Trying to build a decent knife collection.

Never an electric sharpener. And if you buy a decent knife, the pull-through types are not great if they have the steel teeth. The ceramic rod pull-through sharpeners are ok if you must.

I am liking the Wicked Edge, Edge Pro or even a Lansky System for ease of use. I use stones, but, that is a bother.

Toast said:

I see what your saying for sure. The one I'm lookin' at has the "so called" diamond dust wheels. About $100 at Bass Pro. Not sure who makes it yet.

Had a Butcher tell a Friend that if you go with a 17* angle on the blade, it's sharper but will not hold an edge as long. If you go with a 30* angle, it will stay sharper longer but not cut as well.

In a quandary about this.

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The 17* angle is actually more obtuse than the 30* bevel, as the 30* bevel is 30* inclusive. In other words, it is 15* per side. The 17* angle would be 34* inclusive. On kitchen knives, an inclusive angle of 30* is pretty standard. Some like 26*, but your steel needs to be fairly "soft" or not too hard, as an angle that acute will chip or roll on you.

Most hard use knives (hunting, chopping, etc) use an angle of 40* for longer edge retention. For pocket knives, a lot of people like the 30* or around 28* for getting their knives hair popping sharp.

For my personal preference, I prefer a carbon steel kitchen knife over a stainless steel one. My kitchen set is a quality stainless steel set I bought several years ago, and is quite sharp. I use a "steel" on them to keep them sharp between actual sharpening sessions. The steel does not actually sharpen the knives, but re profiles the edge after hard use as the edge rolls or gets minute chips in them.

I have several carbon steel knives that I found at a local Goodwill store for $1 each. I brought them home and sharpened them up to where you can push cut phone book paper without any tearing. Love to see just how sharp I can get them

I keep all my knives in a block or separated from each other. Never throw all your knives in a drawer together, as they will chip and dull each other. Also only cut on a wood or plastic type cutting board, and never on glass or ceramic. Good knives are worth protecting.

i bought a 14" dexter that i am totally in love with for slicing brisket. good responsive backbone but enough flex to be pretty forgiving. best specific use knife i've owned...

Toast said:

I see what your saying for sure. The one I'm lookin' at has the "so called" diamond dust wheels. About $100 at Bass Pro. Not sure who makes it yet.

Had a Butcher tell a Friend that if you go with a 17* angle on the blade, it's sharper but will not hold an edge as long. If you go with a 30* angle, it will stay sharper longer but not cut as well.

In a quandary about this.

Click to expand...

It's the old dilemma :mrgreen:

long gun vs hand gun
shotgun vs rifle


In the end I think that's why lots of folks end up with more than one (knives, guns, etc.).

As to the issue of sharpening a knife, buying that book Cloudsmoker mentioned is good advice as is the idea of practicing on less expensive knives that retired trucker threw out there (and yeah...there is something neat about using a sharp, inexpensive knife while your buddy is over there struggling with his high dollar blade).

Sharpener I use

Edge Pro
Brethren member Big Poppa sells them. Makes them real sharp. A lot of new knives out of the box can be made sharper with this unit. Oh I have tried many methods this one is the best overall

https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/store/bbq-accessories?manufacturer=212

jimbloomfield said:

Edge Pro
Brethren member Big Poppa sells them. Makes them real sharp. A lot of new knives out of the box can be made sharper with this unit. Oh I have tried many methods this one is the best overall

https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/store/bbq-accessories?manufacturer=212

Click to expand...

I will echo what Jim has stated, the Edge Pro is bad arse. Free shipping too

I stumbled on a kitchen store on the Independence sq. in Indep. , mo. They had a large selection of Viking knives. So far they are great and they appear to be closing them out! Anyone had experience with that brand?

I had some Henckels knives, and hated them. Decided to splurge a little, and get this. http://www.kinknives.com/gordon-ram...amsay-limited-edition-kin-knife-170mm-87.aspx

maxwell7 said:

I stumbled on a kitchen store on the Independence sq. in Indep. , mo. They had a large selection of Viking knives. So far they are great and they appear to be closing them out! Anyone had experience with that brand?

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Nope, but a google search revealed:

Viking knives are handmade in Solingen, Germany, to the highest standards. Viking knives have durable and strong forged blades, while the full tang runs the entire length of the handle to provide balance. The high-carbon vanadium chromium stainless steel allows for a terrific cutting edge, ease of sharpening and resistance to corrosion.


They sound similar to the Henckels n Wusthof stuff.

Kitchen knives

retired trucker said:

The 17* angle is actually more obtuse than the 30* bevel, as the 30* bevel is 30* inclusive. In other words, it is 15* per side. The 17* angle would be 34* inclusive. On kitchen knives, an inclusive angle of 30* is pretty standard. Some like 26*, but your steel needs to be fairly "soft" or not too hard, as an angle that acute will chip or roll on you.

Most hard use knives (hunting, chopping, etc) use an angle of 40* for longer edge retention. For pocket knives, a lot of people like the 30* or around 28* for getting their knives hair popping sharp.

For my personal preference, I prefer a carbon steel kitchen knife over a stainless steel one. My kitchen set is a quality stainless steel set I bought several years ago, and is quite sharp. I use a "steel" on them to keep them sharp between actual sharpening sessions. The steel does not actually sharpen the knives, but re profiles the edge after hard use as the edge rolls or gets minute chips in them.

I have several carbon steel knives that I found at a local Goodwill store for $1 each. I brought them home and sharpened them up to where you can push cut phone book paper without any tearing. Love to see just how sharp I can get them

I keep all my knives in a block or separated from each other. Never throw all your knives in a drawer together, as they will chip and dull each other. Also only cut on a wood or plastic type cutting board, and never on glass or ceramic. Good knives are worth protecting.

Click to expand...

+1

I have a friend who is a designer at Ontario Knives and his advice is to find the thinnest profile for each knife that you have that still works for that knife, i.e., each knife will have a different profile depending on what kind of work that it does.

I probably put too much work into my old carbon steel knives as I steel them before and after using and put a thin coat of oil on them when I put them away. My chef's knife is a gift from my mother from when she needed to use lighter knives. (I got her a set of Victorinox Fibrox and a set for me for when I travel.) I rarely use another knife except for a small paring knife for fine work, a serrated bread knife, or an antique, forged Sabattier carver that I found on eBay. Truth be told, I use that carver about once a year on Thanksgiving or Christmas, lol - for everything else I use my chef's knife.

I also have an old "Chicago Cutlery" stainless chef's knife from my college days that I keep around if I have guests who want to do prep work; I'd say that it's a piece of crap but for whatever reason I manage to keep a good edge on it if I hone it and steel it properly, so it stays in my knife block for occasional "guest" use. This is also the one with which my 12-year old is learning her prep technique; we start off each session with a review of good practice (thumbs tucked away, knuckles against the side, the knife does the work, etc.).

Some people like a serrated "Z" knife as it does quick work in the kitchen, but my bread knife does the same job, imho. I'd recommend a heavy cleaver if you need that sort of thing, and a pair of poultry shears - but that's just icing.

Thank you for the book recommendation: An Edge in the Kitchen, by Chad Ward; I'll definitely look it up. Another to consider is Knife Skills Illustrated, by Peter Hertzmann. Of course, the knife skills sections in books by Pepin, Child, etc. are great places to start as well.

Best,

Steve

I may have missed it but I can't stress the use of a leather strop enough. I use to keep mine in the basement with my sharpening equipment but now it hangs along side of my steel in the kitchen. The strop is homemade and loaded with green rough, this is glued to a board 2 inches wide by 12 inches long and is made from an old leather belt. There are better ones for purchase out there and someday I plan on getting one but this seems to do a very good job. After hitting the knife with a steel I run it over the strop a few times. Basically it polishes the fine burrs left by the steel and makes a huge difference on ease of slicing.
Dave

I give up. How can you not b there? with "Kerocera ceramics. They have helped alot but still not there." I've never been happier with my Kyocera knives. Did u get "Kerocera" from Big Lots, or are we on the same page? If so, what u miss!ing, please. Mine do everything but bend.

Sorry, I just have to derail this thread for a second. Every time I see it listed my mind keeps reading it as "Trying to build a decent wife collection" :rofl:ound:

Anyway, :focus:

I can't think of anything acceptable to say about using the former collection to adjust the latter.

Let's just say that I understand the confusion (they are similar topics) and have made the same adjustment, once, way successfully, as has Toast, who has submitted videos to prove it.

I can, however, spell better! Not that this has value.

Back to the topic, please. Creamics rule, period, end of story. Someone flame me, please!

I'd love to find some steel not made in Muroran taking 6 craftsmen's entire lives that equals it, cheap!