Am I on the right track ?

[Ragnar Lothbrok]

Greeting folks, long time lurker, 1st post. I just got my first carbon steel knives & I absolutely love them. I'm Hooked ! I need advice to make sure I am on the right track as to maintaining them.

My current arsenal...

• Wusthofs, Zwilling Twin Cermax M66, Kurosaki SG2, Japanny house brand Super Blue Steel.
• Miyabi Tungsten Steel Rod
• 1000 grit Naniwa Super Stone
• Barber Shop razor strop with canvas strop attached. My Great Grandfather was a Barber. Pretty cool
• Kangaroo strop loaded with 6 micron Diamond Paste
• Kangaroo strop loaded with 1 micron Diamond Spray

I have been doing the following steps, in order...
A few passes on the 1000 water stone, hone with the Miyabi Tungsten rod, strop with the barber shop rough leather & then finish with the 6 micron kangaroo & 1 micron kangaroo strops.

3 Questions:
1) Am I doing something stupid or unnecessary or in the wrong order to my blades ?
2) Do I need anything else to keep my new carbon blades EVIL sharp ?
3) What is the purpose for the canvas strop that is attached to the barber shop strop ? Does it have a use for kitchen knives ? Would it substitute for the Tungsten rod for deburring ?

Thanks for your time.

Mike

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Howdy Mike.

This seems like edge maintenance that you're describing. First, acknowledge that there's a lot of ways to skin the cat. The important part of sharpening is the destination. Does the edge perform the way you need it to? So we can do things differently but arrive at the same place.

Now, me personally, I would ditch the rod. I just don't care for them and find they can induce more problems than give benefits. Others are big fans of rods.

The primary purpose of strops is to deburr. Next is to refine the edge. The canvas is for deburring. I don't bother with diamond paste for simple carbons. I just think it's expensive and unnecessary. Barber strops are alright but you have to be mindful of rounding your apex. I used to use strops a lot and still have no issue with them but I don't use them much any more. I just kept focusing on improving my edges on the stones and as you get better at that, the need for stropping diminishes. But again, there's nothing wrong with using them so long as you're getting good results. If your edges aren't lasting then you might be raising micro-burrs that will be very sharp but not last long.

As a good start to see how you're doing, set everything aside but your 1k. You should always be sharp off the coarsest stone you're working with. We can't grit our way into sharpness. Moving up just refines.

 

[MrHiggins]

Like HHC said above, there's no one right way to create a scary sharp edge... So, experiment! I certainly agree with the proposition that your 1k should be all that you need. If I were in your shoes, I'd do exactly what you've already been doing, but then finish with a few passes on the 1k. See how that change things. I bet you'll be impressed.

 

[Delat]

Agree, sounds like a lot of stropping/honing going for simple edge maintenance. I’d do the 1k and deburr on it by finishing with light edge-leading strokes. Finish with a few passes per side on either of the kangaroo strops and call it a day.

If that’s not sharp enough then you’re not spending long enough on the stone. When the stone starts taking noticeably longer to get a good edge, then pick up an SG500 or equivalent and fall back to that to either thin and/or reset the bevel.

 

[Kawa]

I agree with all the above.

I just have one question about your rod:
I know what tungsten is, but I havent heared of a tungsten rod.

Rougly saying there are two types of rods:
- The ones that remove metal (sharpen): diamond and ceramic
- Steel ones, those are ment for alligning the edge. Mostly used on soft steels.

I know tungsten is very hard and I don't know in which category it belongs to.

I wouldn't use a steel (alligning) rod on your Japanese knives. Those knives are to hard to be alligned. Best you can do is chip the knive with that kind of rods.

If yours does remove metal, I would want to be sure its finer then your superstone 1000, or that kind of rod doesnt make sence either.

 

[Etilah]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum!

As relates to question #2, buy yourself a quality 10X loupe. This little tool's magnification will assist with examining your edge bevels. This and some good lighting on your workspace can be quite helpful.

 

[Ragnar Lothbrok]

Wow ! Excellent advice. Thanks Folks. I was secretly hoping people would say to get rid of the steel. What I have is a Miyabi Birchwood Tungsten sharpening steel. It was part of a set I bought on ebay several years ago for a "steal". I read somewhere that Zwilling offers the Tungsten rods for their SG2 blades ???

Anyway, thanks to all for the excellent advice & information. I'm anxious to try your recommendations.

 

[Stockman]

I think your current arsenal is fit for most tasks.
Keep the steel, they come in handy when pulling out dings in cheap soft stainless knives, a quick realignment on a steal on these softer steals is often all they need between sharpens.
Like others have mentioned, maybe a courser grit stone would be a good add on. Taking out chips or thinning out blades would take some time on a 1000 stone. The good old Norton India Course/Fine, or a Medium are cheep and I have found them as quick and easy to use as any, the SG500 is a step up in cost and quality. On the other end, you could also add a finer stone for finishing and quick touch ups, my most used for this is a SP2000.
As I keep most of my kitchen knives in good condition and never let them get too blunt, they only ever require a quick ( maybe 20 alternating strokes ) on the SP2000 to keep them shaving. A quick strop ( after the 2000 ) on the 6 then 1 mic strop and they will be scary.

 

[Troopah_Knives]

Wow ! Excellent advice. Thanks Folks. I was secretly hoping people would say to get rid of the steel. What I have is a Miyabi Birchwood Tungsten sharpening steel. It was part of a set I bought on ebay several years ago for a "steal". I read somewhere that Zwilling offers the Tungsten rods for their SG2 blades ???

Anyway, thanks to all for the excellent advice & information. I'm anxious to try your recommendations.

I believe those are tungsten carbide. That would fit firmly in the ceramic category.

 

[Benuser]

On side note note on the Aogami Super: it benefits from starting with a good coarse stone. Has to do with tungsten carbides, or so. From that moment on, avoid rounding the edge. Yes, you do need a fine stone. The Shapton Glass 4k is good and affordable. It easily removes all scratches from a SG320. I would avoid any further stropping.
Don't take too low an angle, better keep the area behind as thin as you can, and you have a great performer, and a terrific edge retention.
The SG-2 steel can take a similar treatment. Make sure to take all the time to deburr on the coarsest stone. With both, AS and SG-2, there is no need to put the 1k in between.
A SG320 were a good one for thinning behind the edge as well.
Your Wüsthof won't benefit from any polishing, has to do with its steel's structure. It will take a polished edge but not hold it. So, keep it coarse. Go from your coarsest to the 1k for a few very light final deburring strokes. Nothing else.
I have no experience with M66.
You will need an Atoma 140 to keep your stones flat.
Leather strops may be very helpful with very simple carbons. You don't have them, but they are a lot of fun.