Japanese Knives Scared of Sharpening?

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Sara@JKI

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I am NOT scared of sharpening my first Japanese knives. But I do want some moral support. I've tried sharpening 3 times in the past, and never made it to the end completely (my patience ran out, or didn't set aside enough time). The total time spent on sharpening is probably less than 30 minutes.

I'm planning to do some sharpening sometime this week....

Is there anyone who has never tired sharpening before? I need a good, strong moral support here!
 
Yes, go Sarah. And into Natural stone too. So soothing.
 
I am NOT scared of sharpening my first Japanese knives. But I do want some moral support. I've tried sharpening 3 times in the past, and never made it to the end completely (my patience ran out, or didn't set aside enough time). The total time spent on sharpening is probably less than 30 minutes.

I'm planning to do some sharpening sometime this week....

Is there anyone who has never tired sharpening before? I need a good, strong moral support here!

Lol I think Jon may be able to help.
 
Every time I thin a new knife for the first time. It's a sad day to see the finish and geometry change. :sad0:
 
It is intimidating at first. But everyone goes through the same fear. You have the best coach there is, and in no time you will be a master (mistress?).

Jump in there and enjoy!
 
my first japanese knives were tosagata .. inexpensive but still blue and white steel. i practiced on them for a year and then took daves course before i bought my first $$$ knife. your problem as i see it is ... you dont have much in the way of inexpensive knives ... however you have a solution [roll over in bed and look at it ] pick a knife .. do your best and if you screw it up Jon will fix it.. with out complaint or the rest of us will have at him :viking:. like learning to drive a stick shift car ,,,, often a non relative is the best teacher... i took me a year .. good luck .. my annual meeting is in LA this year ,, not sure how far the venue is from you but i am hoping to visit your store .

p.s. i am a fairly unremarkable old guy but we met twice at warrens .
 
First time I sharpened freehand with stones I was a bit daunted as I'd only done woodwork tools before, but knowing what sharp is really helped. First time I sharpened a woodwork tool I used a jig, so I guess I didn't really have that sharpening epiphany. The fact that I could make a piece of steel in my shed shave hardwood but my kitchen knives struggled with food was what made me first look into decent knives.
You can do it, you have resources available that most of us would dream of when we started out. Plus if you screw it up you have someone who can fix it for you, a rare and valuable safety net :D
Good luck
 
So there's these good videos available on sharpening....I forget the website but they're based in Cali. Affiliated with some kind of knife society too. The guys name is Joe, or Jeb....or something with a J......I'll bet someone here could help you find them.....:D
 
YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes ;)

I'm here to help, but this is all her
 
I think it was more the "reset button" that you can provide if she actually does mess something up. As far as teaching her during the actual sharpening, good luck. :D

Sara, as a new sharpener I'd like to refer you to these really great tutorial videos. They should help answer most of your questions and get you going in the right direction.
 
YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes ;)

I'm here to help, but this is all her

I'm so with you on this one... Now I just get the reminder now and again... "this knife is getting dull" "Ok" She will let it turn into a butterknife and buy another before she will sharpen it.

Koodoes to Sara for wanting to learn :) More power to ya :)
 
Every time I thin a new knife for the first time. It's a sad day to see the finish and geometry change. :sad0:

no, it's a good thing! you are making it your own! i think i'll be able to sharpen again in another week, and the first thing i plan to do is really thin my Kochi, to make it cut how it did when brand new.

you can do it, Sara!
 
no, it's a good thing! you are making it your own! i think i'll be able to sharpen again in another week, and the first thing i plan to do is really thin my Kochi, to make it cut how it did when brand new.

you can do it, Sara!

I am making it my own, that's the problem. :D
 
oh wow! a great moral support here! thank you guys so much :) ! I agree with all of you... I can always be fearful of sharpening, but f i were to learn about it, it really has to start from somewhere... yes, i might quickly be a sharpening ohimesama (Japanese princess)!

i will take a lot of photos and write up a blog again when I do sharpening... if Jon is a bully or meanie, I will tell on you guys! :viking: haha! yay for the KKF moral support <3
 
Sharpening seems scary at first, but once you try it, it's not too bad. To learn, I used the Sharpie trick to see where the stone was wearing the steel and also looked at how the blade edge met the stone. If it was too steep, it would cut into the stone, but when the edge is right on the stone, that means it's just about the right angle. I just followed the original bevels at first and then went lower at the next sharpenings to help thin the edge. The only times I scratch a blade is if the blade slips off of the stone at the end of the sweep, but that's only when I am in a rush and not paying attention to what I am doing. If you go too low, it will scratch, but that isn't very common for me.

Take lots of pics!! Maybe have Jon make a video!

As a last tip, I find I can touch up with a 2K or 5K stone from time to time and not have to do really major sharpening for quite a while if I do the touch ups. Most people also strop as a touch up, too.
 
Practice on a few inexpensive ones first!! You can do it!

~Tad
 
Practice on a few inexpensive ones first!! You can do it!

~Tad

+1

Start with some of those beater/cheaper knives that Jon has. For me, using a Sharpie, working slowly, and concentrating on the amount of pressure I used and my sharpening motion really helped me improve.

And always remember - there's nothing that you can do to your knife that Jon can't fix! Good luck! YOU CAN DO IT!!! :doublethumbsup:
 
I'm sure everyone was scared there first time. I'm still very new but I have done it before and taken dave's class and am still scared to sharpen, mostly due to screwing up beautiful kasumi finishes on my shiges with scratches. But it's all part of the experience, I'd rather have ratty looking knives that are sharp then some dull ones that are flawless looking. Of course eventually I hope to be able to have the best of both worlds.
 
nooooo I'm not scared anymore!

I will give it a shot today (or Friday), and I will be a better sharpener than Jon! Then I'll be his "horrible boss"! (this idea - I'll be better than Jon right away - might not be a good sign for being patient for sharpening) :viking:
 
It's ok, I don't think that idea can really last all that long given where you are. I remember struggling with a knife for something like 10 minutes at JKI once. Jon came over and fixed the issue in literally one swipe. You really get an appreciation of your newbie-ness, lol.
 
How did Jon learn to sharpen?

magic.

i went ahead and thinned my Kochi, and got magic (I had chipped it and never fixed it, really, so this was the real fixing), so if I can do it with a half broken hand, anybody can start.

I'll finish any blades that are started but can't be finished, for the cost of postage, and the promise of a beer if I ever show up there. :)

* this is not an advertisement, and I don't really want your knife. This is only for stuff that is half done and nobody else will take, and you are a regular.
 
My first time sharpening I went with crappy knives and it went very well. Since I've introduced stropping and I seem to end with a dull edge. I think I'm folding the burr over.
 
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