Soft,likely poor quality steel kitchen knife sharpening.

[Mikedoh]

My neighbor has a set of “knives” that I’ve “sharpened” before. No name steel. She received as a gift in the 1970s when a set of knives in a wood block was the thing to have. Cheap knives.

 

I’d like to get them spiffed up for her in time for thanksgiving. They didn’t really take any sort of keen edge the first time I had a go at them. Don’t think I went anymore than the 600, or maybe 800 diamonds. Doubt any higher grit would do anything other than frustrate me.

 

don’t remember if I flattened the apex at any time during sharpening to get rid of possible bad steel.

Any tips appreciated.

 

[Hapslappy]

Probably not poor quality steel but inexpensive and ill suited for the application. There’s a lot of that in the low end kitchen knife market.

[tcmeyer]

Even poor quality steel should sharpen well enough if you’re only going to 800 or 1000.  The big difference is how long the edge lasts.  I bought a Kershaw Shuffle a couple of years ago and it was just awful – wouldn’t hold an edge even after light usage.  I doubt if it was harder than maybe RC45.  Touching the blade to anything solid left a dent in the edge – no exaggeration.  I disassembled it and heated up the blade with a propane torch, then quenched it in warm salad oil.  I’m sure I didn’t reach the proper temp and for sure I didn’t hold it there long enough, but the result was a big improvement in edge-holding.

I sharpen a fair number of kitchen knives for friends and relatives.  I used to give them the whole WE treatment, but from now on, the cheaper knives will get the quicky job.  I have a pedestal buffer with dual extended shafts.  I’ll put a 600-grit greaseless wheel on one side and a buffing wheel with 4 micron diamond grit at the other.  If there are no serious dings or chips in the blade, I can have the knife sharpened and polished in about 40 seconds.  It’s amazing; knives sharpened like this will slice through newsprint with no effort.  You just don’t want to look at the edge with a loupe or microscope.  Kind of like watching a butcher make sausage.

I do a little more to clean up the knives.  With the same buffing wheel, I’ll polish the handles and try to remove stains, scratches and tarnish.  The owners think they’re getting the knife returned like new and sharper than when new.  And it only takes a minute or two.

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dulledge

[Mikedoh]

Thanks for the input, gentlemen. These were definitely sharper than when I received them, just not quite as good as I expected.

[Hapslappy]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>

tcmeyer wrote:

Even poor quality steel should sharpen well enough if you’re only going to 800 or 1000. The big difference is how long the edge lasts. I bought a Kershaw Shuffle a couple of years ago and it was just awful – wouldn’t hold an edge even after light usage. I doubt if it was harder than maybe RC45. Touching the blade to anything solid left a dent in the edge – no exaggeration. I disassembled it and heated up the blade with a propane torch, then quenched it in warm salad oil. I’m sure I didn’t reach the proper temp and for sure I didn’t hold it there long enough, but the result was a big improvement in edge-holding. I sharpen a fair number of kitchen knives for friends and relatives. I used to give them the whole WE treatment, but from now on, the cheaper knives will get the quicky job. I have a pedestal buffer with dual extended shafts. I’ll put a 600-grit greaseless wheel on one side and a buffing wheel with 4 micron diamond grit at the other. If there are no serious dings or chips in the blade, I can have the knife sharpened and polished in about 40 seconds. It’s amazing; knives sharpened like this will slice through newsprint with no effort. You just don’t want to look at the edge with a loupe or microscope. Kind of like watching a butcher make sausage. I do a little more to clean up the knives. With the same buffing wheel, I’ll polish the handles and try to remove stains, scratches and tarnish. The owners think they’re getting the knife returned like new and sharper than when new. And it only takes a minute or two.

</p>
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Agreed. You can put a sharp edge on an aluminum letter opener, although “Why?” would be a good question.</p>
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Any knife properly honed to #1000 is beyond the experience of many people and is perceived as almost miraculous.</p>

[Author]

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