55 experts share their best sharpening tips

Hello,
I spent the last 3 weeks getting in touch with 55 professional knife sharpeners and experts, asking them:
"What's you #1 tip to a beginner knife sharpener?"

I'm new and I don't know if I can post a link (I'm not selling anything, it's just an informative article) so I'd like to have a moderator's approval first.

But I've also made an infographic including what many experts recommended:


I hope you like it, I'd love to know your opinions!

Thanks,
Robert

Hello Robert - this is very particular first post on this forum that may generate very mixed answers But one way or another - welcome!

Concerning those 16 points or advises - they seem to be a mixture of useful ideas, jokes and some not-so-useful ideas. On top of that - most of the points need an explanation so that somebody new to kitchen knives and sharpening could extract some usable information.

I have also had a look at the article - the advises are too often too short worded to be applied in real life (by someone without experience).

My questions would be - what is the idea behind your webpage, who is the target audience, how deep is your involvement and expertise in kitchen knives and their maintenance?

Hi Matus. Yes, I know. That's why I didn't post the link- but I would love to know you honest opinions anyways!

I'm a beginner knife sharpener myself, and thought it would have been interesting to see how different professional knife sharpeners would help a newbie.
So I went out asking 55 of them their "no.1 recommendation to a newbie knife sharpener".

Keep in mind the following:
- this is by no means a guide to knife sharpening.
- this is directed primarily to beginners. If you already know the basics, chances are you won't find this article so useful.
- the tips here are just- tips. hints. recommendations. For example- if you want to use a marker to improve your sharpening- You'll actually have to go on and learn how to do it.
"Color the bevels with a marker" Means nothing by itself. It's useless. You should do your research and find out how to apply this tip in real life. But that's the whole point!

What I found interesting in the first place was asking to people that sharpen knives as a job, on a daily basis. I believe the most authoritative people I could ask these advices to were professional knife sharpeners themselves. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks for your honest opinion.

I like it. It grabs your attention and makes you think, which is the best you can hope for with an infographic. It's the type of list you'd see in a magazine, but in an article form, after every point they'd have an explanation. Welcome to the forum

Welcome! I would suggest you edit out the part about using a steel...the maintenance is a good idea, but the steel will damage nice knives.

u know what bothers me the most?

seeing people going ham on a steel or a diamond, on a J Knife none the less, not knowing they are doing more harm then good

Robert, Welcome. I think its great to take this approach to teaching yourself how to maintain fine cutlery.

In a few years, you look back on this post and say, yea that is still true and oh man, did I say that?

Regardless, one thing for sure, we all appreciate your passion!

MB

'experts'

experts probably think Shuns are the best knives too

Cheers Robert for the list. Most of it seems fine and seems geared to its target audience appropriately.

I do think you may touch on a nerve if you conflate "professionals" with "experts". The two shouldn't be confused in the company of enthusiasts.

Surely 5 is the wrong way round. If i had a choice between Knowing how to sharpen and being able to sharpen I know which one would give me sharper knives.....

A bird can fly but may not understand how, I know how the bird flies. The bird is still much better at flying than me....

I think this list is a helpful starting point for a beginner.
Of course the quality of videos really varies. Jon Broida's are an excellent reference/resource. FYI, he is one of the 55 professionals surveyed for the list. I also bought Murray Carter's sharpening video, and have found that to be an excellent resource as well.

I think it's a nice effort overall, and you summarized what was likely a ton of work/ time into a good list of important points. But it's tough to be so general and not raise some flags. For instance, the wording on #3; in my opinion, it's more important to view videos from some who are considered expert (Jon Broida, etc.) then to just view a few random ones and stop there because you 'don't want to view too many'. #5 was pretty well elaborated on by TB_London. And #9 is an edge-killer for those with harder steel knives.

If nothing else, I would look into rewording #9.

Guys, I didn't post the link in the first post but you can read the article here, that "cool" graphic is just a summary of the 55 opinions you can find here:
http://www.knifeplanet.net/55-experts-share-knife-sharpening-tips/

Please keep in mind that EVERYTHING written in that post was not me (a beginner) saying that, but 55 different knife sharpeners that have been sharpening knives for years, professionally (it's what they do for a living).
So if you find a certain opinion wrong or useless... well, you should ask them directly! They'd be more than happy to clear your doubts

And one last thing, I really appreciate your honest opinions guys
Just keep in mind that this article is mainly for beginners: if you've been sharpening for a while, chances are you already know these things.
And also, it's by no way to be considered a "guide". I've just listed some tips, hints, recommendations. If you want to know more about a certain point, you'll have to dig deeper and study elsewhere

"MESSER MEISTER – FACEBOOK
We recommend that you hone your knives on a weekly basis. This should keep your knives nice and sharp! If you can’t get your edge back by honing, sharpen it on either a ceramic or diamond coated steel or a stone. This will removes flaws and blemishes. Do note that every time you sharpen, not hone, your knife, you are removing steel making the life of your knife shorter. Honing a knife aligns the edge without removing steel. Try to only sharpen your knife when you absolutely have to. By following these guidelines, a good knife will last a lifetime."

:scratchhead:

CoqaVin said:

experts probably think Shuns are the best knives too

Click to expand...

Speaking for at least 1 other who is new to sharpening...and once thought the world revolved around the Shun knife, I am looking forward to what comes out of this thread.
Being the newbie to plunge-in publicly, there are often moments of regret. Thanks for taking the risk to share your discoveries. You are not alone.

I've read many posts on this forum and the commentary about Jnats and man made stones. I've chosen a line-up that takes those comments into consideration as I try to achieve my own goal results. I'll be enjoying this thread

srideout said:

"MESSER MEISTER – FACEBOOK
We recommend that you hone your knives on a weekly basis. This should keep your knives nice and sharp! If you can’t get your edge back by honing, sharpen it on either a ceramic or diamond coated steel or a stone. This will removes flaws and blemishes. Do note that every time you sharpen, not hone, your knife, you are removing steel making the life of your knife shorter. Honing a knife aligns the edge without removing steel. Try to only sharpen your knife when you absolutely have to. By following these guidelines, a good knife will last a lifetime."

:scratchhead:

Click to expand...

MesserMeister knives are around 56 HRC, so the edge rolls and a smooth steel will, indeed, align the edge as they say. It doesn't work that way with the >60 HRC knives most of us favor.

Hi Robert,
Please feel free to upload your content here for our member's review.

Going slowly and paying attention to subtlety seems critical. Best advice I've read.

Use of magnification for instance... it is about noticing small detail. Advising how to manage the visual and tactile information of the sharpening process is challenging...as a learner, I crave progress and results and often rush into focus on the wrong thing. Advise from professionals helps me reign in those instincts and look/listen to what I am actually doing.

The senses are the organs by which man places himself in connexion with exterior objects.
Brillant Savarin

Pensacola Tiger's signature line also bears nicely. “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

I'm paying dues as I do

Enjoyed the read. Some good tips, agree with the guy saying don't watch too many Y-Tubes can complicate the simple. This is basically a kitchen knife forum. Once you learn good technique & sharpen your chef knife on a regular basis, touch ups become easier as the knife is trained to your angles.

Little biased, strongly believe that for Kitchen knives learning freehand skills on whetstones is the best way to go.

Can someone upload that infographic here? Both links appear like www. **************. net for me, with just those asterisks.

mhpr262 said:

Can someone upload that infographic here? Both links appear like www. **************. net for me, with just those asterisks.

Click to expand...

Try doing a reply with quote, and the links should appear.

Why is the URL in the original post munged to asterisks?

?? Maybe just to shorten the often long links??

No, that's not it; the same number of asterisks replace the original characters. I have observed that certain words are censored here but I can't figure out why that domain would be. If it were blocked as advertizing I would expect the whole post to have been removed.

Mr.Wizard said:

Why is the URL in the original post munged to asterisks?

Click to expand...

Mr.Wizard said:

No, that's not it; the same number of asterisks replace the original characters. I have observed that certain words are censored here but I can't figure out why that domain would be. If it were blocked as advertizing I would expect the whole post to have been removed.

Click to expand...

The original poster has been asked to share his content here vs re-direct members off site.

This request abides with the Terms of Use of this site.

We're asking that he posts his content (that's similar to what we post on here every day) here vs sending our members to his site for viewing.

deleted...saw DM's reply...

Cheers

Above I had posted (and since edited out) a response to Mr. Wizard giving him a hard time for his questioning the censoring as I thought that he was the original poster of this thread. I offer my apologies to Mr. Wizard for my mistake. Sorry about that Mr.W

Thanks for the note, Mr. Martell. It's not the first time I created trouble for myself by asking "why?" but that's who I am to the core. :scratchhead: