time picturing that.  We learn by trying different things, some we keep, some we discard and chalk it up to another lesson. I've learned my lesson and I am glad I tried these products out. If it makes you feel good to use these things, if it builds your confidence then why not, there is certainly no harm in it. 

These are very cool knives belonging to a great chef and great man here is halifax. I had the opportunity to visit him and see his fantastic collection of knives. Dennis Johnston is a master at Pad Thai as well.  He also has some Murray Carter knives which are truly something.


Now.....my feelings above relate to knife sharpening. 
When it comes to honing razors, I am quite positive that the CBN and Poly emulsions are probably quite good, excellent in fact.  If fact this is where these products shine I would say. I think there are only a couple of good spots to purchase them, from Jende or Ken Schwartz, you can't go wrong with either.

Peter

Article for Knifeplanet Common Sharpening Problems you may face

Hi folks,
As promised, here is a link to the article.

It's purpose will be clear once you read it, fascinating stuff :)

Thanks for looking

The ARTICLE to end all Articles

What's Your Angle

     Hi Folks :)

     I still have people interested in sharpening or coming to take a lesson who are very concerned about the angle to sharpen a knife it, often, the concern is quite significant and has even stopped the learning process before it begins.
   
     I was one of those people once, deeply distracted by idea:  "I need to sharpen this knife at the exact angle that it came from the factory at" and how the heck does one do that if sharpening freehand.  That was about 10, 000 knives ago and only recently I have found a way, it's my way, but I found a way to discuss the Angle Issue in a manner that, once read, hopefully it is no longer an Issue. What I am going to suggest will surprise people but know that it isn't something I did not  just think  of today, this comes on the heels of several years of solid sharpening, hundreds of hours and thousands of knives.  The only thing that came to me recently was the ability to put this into words. (Remember, I lay awake at night thinking of these things, this is what happens when you are obsessed with something).

   

First of all, take a look at these beauties, imagine the pain the husband went through when the wife discovered these.

Okay, let's get to the ANGLE discussion:

    Here is the deal: Almost all knives, I would say 89-90 percent of knives are sharpened at an angle between 15 and 20 degrees per side, seriously. Most of the people in the universe who own knives own average knives and they fall into this category. The exception to this rule of course are the harder knives, hand made knives with a hardness of 60 plus, these can and SHOULD  be sharpened at more acute angles, 12 deg per side for instance. 

    I think what I am going to say is important to novice sharpeners and even some more seasoned ones: Since we seem to have a vast abundance of AVERAGE knives, why not sharpen them at an AVERAGE angle. Instead of worrying about learning to sharpen a knife at 15 deg, 16 deg and so on, what would happen if we lumped all these knives into the same sharpening angle category, what if sharpened every knife at the same angle? (Please remember that when say "every" I mean every normal, average knife, the medium range Henckels and Wusthof's and Grohmann's?

   I can tell you what will happen, you are going to be able to create extraordinarly sharp knives and here is why.  I've been doing this for years, in all honesty, not once, NOT ONCE, after 10,000 knives at least,  has a person commented on the angle. Who the hell is going to know if I sharpened a knife at 16 deg or 17 deg, who can tell the difference? I can't, maybe some people can, I just haven't met one yet. 

     Here, in my mind and in my experience is how this is beneficial, here is my key to sharpness:

    Sharp knives, and I mean really freaking sharp knives, the ones that will startle you come as result of consistency.  Yes of course Patience and Persistence play a role, a huge one but those are the things that develop consistency. A person who wants to learn to be a good knife sharpener, and we all and that, should think of consistency as their destination and that point is reached after a long haul past passion, past patience and persistence, you need to stop at those spots and linger at each one to reach your destination, Consistency Ville. 

(Yes of course, water stones come into play, we all know that, Im talking about angles here)

     So,  choose an angle that is appropriate for your knife, in other words, is it the dream knife angle (DKA) or the average knife angle (AKA).?  In most cases it will be an AKA and it may be 19 deg, it is an angle that is achieved when you hold the spine of the knife 1/2 of an inch off of the stone for example. It is the angle that results in the removal of the sharpie that you have painted on the edge/bevel. My point is that it is just an angle, it is your angle and it will fall in that range of 15-20 deg, it is fine. 

   

     Think of that angle as a finger print, it is your SHARPENING PRINT and now you have to make it permanent. Now you can sharpen that knife and every other knife at your angle and this is how you achieve consistency. Get to a point where you can find and HOLD that angle as if your muscles are LOCKED on, like a bionic arm, there is no wavering (In reality, there will be a little wavering, we are human but that's fine, this is cool, this is what we want)  (I realize that we all have unique finger prints by the way...,we don't all have unique sharpening prints, not suggesting that)

    Every time you sharpen a knife at your sharpening angle which by the way is probably the same as my sharpening angle, you are climbing the ladder of consistency and your knives are becoming sharper and sharper. This is because you are gaining and increasing the ability to bring Side A and Side B together at the Apex as precisely as humanly possible.  

    If you don't believe me and think I am an idiot for suggesting you learn to sharpen at one angle, try it out. It doesn't matter to me, remember, I have already passed all the tests here, I have sharpened for some of the top Chefs in the country and just as importantly, for good folks like you, the everyday knife user. I sharpened 80-90 percent of those knives at my sharpening angle because my sharpening print is  firmly embedded, I'm consistent.   ANY thoughts, fears and angle theories an owner may have will VANISH when he/she sees the knife, it won't even come into play.

   It is your responsibility as a sharpener to locate and solidify your sharpening angle, let's say it is 19 deg, get good at that, and then get better at it. Your confidence is going to soar and in return, your edges will blow you away.

    Now, after you have ingrained your Sharpening Print, after your muscle memory is stabilised,  Then go ahead and explore other angles within that 15-20 deg range because eventually you will need to learn a thinning angle which is slightly more acute than your sharpening angle.

    This is what I have done over the past ten years, long ago I was finally able to let go of the Sharpening Angles Shackle and become really consistent. Now, I find that I can easily adjust on the fly but it is still within the average range, the adjustments may be necessary to get a certain knife back to a point where it is easy to sharpen.

Repaired knives from picture above.

     The whole point of this article is to prove that we can sharpen many many knives at the same angle, we can do this and become very consistent and we can eventually be more flexible with angles, our confidence will allow this.

    If all you will ever sharpen is your own Takamura, Takeda and Fujiwara knives,  then the same holds, your angle will be 11 or 12 deg per side however.

(Yes we can sharpen these knives at 20 deg and make them sharp, heck we could sharpen them at  30 deg and make them sharp. We just don't want to do this, these are extraordinary knives capable of holding extraordinary angles)

Thanks so much for reading, please keep in mind that these are my own thoughts,  I'm allowed to have those:)

Peter Nowlan

   

Still Worth it - Japanese Knife?

Hello folks,

     Over the last six years I have seen and sharpened thousands of different knives and I quite frequently get the question: "What about hand made Japanese knives, are they really that good?" Or something along that line, it just came up yesterday as a matter of fact.

   Here is the deal, and again, this is just my opinion but remember, I don't sell anything so I am not biased, just providing the best answer I can and it is backed by my experience with knives and all the dull ones.

    First of all, before we get into that, I have often discussed Steeling (Honing) and it's benefits and sometimes it's problems. I do believe that proper technique and a good hone, a ceramic one especially can prolong the time between sharpening, that is inevitable. Again however, only if done properly or I should say effectively. That very very thin strip of metal that is the Primary Edge is the one that needs realignment so that target area has to be reached, otherwise, it's just a waste of time and energy, energy that could be better spent learning how to do it properly and to do it properly.

    Here is knife that was not done properly, now this does not happen over night, it is years of consistently poor practice.

    Back to the dream knives:)

     I will freely admit that my experience with a sharpened Fujiwara in the kitchen was unlike anything I had experienced with other sharp knives. They do definitely have the potential to deliver stunning performance in the kitchen and it must be very cool for a professional chef to have this sensation for the first time.

   What I have noticed however is that when they get dull, they go dull quickly and they get very dull so a good maintenance regime is needed to keep that knife performing the way it is capable of.  The beauty is that they are easily brought back to pristine condition.

    Should you buy one?

    If you can afford $150.00-$250.00 to get into the basic Japanese knife such as a Tojiro DP then yes you should. A Fujiwara or Masakage, Takamura, Takeda will cost more but the upgrade is huge.  So yes, I do highly recommend it, on one condition:

    A sharpening plan, if you don't have a pro sharpener handy or don't sharpen yourself it is a problem. However, that is not the real problem that I have run into where I am:

   It is mental approach to the sharpening plan that is often missing, many people who use these knives just don't seem to care. Maybe they think that since they spent all that money the knife should stay sharp longer. 

   I see this way to often and not just with these knives, but regular kitchen knives like Victorinox, a common knife that culinary students depart from their studies with and carry on to their first professional job.  I do my best to make people in the industry aware that a professional hand sharpener is in town and I have all the testimonials to prove that I can take care of their knives. It really bothers me to see people just ignoring the fact that every day their knives are getting duller.

   What is the Executive Chef, the owner thinking?

I have been informed by some of these folks that "we sharpen our own knives" which is fine, that's cool but they don't actually do it, they may have the knowledge to do so but in fact the knives are quite dull. Many of the owners get so wrapped up in creating new dishes and promoting their business that they just forget about their knives. All that is important of course but for me, if I was a professional chef, I would think and hope that I would keep my knives sharp by whatever means I can find. NOT a hone either, I have heard this all to often, " we use a Steel to sharpen our knives"

    Now of course on the other hand, I sharpen for several restaurants and Chefs that are absolutely meticulous about their knives, they get it so Kudos to them.

    It does bother me that some Chefs in a leadership role do not strongly encourage their staff to maintain their knives. I do know one Chef, an Icon in the Canadian culinary industry that does this, he demands sharp knives. He realises that why should he go through all the trouble of creating spectacular dishes and taking the path is passion leads him if the folks actually preparing his dishes use dull knives and compromise the flavour of the food by doing so.

   Yes, a Japanese knife is truly a joy to use when sharp. 

   You can get the same sensation and benefit from other knives of course, it doesn't mean that just because you don't own a $400.00 Fujiwara that you are missing out on all of this. If you have a $100.00 Henckels or any other knife that you keep sharp,  you are in the same ballpark. The purpose of this post is not to have anyone think that in order to cook properly they need a Japanese knife, I am simply saying that they are very nice to use but any good knife that is sharp is enjoyable and food friendly.

    Young cooks, and older ones perhaps maybe just have to use what they have, that's completely fine but it is not fine if they never have them sharpened and that is often the case. 

     I don't think anyone should feel pressure to purchase a hand made Japanese knife, get one when ready and just see how it feels and you don't have to spend a lot of money on one either.

    

This is what I like to tell people that are considering the knife and are not sure how to keep them sharp:

Before purchasing the knife, take a look at some sharpening videos and do some reading on sharpening by hand if you have really no idea where to start. If it is something you think you would like to do, and you will then  just buy one 1,000 grit water stone and go for it. You can buy a King 1k for about $30.00.

Here is a link to an article I wrote for Knifeplanet that was subsequently posted on LifeHacker, one of the largest websites in the world. 

Learn to Sharpen article

Here is a video I did

http://www.knifeplanet.net/how-to-sharpen-fujiwara-santoku-water-stones/

There are others out there of course, some really good ones. 

Thanks for visiting. The article I wrote about sharpening and overcoming some common problems is in with Knifeplanet for final editing, I will post it here when it is live.

Peter

Smoke and Mirrors

     Hi everyone, thanks for being here and I don't say that lightly. When I started my Blog about five or six years ago I always thought that I was basically just writing to myself, I could hear crickets in the background. I know now that some of you visit more than once and knowing that motivates me to write more.


    Let's talk about mirror finishes again, as something dawned on me just recently. I do not put little videos up of myself performing slicing miracles as you know, I think that they represent the talent of the sharpener yes but they may give the wrong impression to novice sharpeners.  What if you just can't seem to get to that point, does it mean you are not a good knife sharpener?

    Before I answer that I will continue.

     That thought made me think of my pictures of mirror edges and perhaps I am being hypocritical by posting them. I post them because I know that some people like to see them and it may encourage them.

    Do not think that these slicing through a tomato videos or mirror finishes are that important. Think of them as a side branch to sharpening, not a critical path but an optional one.  Just because I can make a bevel look nice it doesn't mean than I am a better sharpener, I just found the process fun and challenging to do.

     A novice sharpener shouldn't be concerned about those things, in other words, if you have tried to make the bevels on your knives look like mercury, and it didn't turn out, forget about it. I was sharpening for 30 years before I could do that and even now it doesn't always turn out

    Remember, you first all need a nice collection of water stones with pretty fine grits. Also for any of the ones I did I used the Edge Pro Professional. I have full size stones up to 16,000 grit and I can get an edge and bevels pretty nifty looking. However, to really make them pop, I need to incorporate the precision that the EP delivers.

 

     If you have worked hard and done this, good on you, nice work. My point is that these are not things that you need to worry about. How do you know I just didn't move the lighting around or something to achieve this absolutely incredible and beautiful finish :)  I'm just kidding but I am very serious when I say that you don't need to worry about this. This isn't going to make this knife any sharper.

     In the case of the knife above, it is a very old hunting knife that had gone to grinder hell and back. The owner just wanted it to look nice again, and of course be sharp again. It is not going to be used in the field anymore so I just made it pretty. In fact I used a different technique for this knife. I sharpened it and polished it by hand until I was satisfied with the results. My standards are always significantly higher than the owners so I knew that my work was done. However, before I packed it in for the night, so to speak. I took this knife to the Edge Pro and very very gently with a 5k and 10k stone just went over the bevels to as I said, make it POP.

   Your goal should be to make it sharp, don't worry about pretty yet or ever, things will come naturally over time anyway.


     Listen, for every knife like this there are 10 that didn't turn out so well when I first started this process, so don't let the pictures or videos you see discourage you in anyway, The journey can be longer for some than others, you may need to linger on some of the stepping stones before continuing on.

      Don't look at these pictures as goals you need to reach but things you may see off to the side as you move along the your path, the important path :)

     Oh and believe me, if you tried these things and just couldn't do it, it does not mean you are not a good sharpener, it is insignificant. If you even reading this, you are probably a good sharpener now.

Peter Nowlan

That was Then this is Now

Greetings sharpeners:

      🔪

     I just wanted to share some thoughts on how I see my business and where it has taken me, from a personal view that is, not a financial perspective.  (I do Okay, enough to buy my sociables)

     I remember about six years ago when I was starting up that I was eager to get business, to get customers to give me their knives. At that time, my real goal was Executive Chef's and restaurants, I thought that this would be very cool for my Resume.  I would go out to dinner for the sole purpose of giving the waitress a Business Card for the Chef then watch my phone for their call. (It never happened that way, and I was wrong to do that, that's not the right approach but I was a sharpener, not  a businessman(

That as THEN, this is NOW:

(Random pictures inserted to keep you awake)
   

  Nowadays, I wouldn't dream of giving a business card to a waitress of even to the Executive Chef. After a lot of hard work, some chance encounters and word of mouth, mostly word of mouth, I now sharpen for some of the top Chefs in the area and I have sharpened for one of the top Chefs in Canada. I have a restaurant in Quebec ship their knives to me.

 I have a completely different mindset now. I have come to realize that Chefs, not all of them know knives or how to sharpen them.  The sad part is that many cooks and Chefs use dull knives on a daily basis which is very irresponsible in my opinion. Now many probably do their own which is very cool. Or they get someone else besides me to do it, cool as well. What bothers me is that chefs know a very highly respected knife sharpener is in their midst and many, too many,  still continue to use dull knives.

    The way I look at it now is that I don't need their business, now don't get me wrong, I WANT their business but I don't need it enough to go begging:)

    My priorities have changed as well, my most important customers are the little old ladies that get in a taxi to bring me the one knife that they own. Or the fella that tried to sharpen his own on a grinder, he knows he screwed up and asks me to make the pain go away. The everyday customers are the ones that I love to work for now.

     Yes of course it is very cool to sharpen exclusively for some Chefs and I do a few. Chef Jason Lynch for example is very meticulous about his knives and I have been doing them for years, I am the only one who sharpens for him. He will never know how grateful I am for that. Chef Michael Howell and Chef Craig Flinn and Chef Mark Gray are also extremely important to me. They know how to reach me though and I let them contact me when ready.

   I have passed all the tests, run the gauntlets and sharpened for Chefs while they watched, just waiting for me to make a mistake. I did all that and it really built up my confidence, to the point where I can write what I am writing here.

    Don't misinterpret what I am saying, I am always eager to sharpen for any cook and Chef and I don't care how bad their knives are, I respect them because they are at least getting them sharpened. What I don't have time for are the folks who refuse to get their knives sharpened, the ones in the business who know better.

I'm not venting, just sharing, some of you have been here since "the old days" Thank you so much for that.


I have always stated that knife sharpening, learning to sharpen and keep sharpening is a journey, a journey filled with stepping stones. Each stepping stone represents a lesson to be learned and they extend to the horizon, there is end to the learning. There is no summit to reach and say, "Yes, I have done it, there is nothing else to learn"

If I ever got to the point where I think that, I would want someone to put me out of my misery.  I am good at what I do but so are others, I never want to give the impression that I am all that. I am confident in what I do, I have done my homework but I still know my place.

The Stepping Stones

Peter

Folding Knives

Hi there,

     As I work on the article for Knifeplanet, life goes on. I was contacted by a search and rescue helicopter pilot who needed two DPx Heft knives done.

     I had never heard of them but lets face it, it doesn't take long to become familiar with just about anything these days just by searching on Google.  I was quite impressed and anxious to get the knives in my hand.

     To add to the entertainment, the owner asked if I could do it while he waited and while I don't often do this, I obliged, just grateful for the opportunity.

DPx Heft

     I learned that these were made in D2 steel, a popular tool steel and quite hard, 62. I was very curious to see how burr formation would take place, was it going to be a long hard road or easy? I decided to freehand the knives rather than choosing the Edge Pro as I knew it would be quicker and I wasn't shooting for a mirror finish, just sharpness. 

    These knives are fantastic, I could not get over the quality of the handles, the knives are beautifully made. Burr formation was a breeze, a good thing and I sharpened them both in about 25 minutes.

Shapton Glass 500

Naniwa Chosera 1, 000, 3, 000 and 5, 000 for the finish and a stropping on kangaroo leather strop.

I will be purchasing the folder on the bottom for sure. I have always wanted a really nice and sturdy knife like this to carry around, an EDC and this will be it.

I'll be getting mine here since I am in Canada.

Bushcraft Canada

Peter Nowlan

Steeling and Sharpening - Whats the difference and what is best

I titled the article as such because it is a question I have had a few times and very recently.


HI.....


     First off, I don't think we can say "what is best",  they both have there places and work well together,  you can have Sharpening without Steeling, but you can't have Steeling without Sharpening, think about that.


     Here is a link to the best honing video ever made and it was created by a man I admire, we have different approaches to keeping knives sharp but his video on honing is excellent. Nate Ouderkirk has a website called KitchenKnifeGuru.
Here is a link to his site: KitchenKnifeGuru

This is what Nate is all about, I took this directly from his website:

"My mission is simple: Teach every living thing how to keep their kitchen knives sharp. Sharp is fast. Sharp is fun. Sharp is the key to kitchen happiness. Find a professional knife sharpener, view a video on how to hone, or read a highly opinionated blog post on the latest kitchen gadget—it’s all here!"

    Nate and I met a few years ago via email when I replied to a post made about knives. 



Honing video by master honer Nate

     Nate has told me that he can keep his knives sharp for years just by honing. At first I was very sceptical about that, how can that even be possible?

    However, what if Nate and others as skilled at honing as he is, is so meticulous about the process that he is indeed able to do it?
 

    Let's talk about both steeling and sharpening and how I think the two process when used together can and will work.

   STEELING/HONING

   A Steel, or Hone whether it is made of steel or ceramic like the awesome one in the picture above has one purpose, to push fatigued metal back into place, back into the centre of the blade because through use, normal use, the Primary Edge, that very thin and sharp strip of metal has shifted a little and it can be just in little spots along the blade. So that hone when used like Nate uses it,  can gently push it back into place and thus, keep the knife sharp.

     However, in order for this whole process to work, one needs to do this frequently, every day perhaps, before you cut something. This way, your hone does not have to move a lot of metal, maybe just a millimetre or two that has succumbed to the pressures of everyday life in a kitchen.

     If you hold your knife with the edge facing up and under a good light you can actually see the metal that has shifted reflecting in the light,  your light is like a Dull Scope, it can find the tiny pieces of metal that don't want to play anymore.

Steeling is only effective if it is done correctly and frequently and I mean,  very frequently. By correctly, this implies correct angle and pressure and the correct hone.  

   So does this mean you can keep your knife sharp, i.e. not have to get it sharpened for years if you Steel a knife properly?

     I think that may depend on your perception of sharp or level of sharp that you are happy with, I don't think a knife has to be surgery ready sharp but it does need to be able to slice a tomato effortlessly every time, without bending the tomato before the edge bites into it. If it can't do that, your steeling is not effective.

SHARPENING 

    What's the problem with sharpening a knife every day, instead of steeling?  The problem is that sharpening involves the removal of metal from the edge, thus,  over time, your knife is changing it's shape,  and we don't want this to happen prematurely, we all want to get a lifetime of use from a knife.

    For me, it is possible to keep a knife razor sharp using both a hone or honing process and a sharpening process without it having a negative impact. 

     This may surprise some but I don't use a Steel (rod shaped hone) to keep my knives sharp, I use a water stone.

Here is MY personal sharpening regime:

1.     I start with a razor sharp knife, I mean a knife that will absolutely thrill anyone who uses it.

2.    Every 3 days, or before use,  using a 2,000 to 5,000 grit Japanese Water Stone,  I maintain/hone the knife. I use extremely light pressure to very gently force that fatigued metal either back into place or,  if is very weak, it may just come off from my actions on the water stone. I am not trying to form a burr or sharpen the knife, just to keep it sharp. I see my water stone as a rectangular hone. 

    I use trailing strokes only, it's like stropping the knife on a leather strop, it is very focused and methodical work. I don't want to remove any metal that is not ready to be removed so my pressure is very light, it isn't grinding pressure it is honing pressure, it is a very quick process, one to two minutes.

3.     When my standards of sharpness for a particular knife fall below my happiness level and my honing process is not doing the job any longer, then I will simply increase the pressure to remove the metal that is causing the knife to be duller than I would like it to be, I put my Sharpening Hat on and take my Honing Hat off.

     The difference here is that I am using a whetstone to maintain rather than a "rod" but it is still honing.  In my opinion, this is the optimum way to maintain a knife, because it also builds muscle memory as the honing angle is the same as the sharpening angle. 

    The key to sharp heaven and to keeping your knives around for an eternity is regular and proper maintenance. 

   In my world, I get knives every day that are dull, they have gone well past the point of honing the knife to get it sharp again, that opportunity passed by many years ago in most cases. So sharpening the knife is the only alternative here. 

DON'T

     Buy a nice Hone and take your dull knife out of the drawer of shame and think you can sharpen it. The steel is unable to remove the metal properly, it wasn't designed for that. Yes, there are some diamond steels that can remove metal but do are you able to hold that diamond steel against the primary edge at the exact spot until a burr is formed on both sides and then to remove that burr and refine the edge with a single diamond hone? No, it isn't possible, this isn't the easy way out.

DO

    Purchase a nice ceramic hone, it has a much finer grit, will last forever and will do a much nicer job. 

     This is not to imply that even the best ceramic hone has the capability of making a dull knife sharp, it just cannot do that. However, it is much more enjoyable to use and you can purchase them online relatively inexpensively.

Paul's Finest

    I really hope that this helps and makes it clear that I am not against Steeling, I think it is great, it's necessary.  My problem is that I very very rarely see it done correctly.  So when it is not done correctly it is a counterproductive process, it is useless and can damage the knife over time. When I see the celebrity chefs on TV slapping the knife against a Steel it really pisses me off, it is misleading.

     I am very passionate about what I do, if you don't agree with me that's fine but keep in mind that this is all I do, I think about knife sharpening and the best way to keep a knife sharp every single day. This of course does not mean that I have all the answers or that I am always correct, of course not. 

It just means that I am correct right now :)

I will now put some pictures here because I just like that, I like looking at other photos like this so maybe you do as well.

Thank you for being here, it is very very humbling for me.

Some leather working tools that challenged me

Takeda with Takeda hand held whetstone

Some of my sharpening supplies

Peter

What if you run into a sharpening snag?

Hi,

Just so you know, I am writing another article for Knifeplanet and it is turning out to be a long one.

    I was thinking that people who read my Blog and/or watch my videos, or anyone else's videos for that matter may think that the process of making a knife sharp came easy.  That is not the case at all, if there was a sharpening issue,  I found it and through the years I solved them.

    So if I had problems, perhaps others do, I am sure others do so the article is centred around sharpening obstacles, common ones and my best advice on how to get around them.  It's easy to put some pictures of perfectly mirrored edges and talk about edge perfection but it's really not that easy and I don't want people to have their confidence shaken if they can't get the knife ready for eye surgery or look like it impossibly sharp.  Every knife sharpener has had some problems, some learning to do so you're not alone. Remember, this is something I started almost 40 years ago, don't think I didn't make mistakes.

   I'll be writing about the following problem areas that I have had to deal with and as I mentioned, I'll be doing my best to explain how I got over them. You may not have any problems, or just one of them:

           *WHAT AM I ACTUALLY DOING

* BURR FORMATION

*IT’S NOT ME, IT’S THE WATER STONES

*PRACTICING ON A CHEAP KNIFE SO IT WON’T BE RUINED

*WHITE, BLUE, WHATS THE DEAL WITH STEEL

*TIP SHARPENING

*ANGLE HUNTING AND CATCHING

*CLOSING THE GAP AT THE APEX, SIGNS TO LOOK FOR

* MINOR EDGE REPAIR

*OUR WORLD IS FLAT

*PRESSURE - THE BIG ONE

*TECHNIQUE DISCOVERY

*EDGE LEADING, EDGE TRAILING, WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN

*TOOTY EDGE VS POLISHED EDGE…..GET OVER IT.

*STROPPING

*GRITS, WHEN TO STOP SHARPENING

*EXPECTATION MANAGEMENT

*THE PROBLEM WITH VIDEOS

     Some of these are not really sharpening problems but they are areas than can be grey and come up often in sharpening talk, the Toothy vs Polished edge topic for example.

    As soon as I am done and it is published I will place the link on my Blog. Eventually, I will have a video to accompany each problem area, the Burr Formation video has already been uploaded. 

Trouble Shooting video

Hi folks,
 This video is for people trying to learn who have run into some problems from the get go. The most common problem is an inability to form a burr and that has a ripple effect. No burr, despite best efforts leads to a lack of confidence in ability and products being used.

So in this video I am just attempting to really nail down that important, (CRITICAL) step.


I hate doing videos and listening to myself but I love trying to help folks, so despite what may be poor editing, the video will hopefully guide some people having troubles.

Peter Nowlan