Have one of those Fiskars knife sharpeners, you know the one with the
little white rotating ceramic wheel, that you push the knife edge back and
forth across and they cost about £7 GBP. And jolly good it has been too.
However due to massive use in the past, i suspect it is no longer doing
such a good job. but i am thinking that my judgement of how sharp a knife
is might be largely due to my imagination? Is there any objective test i
can do to compare how sharp a knife really is ? thanks for any advice.

"JWH" > wrote in message
...
> Have one of those Fiskars knife sharpeners, you know the one with the
> little white rotating ceramic wheel, that you push the knife edge back and
> forth across and they cost about £7 GBP. And jolly good it has been too.
> However due to massive use in the past, i suspect it is no longer doing
> such a good job. but i am thinking that my judgement of how sharp a knife
> is might be largely due to my imagination? Is there any objective test i
> can do to compare how sharp a knife really is ? thanks for any advice.

Several ways. My favorite is to gently set the knife on a fingernail, near
the base, and, using only the pressure of the weight of the knife, and
keeping it perpendicular to the nail, drag it sideways (scraping, not
slicing) to the tip of the nail. It should plane off a thin little curl of
fingernail. If it just slides off without resistance, it's dull. My own
knives, though, I keep even sharper than that. Mine will easily shave hairs
off my arm when used like a straight razor. I use a steel every time I use a
knife, a diamond stick if the steel doesn't quite bring it back, and, when
necessary, a series of diamond "stones," finishing on a ceramic stick.
Slicing knives I like to give a little "tooth" by sharpening down to a razor
sharp polished edge, then making a few very light passes on each side of the
blade, on my coarsest diamond stone. I do my own, but I highly recommend
that if you have quality knives and do not have experience sharpening them
that you take them to a professional sharpening service. Any restaurant can
tell you where to find one. I've never seen a knife sharpening device or
machine that's meant for amateurs, that does not damage good knives.


--Rich

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 12:09:08 GMT, "Rich" > wrote:

>that if you have quality knives and do not have experience sharpening them
>that you take them to a professional sharpening service. Any restaurant can
>tell you where to find one.

Or butcher shop.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

"Curly Sue" > wrote in message

:: On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 12:09:08 GMT, "Rich" >
wrote:
::
::: that if you have quality knives and do not have experience
sharpening them
::: that you take them to a professional sharpening service. Any
restaurant can
::: tell you where to find one.
::
:: Or butcher shop.

What's a butcher shop these days? Or more importantly, where?
;-)

BOB

On Sun, 9 Jul 2006 09:53:47 -0400, " BOB" > wrote:

>"Curly Sue" > wrote in message

>:: On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 12:09:08 GMT, "Rich" >
>wrote:
>::
>::: that if you have quality knives and do not have experience
>sharpening them
>::: that you take them to a professional sharpening service. Any
>restaurant can
>::: tell you where to find one.
>::
>:: Or butcher shop.
>
>What's a butcher shop these days? Or more importantly, where?
>;-)

I've got one, neener neener! They sell game too (not that I buy it).
It must be a great profession- they are the happiest guys you'd want
to meet.

Manhattan has several, but that's a bit too far to go

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

"Curly Sue" > wrote

>>What's a butcher shop these days? Or more importantly, where?
>>;-)
>
> I've got one, neener neener! They sell game too (not that I buy it).
> It must be a great profession- they are the happiest guys you'd want
> to meet.
>
> Manhattan has several, but that's a bit too far to go

I asked at a restaurant I frequent, they didn't really know,
then came up with some place in Brooklyn. Last year I had
a hardware store in town, they sent knives out for me, the guy
did a fabulous job. Too bad they are gone now.

Heh, when I dropped off the knives, the teenage kid behind the
counter got very nervous (No, not because I was pointing the
knives at him!), he had the grim task of telling me, you know they
charge $4 a knife? I said ... yeah, that's fine.

At any rate, I do have a butcher in town, too ... two stores
down from where the hardware store was. Think I'll ask
them. I have a mental block about sharpening them myself,
obviously. I even have the book.

nancy

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 10:08:02 -0700, Abe > wrote:

>>> Manhattan has several, but that's a bit too far to go
>Ummm, yellow pages under knife sharpening. Manhatten, Queens, and
>Brooklyn each have several.

Thanks. I'll keep those in mind for my pruners.3 q`11111 (bEANY
get off the keyb7oard!) and lawnmower blades.

For knives, the butcher location is very convenient. Plus I'm there
to buy meat anyway.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Here is very good sharpening located at 57 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007

There web site is http://www.korin.com/

--

Joe Cilinceon

On Sun, 9 Jul 2006 14:51:54 -0400, "Joe Cilinceon" >
wrote:

>Here is very good sharpening located at 57 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007
>
>There web site is http://www.korin.com/
>--
>
>Joe Cilinceon

Thanks- that's good to know about. I'm supposed to get 2 free
sharpenings of my Shun santoku from Broadway Panhandler but after that
I'm on my own. Korin looks like they'd know how to sharpen it.

I need to see whether any of these places can sharpen my mandoline
blade(s). They are not deadly sharp enough!

And my mezzaluna...

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

BOB > wrote:

> What's a butcher shop these days? Or more importantly, where?
> ;-)

There are four butcher shops 5 minutes walk away or nearer from my digs.

Victor

Curly Sue wrote:
> Thanks- that's good to know about. I'm supposed to get 2 free
> sharpenings of my Shun santoku from Broadway Panhandler but after that
> I'm on my own. Korin looks like they'd know how to sharpen it.
>
> I need to see whether any of these places can sharpen my mandoline
> blade(s). They are not deadly sharp enough!
>
> And my mezzaluna...
>
> Sue(tm)
> Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

You might look into getting a 1000 to 6000 grit Japanese waterstone and
learn to sharpen. It really isn't had at all. I have Shun knives as well as
a few high end Japanese knives and a bunch of cleavers. I do all my own
sharpening now at home (I have Norton stones). It really doesn't take long
and it is a learned skill. I also never use steel any of my knives but touch
up with HandAmerica Leather hone. Korins is also a great place to buy knives
high end Japanese knives.

--

Joe Cilinceon

Many thanks for all responses. if you don't mind me saying, you Merkins are
very quick to hand a simple job over to someone else.

after all essentially it's not a difficult thing. one small round diamond
file and then think 25 degrees. as i said, this little fiskars sharpener
has done a brilliant job in the past, but is now a bit old. ( will go and
buy another one ) also i think it's suitable more for the 'final' touching
up rather than taking on a really blunt knife. so as i see it, get a
little diamond file to start on really blunt ones, and then use the little
fiskar one for finishing.

cutting and scraping a finger nail to test for sharpness i found most
interesting thanks. perhaps i will look for a similar substance ( some
plastic of some kind ?) to try out rather than what little nail i have on my
fingers.

"JWH" > wrote in message
news:sk5sg.22732$v4.1676@newsfe3-

Is there any objective test i
> can do to compare how sharp a knife really is ? thanks for any advice.
>
>

I don't know how objective these are but they might give you some idea.

Sharp enough to use:
Cuts supermarket tomato thinly from the skin side without crushing, just
drawing once. Only a useful test for non-serrated knives.

A bit sharper than that:
Shaves hair off top of dry forearm in one movement leaving the skin smooth
(and bloodless). Ladies may have to try this test elsewhere.

Kukri sharp :-)
Gurkha flashes knife across the throat of an enemy. Seeing no blood the
enemy says "hah hah you missed". Gurkha says "Maybe, now try to shake your
head".

David

"JWH" > wrote

> Many thanks for all responses. if you don't mind me saying, you Merkins
> are very quick to hand a simple job over to someone else.

Americans. And it's good enough for me that even professional
chefs of all nationalities have their knives professionally sharpened.
Note that I am not even remotely putting myself in their company,
just sayin.

I'm not so big on trusting a one size fits all tool to a job like
sharpening knives. It doesn't cost much for someone who
knows what they are doing to put a good edge on a knife
for me once in a while.

nancy

"David Hare-Scott" > wrote

> Kukri sharp :-)
> Gurkha flashes knife across the throat of an enemy. Seeing no blood the
> enemy says "hah hah you missed". Gurkha says "Maybe, now try to shake
> your
> head".

Ahhh! Oh, man. Reminds me of the end of a movie with
Marlon Brando, darned if I remember the name. I shouldn't
see movies like that, no wonder I'm afeared of knives.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:

> Americans. And it's good enough for me that even professional
> chefs of all nationalities have their knives professionally sharpened.
> Note that I am not even remotely putting myself in their company,
> just sayin.
>
> I'm not so big on trusting a one size fits all tool to a job like
> sharpening knives. It doesn't cost much for someone who
> knows what they are doing to put a good edge on a knife
> for me once in a while.

Taking a knife to a "professional" is a time consuming and expensive
proposition. The "professional" is likely just a clerk in a store who has been
shown how to use the equipment on hand, a grindstone, and the professionally
sharpened blade will only have that super keen edge for a short time.

Any guy who has taken a shop course will have learned how to sharpen knives
and other cutting edges. There are lots of small grinding wheels out there
with brackets to ensure the proper angle. I have a small hand held electrical
grinder which I use to sharpen my knives on a regular basis. They may not get
the absolute perfect edge every time, but it takes only a few seconds and the
knives are sharp enough, and I don't have to drive to a store and pay someone
to do it every few weeks.

"Dave Smith" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote:

>> I'm not so big on trusting a one size fits all tool to a job like
>> sharpening knives. It doesn't cost much for someone who
>> knows what they are doing to put a good edge on a knife
>> for me once in a while.
>
> Taking a knife to a "professional" is a time consuming and expensive
> proposition. The "professional" is likely just a clerk in a store who has
> been
> shown how to use the equipment on hand, a grindstone, and the
> professionally
> sharpened blade will only have that super keen edge for a short time.

No, they send them out to people who sharpen knives for a living.
The clerk did not sharpen the knives.

> Any guy who has taken a shop course will have learned how to sharpen
> knives
> and other cutting edges. There are lots of small grinding wheels out there
> with brackets to ensure the proper angle. I have a small hand held
> electrical
> grinder which I use to sharpen my knives on a regular basis. They may not
> get
> the absolute perfect edge every time, but it takes only a few seconds and
> the
> knives are sharp enough, and I don't have to drive to a store and pay
> someone
> to do it every few weeks.

Maybe you could start a business since there seems to be a call for it.
Though ... I've heard how you do laundry .....

(laugh) nancy

Nancy Young wrote:

>
> > someone
> > to do it every few weeks.
>
> Maybe you could start a business since there seems to be a call for it.
> Though ... I've heard how you do laundry .....
>

LOL I do my own laundry only now :-)

"Dave Smith" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote:

>> > someone
>> > to do it every few weeks.
>>
>> Maybe you could start a business since there seems to be a call for it.
>> Though ... I've heard how you do laundry .....

> LOL I do my own laundry only now :-)

(laugh!) nancy

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 07:50:27 GMT, "JWH"
> wrote:

>Many thanks for all responses. if you don't mind me saying, you Merkins are
>very quick to hand a simple job over to someone else.

Well, at least when know when our knives are sharp.

>after all essentially it's not a difficult thing. one small round diamond
>file and then think 25 degrees. as i said, this little fiskars sharpener
>has done a brilliant job in the past, but is now a bit old. ( will go and
>buy another one ) also i think it's suitable more for the 'final' touching
>up rather than taking on a really blunt knife. so as i see it, get a
>little diamond file to start on really blunt ones, and then use the little
>fiskar one for finishing.
>
>cutting and scraping a finger nail to test for sharpness i found most
>interesting thanks. perhaps i will look for a similar substance ( some
>plastic of some kind ?) to try out rather than what little nail i have on my
>fingers.

Paper. Hold up a piece of paper in front of you, then slash it with
your knife. (Need I specify "downward?")

If you really want sharp, use parchment paper.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:50:49 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>Any guy who has taken a shop course will have learned how to sharpen knives
>and other cutting edges. There are lots of small grinding wheels out there
>with brackets to ensure the proper angle. I have a small hand held electrical
>grinder which I use to sharpen my knives on a regular basis. They may not get
>the absolute perfect edge every time, but it takes only a few seconds and the
>knives are sharp enough, and I don't have to drive to a store and pay someone
>to do it every few weeks.
>
Every few weeks? I'd have mine done once or twice a year at most. In
between, I use a steel. But I'm just cutting vegetables and meat,
once a day or less. Actually I just had my Henkels set professionally
sharpened recently for the first time in six years.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue wrote:

> >Any guy who has taken a shop course will have learned how to sharpen knives
> >and other cutting edges. There are lots of small grinding wheels out there
> >with brackets to ensure the proper angle. I have a small hand held electrical
> >grinder which I use to sharpen my knives on a regular basis. They may not get
> >the absolute perfect edge every time, but it takes only a few seconds and the
> >knives are sharp enough, and I don't have to drive to a store and pay someone
> >to do it every few weeks.
> >
> Every few weeks? I'd have mine done once or twice a year at most. In
> between, I use a steel. But I'm just cutting vegetables and meat,
> once a day or less. Actually I just had my Henkels set professionally
> sharpened recently for the first time in six years.
>

You could buy a small electric sharpener with built in guide quite reasonably.
Maybe it won't be quite as sharp as a supposedly professionally sharpened knife,
but it will certainly do the job around the house, and you can touch it up again
weekly in a matter of seconds.

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Curly Sue wrote:
>
>> >Any guy who has taken a shop course will have learned how to sharpen
>> >knives
>> >and other cutting edges. There are lots of small grinding wheels out
>> >there
>> >with brackets to ensure the proper angle. I have a small hand held
>> >electrical
>> >grinder which I use to sharpen my knives on a regular basis. They may
>> >not get
>> >the absolute perfect edge every time, but it takes only a few seconds
>> >and the
>> >knives are sharp enough, and I don't have to drive to a store and pay
>> >someone
>> >to do it every few weeks.
>> >
>> Every few weeks? I'd have mine done once or twice a year at most. In
>> between, I use a steel. But I'm just cutting vegetables and meat,
>> once a day or less. Actually I just had my Henkels set professionally
>> sharpened recently for the first time in six years.
>>
>
> You could buy a small electric sharpener with built in guide quite
> reasonably.
> Maybe it won't be quite as sharp as a supposedly professionally sharpened
> knife,
> but it will certainly do the job around the house, and you can touch it up
> again
> weekly in a matter of seconds.

"Touching up" weekly on an electric sharpener will chew up a good knife and
destroy it in less than a year. The main idea of knife sharpening is to
maintain the edge with a minimum of stock removal. Unless you are using your
knives in destructive ways, like whacking at bones with your chef's knife or
opening cans with your ham carver, actual reshaping of the edge should not
be necessary more than once or twice a year for a knife in a home kitchen. I
cannot recommend ANY electric machine for anyone who is not expert in knife
sharpening. For those who are, a bench grinder or a 1" belt sander are the
tools of choice, and those should only be used to repair severly damaged
knives. All other sharpening can be done with stones and steels.


--Rich

Dave Smith wrote:
> Curly Sue wrote:
>
>
>>> Any guy who has taken a shop course will have learned how to sharpen knives
>>> and other cutting edges. There are lots of small grinding wheels out there
>>> with brackets to ensure the proper angle. I have a small hand held electrical
>>> grinder which I use to sharpen my knives on a regular basis. They may not get
>>> the absolute perfect edge every time, but it takes only a few seconds and the
>>> knives are sharp enough, and I don't have to drive to a store and pay someone
>>> to do it every few weeks.
>>>
>>>
>> Every few weeks? I'd have mine done once or twice a year at most. In
>> between, I use a steel. But I'm just cutting vegetables and meat,
>> once a day or less. Actually I just had my Henkels set professionally
>> sharpened recently for the first time in six years.
>>
>>
>
> You could buy a small electric sharpener with built in guide quite reasonably.
> Maybe it won't be quite as sharp as a supposedly professionally sharpened knife,
> but it will certainly do the job around the house, and you can touch it up again
> weekly in a matter of seconds.
>
>
>
We've got one of those Furi sharpening thingies, and it works very well.
There is a ":how to" video on their website, and the thing seems to be
idiot proof. It's just a matter of judging how often to use which component.

Christine

Rich wrote:
>
> "Touching up" weekly on an electric sharpener will chew up a good knife and
> destroy it in less than a year. The main idea of knife sharpening is to
> maintain the edge with a minimum of stock removal. Unless you are using your
> knives in destructive ways, like whacking at bones with your chef's knife or
> opening cans with your ham carver, actual reshaping of the edge should not
> be necessary more than once or twice a year for a knife in a home kitchen. I
> cannot recommend ANY electric machine for anyone who is not expert in knife
> sharpening. For those who are, a bench grinder or a 1" belt sander are the
> tools of choice, and those should only be used to repair severly damaged
> knives. All other sharpening can be done with stones and steels.

That's sort of what I was thinking as well. I have been able to get
the edges I need from steels - I don't understand why anything else
would be needed...?
-L

"Rich" > wrote

> "Touching up" weekly on an electric sharpener will chew up a good knife
> and destroy it in less than a year. The main idea of knife sharpening is
> to maintain the edge with a minimum of stock removal.

I gave mine away because I learned that first hand. I included my old
ruined knives when I sent out for the professional sharpening. I was
amazed, he brought them back to life.

> be necessary more than once or twice a year for a knife in a home kitchen.

Exactly.

> I cannot recommend ANY electric machine for anyone who is not expert in
> knife sharpening. For those who are, a bench grinder or a 1" belt sander
> are the tools of choice, and those should only be used to repair severly
> damaged knives. All other sharpening can be done with stones and steels.

Agreed.

nancy