Sharp Story

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Salty dog

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I recently lent TK59 a couple knives to check out.

He sent them back sharpened as promised. When I received them I immediately felt the edge, "yeah, that's sharp". They pushed and pull cut ticket paper, "yeah, that's very sharp. So I broke out the tomatoes.

When I did my usual tests the knives performed very well. It appeared Tinh (TK) widened the right side bevels a bit very precisely. I said to myself, "I bet if I give the Masamoto a good stropping this thing might pass the "weight only test". No other knife has been able to do it.

I stropped on treated split leather, smooth leather, 1 micron boron, .5 chromium, .25 diamond, .25 boron, on balsa. I finished with naked balsa.

The video results are here...http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php?1066-Sharp

Notes about the differences in our sharpening.

I tend to have less bevel toward the heel of the knife and more bevel near the tip. As I said TK's bevel was precise with a hint of the bevel decreasing on the rounded part going to the tip. It's perfect if you are a frequent rocker. That part of the blade takes a pounding. However I don't rock much which is why I keep a greater bevel in that "sweet spot" near the tip for detail work. But wow, nice job.

This is only the first time I've used one of my knives sharpened by another person. (Other than a new knife. That's 35 years folks.) It feels a little weird and I have to admit feeling a little humbled. (That doesn't happen very often. Can you tell?)
 
Tinh is our new sharpening champ. Totally amazing.
 
I would love to have someone try out my edges like this, just to get a second opinion.

For a home cook, I think my knife and sharpening skills are far above average...but at the same time, I've never used or seen something sharpened by a Dave or the like. Not that I feel I need to get validation, as I'm very happy with my edges in both sharpness and retention, but it would be cool to see what someone else thought of them.

Way to go though TK...making us non-pros look good! :eek:vg:
 
Thanks for the feedback, Salty. I'm feeling relieved and a bit self-conscious... :shy: To be honest, I was sh!tting bricks wondering if the edge passed muster. That's what this forum does to you. Watching Salty's tomato vids really pushed me to a new level of knut. I'm still wondering if the edge holds up the way your normal edges would. :scared2:
 
I'll do a few potatoes and try some more tomatoes. That's my rudimentery retention test.
 
But can it slice thru a sweet potato smoothly without a lot of pressure or wedging...
 
i'd be worried about sharpening somebody else's knife and probably end up making the bevels less steep than i otherwise would, to make sure i didn't scratch it up. that's impressive on more than one level. :)
 
well damn, i ran to the kitchen (glad i'm working from home, today!) and tried the test out for myself. the only one of my gyutos which passes this test is my 240 Shigifusa, which is heaviest by a fair margin. i have more work to do, i guess. every time i conquer your latest test and think i've just about eked all the performance i can out of my edges, you come up with some new goal.
 
That's my problem to. It's always "what's next?"
 
And like you mentioned in the other thread, the knife isn't a beast like a Shige. It's 177g. Well done TK!
 
TK, you've set the bar for me when it comes to my sharpening goals and as always, thanks for sharing Salty.
 
Thanks guys but I bet a lot of guys here can pass this test. I'm happy to join the club. Also, Salty did do some stropping. Depending on how much he did, it can have a big effect.
 
I bet a lot of guys here can pass this test. I'm happy to join the club.

Yes, but not all of us have a sweet video cam to record the glory! Great job TK. I love seeing/knowing how much everyone has progressed and refined their skills...I think that is what makes sharpening so fun and addictive.
 
I love this......it shows that there's always another level of sharp out there and it's cool that you guys are willing to share your experiences with us. I've been chasing the ultimate edge for years and I can never get closer than nipping at it's heals, it's a very elusive goal for sure that I know I'll never attain.
 
PS - The weight of the knife on the tomato (only - no movement) test that's shown here is just about as good as one can ever hope for, well besides edge retention as well, but this is a very high level of sharpness shown.
 
Jenkies that's sharp!

Bravo tk and thanks for posting Salty.
 
Eeek! That is crazy sharp! Bravo, to both you and (mostly) TK for your lighter-than-air hands. there's just no brute forcing your way to an edge like that!
 
Thanks for posting this and congrats on the edge. Any chance you might fill in what you did to get it so screaming sharp Tinh?
 
Good question. I've been meaning to ask. The stropping was just a 2 minute project.

Oh, and if he says something like Edge Pro I'm going to $hit.
 
Good question. I've been meaning to ask. The stropping was just a 2 minute project.

Oh, and if he says something like Edge Pro I'm going to $hit.

That would be awesome on so many levels. Even better if he said Chef's Choice.
 
Good question. I've been meaning to ask. The stropping was just a 2 minute project.

Oh, and if he says something like Edge Pro I'm going to $hit.

It was the Gizmo

:viking:
Jay
 
Now I feel like I should have sharpened the Heiji before I sold it to him:slaphead:
 
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