Favorite Touch Up Stone for Work

[EdipisReks]

I still dont understand what touch up means.
My knives are either ******** dull or sharp. There is no in-between.

sounds like a bad case of wire edge.

 

[Sarge]

Or some very seriously and stringent standards. I view my edges as sharp or dull. Although some times I deal with the dull and allow it to linger depending on the food that is going to be cut, then dull becomes passable or sharp enough.

 

[bieniek]

Thanks Sarge, sir.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Touchup is good word for already fairly sharp blades that need to be brought back to razor edges.Japan SB,Yanagi 5K Rika.Already trained blades don't need much esp. Yanagi's

The 2K Gesshin soaker puts a great working edge on Gyuto & Cleavers.I prefer a med. grit edge for most prep work,fish knives polished edge.

 

[EdipisReks]

Or some very seriously and stringent standards. I view my edges as sharp or dull. Although some times I deal with the dull and allow it to linger depending on the food that is going to be cut, then dull becomes passable or sharp enough.

i consider my knives as sharp enough (they never get sharp enough, even when they cut tomatoes with weight) or in need of sharpening. dull is something is else entirely. my mother in law's knives are dull.

 

[bieniek]

i consider my knives as sharp enough [...] or in need of sharpening.

NOW that sounds like a bad case of wire edge.

 

[JDA_NC]

--BUMP--

I'm looking for a house stone for the restaurant I work at. I'm trying to get out of the habit of using a steel and feel like this will be a good solution. I (and another cook as well) have my own stones and sharpen on them regularly, so I'm just looking for something I and other cooks, can break out for a quick minute or two, to bring the edge back. A true splash or go (I have some Shapton GS but am not the biggest fan) or something that I can permasoak - not a big deal to me, just as long as it's quick.

I own a Suehira Rika 5k and really like the feel of the stone - and use it for my own touch ups at home - but am not sure if it'd cut fast enough for this situation. Most of the knives that will be used on it will be stainless steel... and some of the fairly dull.

I'm thinking somewhere between the 1k - 2k range. Inexpensive is best. I plan on getting some Gesshin stones in the future but I'm not trying to drop that amount of dough on a stone that's going to be thrown around at my work.

So far I'm debating between a King 1200 or a Naniwa 2k Green Brick. Both are ideal price points but I have no experience with either (or any synthetic aotos) - any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: Just to clarify, I sharpen my knives regularly so personally I'm just looking for a stone that I can do a few quick passes/strops to bring my edge back to life. But I'd also like something that other cooks - who don't sharpen their knives often or at all - can use to get a decent working edge from. How fast the stone dishes is not really an issue to me because I can and will flatten the stone. Thanks!

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Welcome JDA,fairly dull Stainless needs an aggressive Med. stone.Bester 1200 is a great stone that is not much more than the ones you are considering.Another option is a big King brick 1000 esp. if others are using the stone.Save your nice stones for your own use.

 

[bahamaroot]

The Naniwa 2k Green Brick would make a great house stone. It's the size of a brick, splash-n-go, cuts fast and can give you a 2-4k finish depending on how long you work it. Great for reviving an edge.

 

[Justin0505]

I just could never get to like the feeling of a really coarse edge for general work. It just feels gritty to me: like blowing your nose in burlap.

If I had to take a stone into a pro-kitchen (I don't work in one, so take this FWIW), I'd want it to be as break-resistant, low maintenance / mess, and fast cutting as possible. Marko's special order 8k mesh (3micron) DMT is, IMO, perfect for this. Edge is plenty aggressive for tomatoes and peppers, but fine enough to not shred the cuts on herbs. He makes a diamond loaded magnetic-backed felt strop that sticks to it and is also really good.
Plus it's nice and long, but thin and narrow enough to fit in a knife folio or roll. It's nice to use it in a base or stone holder, but a damp cloth at the corner of a table works just fine.

http://www.tsourkanknives.com/index.php/store/category/16-sharpening-supplies

 

[joetbn]

For at work, I would probably go splash and go, maybe Dave's new 3K, or the Gesshin 1200

 

[NO ChoP!]

I too like the SS, but i usually go more aggressive for touch ups at work, like 3k...

 

[Chef Niloc]

I do touch-ups on a leather strop glued to a piece of scrap wood or, if I'm in a hurry, a dickoron sapphire steel. If I need to put a fresh edge on, honestly any 1000 or 1200 grit Japanese waterstone will work fine. I have a 1000 grit shapton that looks cool and a $40 (I forget the name) 1000 grit for work, but I the edge i get on both is the same. Your stone-flattener is really the key piece. Many of my co-workers can't seem to be bothered to get one and keep asking me why their edge sucks so hard :viking:.

Holy $h1+ me to exactly

 

[K-Fed]

As long as the edge hasn't gotten too far away from me I'll use a small-ish nakayama karasu that I keep in my knife bag. Works pretty well and leaves a very refined edge that's still got great bite.

 

[JDA_NC]

Welcome JDA,fairly dull Stainless needs an aggressive Med. stone.Bester 1200 is a great stone that is not much more than the ones you are considering.Another option is a big King brick 1000 esp. if others are using the stone.Save your nice stones for your own use.

Thanks for the response! Good options. I'm worried I might like the Bester 1200 too much and take it for myself... and I already have two 1k stones.

The King 1k brick looks very attractive for this purpose. I like the idea of theNaniwa 2k being able to remove steel fast and also providing a more refined edge if you play with it, but I worry about folks gouging the heck out of it. I don't want to spend more time flattening it @ work than actually using it.