Dumb Q? Scotchbrite dulling the cutting edge?

[BrianM]

I've been struggling recently with keeping my knives as sharp as I think they ought to be. Main knife is a Yoshihiro 210mm guyto (http://www.echefknife.com/knife-ste...ant-aus-10-steel-ice-hardened-gyuto-1253.html), I'm cutting only on an end-grain maple board, never use the dishwasher and I try to wash/dry immediately after use. They all live in a bamboo knife block (the kind that lives in a drawer). I just finished sharpening my knifes and I thought they were all in Very good shape coming out of the sesion, to the sink to clean off the mess I make while cleaning. I do dishes with one of those "scratch-less" Scotchbrite sponges, so immediately after washing I dry them off and feel the edge once more and they all feel much more dull now.

In my head? Or have I just been screwing things up for myself over the past year since buying this knife (I also have some cheap Chicago Cuttlery and a faux Henkles, they all share the behavior).

I love the Gyuto in terms of use, Especially when it's sharp, just been frustrated the past week as I had to cut a ton of tomatoes for a weekend Mexican themed party and the knife just didn't seem to perform very well.

 

[foody518]

What color Scotchbrite scrubby sponge?
Try rinsing and wiping with a cloth after use next time and feel the edge, see if there's difference
How have you been sharpening? It's possible you've been getting a good but not durable edge relative to your needs

 

[daveb]

I wouldn't use anothing more abrasive than dish cloth and then hold spine in mid cloth and work along length of blade. If you have stubborn places then likely you re not rinsing enough. For stubborn I'll work a fine scotchbright from spine to edge while blade is flat on surface.

And tomato is among the most dulling product. From go to slow in less than bushel.

If you have wire edge it could be culprit as well.

 

[BrianM]

I'm using a Wicked Edge unit (from several years ago), and when I first bought the knife I checked the original angles, or rather the corresponding settings on the WE. I've been sharpening it to the exact same angles as original, and usually it's just a few quick passes with my highest grit that easily restores the edge (I don't have a ceramic "steel"). Most sharpening is just a few passes. Today I dropped the angle a little and built back up the primary bevel before putting the micro-bevel on the edge.

The sponge I use has a blue scotchbrite pad, apparently considered to be about 1000 grit (just looked this up, surprised me!), and I had previously been wrapping the sponge around the blade, pinching about Mid-blade (edge to spine) and running it up and down. Since I'm well beyond 1000 grit when sharpening, I'm going to go ahead and assume this is my problem. Time to adjust decades of habit. :/

 

[rick_english]

If the pad were dulling the blade, seems to me the blade would be cutting the heck out of the pad. Is that happening?

 

[LifeByA1000Cuts]

Can confirm this with the scrubby side of normal dish sponges, they can dull an edge very quickly (curiously, they are often recommended for deburring too - but then they are used with controlled force at a controlled angle).

 

[larrybard]

If the pad were dulling the blade, seems to me the blade would be cutting the heck out of the pad. Is that happening?

Not sure why this would be the case, if he's wrapping the pad around the spine (not the cutting edge) and moving it along the length.

 

[foody518]

It's not clear to me if the OP has meant​ the sponge/scrubby is creased and folded over the edge or over the spine. An abrasive running perpendicular to the edge would certainly have an affect

 

[StonedEdge]

Either way it definitely doesn't help

 

[Pensacola Tiger]

I've been struggling recently with keeping my knives as sharp as I think they ought to be. Main knife is a Yoshihiro 210mm guyto (http://www.echefknife.com/knife-ste...ant-aus-10-steel-ice-hardened-gyuto-1253.html), I'm cutting only on an end-grain maple board, never use the dishwasher and I try to wash/dry immediately after use. They all live in a bamboo knife block (the kind that lives in a drawer). I just finished sharpening my knifes and I thought they were all in Very good shape coming out of the sesion, to the sink to clean off the mess I make while cleaning. I do dishes with one of those "scratch-less" Scotchbrite sponges, so immediately after washing I dry them off and feel the edge once more and they all feel much more dull now.

In my head? Or have I just been screwing things up for myself over the past year since buying this knife (I also have some cheap Chicago Cuttlery and a faux Henkles, they all share the behavior).

I love the Gyuto in terms of use, Especially when it's sharp, just been frustrated the past week as I had to cut a ton of tomatoes for a weekend Mexican themed party and the knife just didn't seem to perform very well.

No, it's not "in your head"; ScotchBrite, even the so-called "scratchless" variety, is still abrasive, and it is dulling the edge when you clean your blades. Take Dave's advice, and only use a dish cloth to clean your knives. If you find that you absolutely must use ScotchBrite, make sure you don't come anywhere near the edge, or be prepared to hit the stones.

 

[JDA_NC]

What do you generally do to deburr your edges?

I had some similar experiences when I first started sharpening and it was because I had wire edges.

This is a good video:

[video=youtube;XnhIKOX6Rco]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnhIKOX6Rco[/video]

And what Jon does at the 7:45 minute mark, is a really nifty trick and something that helped me to get cleaner, longer lasting edges.

One of the Takamura blacksmiths likes to do the same motion on jeans/denim and I've found that to be helpful. You get a little bit more feedback from that than just doing it on a sponge IMO.

And what grit are you finishing at? I don't have experience with any of the jig sharpening setups but you could experiment with finishing anywhere between 1k-4k grit and seeing how you like the results.