A question on sharpening and wear: How long do kitchen knives last?

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nakiriknaifuwaifu

nakiriknaifuwaifu

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I enjoy refinishing sharpening my knives, but they often don't need them. That got me thinking: how much steel am I wasting, and how long do knives last for you all?

I wonder if there's a formula like (random numbers): 0.1mm height lost per sharpening session x 1 time per week = 5.2mm lost steel behind edge lost per year
 
Depends on how you using it and how often you sharpening, I sharpen one time per week in pro environment, I found my knives still in good condition after 10 years. So for home use will last very long time, probably 20-30 years, some chefs sharpen everyday, it probably last around 5 years
 
Depends in your standards. I've gone through periods where I didn't sharpen my knives for about a year and they still cut ok. I'd have to pierce tomato skin with the heel of the knife before making a cut, but it was workable. That was when things were crazy at work, and I wasn't cooking as much either. Now with covid I feel like I'm over-sharpening. I might experiment with strops and diamond paste to see if that can satisfy my urges without wasting so much metal.
 
For reference, there is always the photo of Morimoto's knives that has done the rounds several times.
OTPmEtYd_UZ8GmMcuINk9GuqciIXtNZnckjvschiM8E.png


The bottom knife is apparently 3 years old.
 
spaceconvoy said:
The blades I can understand, it's the handles I wonder about. I hope that's cheap wood, otherwise I'm worried about his ****
Click to expand...

The rumor is that the handles are sanded every day as well - supposedly to help with the balance of the ever decreasing blade size. Info gleaned from reddit so .....
 
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I’ll also add that the average Japanese chef isn’t necessarily thinking about the knife itself when they sharpen. Most of the time they’ll go harder than you’d think on an arato then a nakato. It’s about getting it functionally sharp as quickly as possible for most of them. Only the people who work in fancy joints are gonna even bother with a shiageto.

That’s why Japanese users tend to burn through knives. For the average American chef who sharpens regularly, they’ll last decades. For home users, I agree with the lifetime.
 
nakiriknaifuwaifu said:
I enjoy refinishing sharpening my knives, but they often don't need them. That got me thinking: how much steel am I wasting, and how long do knives last for you all?

I wonder if there's a formula like (random numbers): 0.1mm height lost per sharpening session x 1 time per week = 5.2mm lost steel behind edge lost per year
Click to expand...
Do you always apply a full progression? Why not touching up with a 4k or so as long as you can?
My knives get only a full sharpening if touching up with 2 and 4k doesn't work any longer. A full sharpening starts at 800 or lower, and includes some thinning behind the edge.
 
Benuser said:
Do you always apply a full progression? Why not touching up with a 4k or so as long as you can?
My knives get only a full sharpening if touching up with 2 and 4k doesn't work any longer. A full sharpening starts at 800 or lower, and includes some thinning behind the edge.
Click to expand...

Usually I'll go 3k and 8k for touch ups, but I like refinishing my knives every couple of weeks so I always go 400 and up to reset the bevel.
 
esoo said:
For reference, there is always the photo of Morimoto's knives that has done the rounds several times.
OTPmEtYd_UZ8GmMcuINk9GuqciIXtNZnckjvschiM8E.png


The bottom knife is apparently 3 years old.
Click to expand...

Wow, I can even see the metal coming out from that handle
 
nakiriknaifuwaifu said:
I enjoy refinishing sharpening my knives, but they often don't need them. That got me thinking: how much steel am I wasting, and how long do knives last for you all?
Click to expand...
I'm working with a 1950s/60s Wenk&Muller cimiter and a 1920(or less) Henckles at the moment. Both blades had been treated well before me but both have a boatload of steel yet to be used.

So, how long does a basic knife last if treated well? Decades, easily.
 
I've thought about that too. Might sound foolish. But when spending a lot of money on a knife. I would rather not have it being ground down in a few years . 😊
 
Lots of “i heard” but I’m gonna add to it - i heard the traditional ho wood handles are considered disposable, they don’t last nearly as long as the blade so you wear one out and get it replaced. Also I have a 100 year old sheffield-made knife that is still good and I use it at home and at work.

edit: despite what my coworkers may believe, I haven’t owned it for the whole hundred years.
 
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I am 67 and I have my mom's old Henckels 4 and 5 star knives. They are 50 years or more old. She used them when I was growing up. She bought a lot of them in the early 70s, maybe some in the 50s but I was too young. She lived in Germany twice for 2 or 3 years each time.
 
When I was a professional chef I bought a new everyday gyuto about once every 2-3 years. I went through all of the cheaper ones. Shun, Global, Mac, Misono, Tojiro, Kikuichi, Masahiro, Fujiwara, Kanehide, etc. There was usually plenty of steel left but I have large hands and my knuckles would start dragging. I usually sharpened a couple of times a week and usually only with a Naniwa Super Stone 2k. Here's a thread showing what a replacement knife looks like next to a brand new one. Home knives should last decades unless you have a serious sharpness fetish or you are extremely rough on your tools.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/old-beater-meet-new-beater.44563/
 
I'd say you can count on at least a generation for a knife in home use.

I have a Wüsthof 20 cm chef's knife that my parents gifted to me thirty years ago. That knife has seen a lot of use (and I still use it frequently). There is no wear of any significance on the knife. It's definitely good for another thirty years and, likely, another thirty years after that.
 
I work with a guy who has a Sakai Yusuke white #2 and a Tanaka blue #2. He sharpens frequently, and weirdly. His knives are bird beaked and at least 5mm shorter in height than stock. They are thick behind the edge, which drives him to sharpen even more.

I've tried to give him some suggestions, but he's set in his ways.

So, me being a very light and infrequent sharpener, I would say a knife should last a minimum of a decade. Sharpen like my coworker, and you will wear through a good gyuto in a couple years.
 
I replaced my favorite F. Dick 6-inch straight flex boning knife this fall after 30+ years of use. The blade was wore down to about half its original width but I liked it that way for its intended use. I don't know how many deer, elk, cattle and fish I used the knife on but the handle was starting to come apart. It was replaced by a Victorniox of the same pattern and the new knife has two deer on it now. I think I'm going to like it alot too!
 
NO ChoP! said:
I work with a guy who has a Sakai Yusuke white #2 and a Tanaka blue #2. He sharpens frequently, and weirdly. His knives are bird beaked and at least 5mm shorter in height than stock. They are thick behind the edge, which drives him to sharpen even more.

I've tried to give him some suggestions, but he's set in his ways.

So, me being a very light and infrequent sharpener, I would say a knife should last a minimum of a decade. Sharpen like my coworker, and you will wear through a good gyuto in a couple years.
Click to expand...
Yea they do exist.. Had a few knives sent back like that for thinning and refinish. Suuuuper thick and lost 5-10 mm height on a year or two :eek:
Ofc no judging though. I don't know how many meals those cooked and if someone likes to sharpen heavy handed and feel a tougher edge works... Different strokes 😅
 
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