Kawa
Senior Member
Hi all,
My name is Dennis, 35 years old from The Netherlands. Below is my story about how I entered the world of knives and ended up registering here today.
I've been resurfacing bowlingballs since i'm 16 years old. This is my sport and passion all my life. Since bowlingballs wear after use, they need to be de-scratched once in a while, so you keep maximum surfacecontact with the lane. Bowling is a small world in The Netherlands, just like soccer is in the USA. So not many people are able to resurface their own balls: you need machinery (spinner) to ensure the ball stays round. Some balls end up around 320 gritt, some balls go up to 4000 gritt and they you aply liquid polish for a mirrorshine finish. I guess this is where my passion for grinding and polishing started...
In my college period, when I lived on myself, I got my very first own knives. The best way to discribe them is "a lot of knives for the money". They were dull out of the box; couldn't even slice an inch through normal printing paper. The bevels were all weird: left and right side had an other angle and even on one side the primairy edge was much wider at the belly then at the tip.
So I bought my first stones immediately: 2 combination stones from Naniwa: 220/1000 & 2000/5000.
I was so proud to put a mirror finish on those knives and to be able to shave one little armhair. Since then i started sharpening knives from my friends and family. 90% of those knives are brandless pieces of steel which are being stored in the kitchesdrawer, next the the metal forks ans spoons. So I don't have to tell you guys when I get my hand on them, they all look like breadknives. I'm glad i have a 220 gritt stone to start on...
This went on for a couple of years, doing about 5-10 knives a year. Some months I did a few more, sometimes I didn't touch a knive for a few months.
A few years ago I wanted to buy a 'quality knive' for my dad for his birthday. So I went looking for what to buy. A new world opened for me when i discovered the world of Japanese knives
The shape, the handles... i fell in love. I bought him a Global G2 chefs knife with a diamond honing rod, because he won't handsharpen them on stones, but he knows how to use a honing rod (he was a butcher for 13 years).
After a year of (mis)use I took the knive with me to sharpen. My first quality knive to sharpen... His diamond rod did well: it kept the knife sharp for him, but the original angle was completely destroyed.
At first he was a little sceptical: he didn't think I could get the knife sharper on my stones then he could with his rod. When he got his knife back he didn't have to say a word. His face expression and big smile when he tried the knife on his armhair said enough...
Then i felt i was ready to step up my game and try to sharpen better quality knives.
My passion grew exponentially. Watching youtube nights long, reading a lot on the web (including here) etc. etc.
At this point I own a Sakai Takayuki 45-layer 210 mm gyutoh (a birthday present for me from my dad) and a Kai shun classic 90mm office knife (Kai was about the first brand I walked into and i loved the knives by looks). This year i bought my dad a Miyabi 6000MCT shotoh 130mm which i'm going to maintain. He loves Zwilling, I love Japanese so this is the ultimate hybrid for him
Next to this my wall is full of low quality knives, all sharpened. But if you give them a bad look, the edge allready rolls over... So slowly I want to expend (replace) the 'collection' for more beautifull and better knives.
So I have a few questions I haven't been able to find on the internet. From reading here I'm starting to understand that there is a lot of knowledge I'm unaware of that i don't know (does this make sence?). And i've noticed that allmost all members here are kind and willing the explain and share their knowledge in a helpfull way. This combo made my sign up here today.
I'm the kind that mostly reads and sponges topics and doesn't actively reply, mostly because i feel like my knowledge about sharpening is peanuts in compare to the masters that reply here. So I would only parrot people or talk noncense
I think my English is sufficient, but i guess there are a lot of 'Dutch grammar style sentences' in my text. Sorry for that.
Last note: Kawa is short for Kawasaki. Appearently it also means coffee in Polish. Wouldn't be the first time I get welcomed or replied to in Polish
Kinds regards,
Dennis
My name is Dennis, 35 years old from The Netherlands. Below is my story about how I entered the world of knives and ended up registering here today.
I've been resurfacing bowlingballs since i'm 16 years old. This is my sport and passion all my life. Since bowlingballs wear after use, they need to be de-scratched once in a while, so you keep maximum surfacecontact with the lane. Bowling is a small world in The Netherlands, just like soccer is in the USA. So not many people are able to resurface their own balls: you need machinery (spinner) to ensure the ball stays round. Some balls end up around 320 gritt, some balls go up to 4000 gritt and they you aply liquid polish for a mirrorshine finish. I guess this is where my passion for grinding and polishing started...
In my college period, when I lived on myself, I got my very first own knives. The best way to discribe them is "a lot of knives for the money". They were dull out of the box; couldn't even slice an inch through normal printing paper. The bevels were all weird: left and right side had an other angle and even on one side the primairy edge was much wider at the belly then at the tip.
So I bought my first stones immediately: 2 combination stones from Naniwa: 220/1000 & 2000/5000.
I was so proud to put a mirror finish on those knives and to be able to shave one little armhair. Since then i started sharpening knives from my friends and family. 90% of those knives are brandless pieces of steel which are being stored in the kitchesdrawer, next the the metal forks ans spoons. So I don't have to tell you guys when I get my hand on them, they all look like breadknives. I'm glad i have a 220 gritt stone to start on...
This went on for a couple of years, doing about 5-10 knives a year. Some months I did a few more, sometimes I didn't touch a knive for a few months.
A few years ago I wanted to buy a 'quality knive' for my dad for his birthday. So I went looking for what to buy. A new world opened for me when i discovered the world of Japanese knives
The shape, the handles... i fell in love. I bought him a Global G2 chefs knife with a diamond honing rod, because he won't handsharpen them on stones, but he knows how to use a honing rod (he was a butcher for 13 years).After a year of (mis)use I took the knive with me to sharpen. My first quality knive to sharpen... His diamond rod did well: it kept the knife sharp for him, but the original angle was completely destroyed.
At first he was a little sceptical: he didn't think I could get the knife sharper on my stones then he could with his rod. When he got his knife back he didn't have to say a word. His face expression and big smile when he tried the knife on his armhair said enough...
Then i felt i was ready to step up my game and try to sharpen better quality knives.
My passion grew exponentially. Watching youtube nights long, reading a lot on the web (including here) etc. etc.
At this point I own a Sakai Takayuki 45-layer 210 mm gyutoh (a birthday present for me from my dad) and a Kai shun classic 90mm office knife (Kai was about the first brand I walked into and i loved the knives by looks). This year i bought my dad a Miyabi 6000MCT shotoh 130mm which i'm going to maintain. He loves Zwilling, I love Japanese so this is the ultimate hybrid for him
Next to this my wall is full of low quality knives, all sharpened. But if you give them a bad look, the edge allready rolls over... So slowly I want to expend (replace) the 'collection' for more beautifull and better knives.
So I have a few questions I haven't been able to find on the internet. From reading here I'm starting to understand that there is a lot of knowledge I'm unaware of that i don't know (does this make sence?). And i've noticed that allmost all members here are kind and willing the explain and share their knowledge in a helpfull way. This combo made my sign up here today.
I'm the kind that mostly reads and sponges topics and doesn't actively reply, mostly because i feel like my knowledge about sharpening is peanuts in compare to the masters that reply here. So I would only parrot people or talk noncense
I think my English is sufficient, but i guess there are a lot of 'Dutch grammar style sentences' in my text. Sorry for that.
Last note: Kawa is short for Kawasaki. Appearently it also means coffee in Polish. Wouldn't be the first time I get welcomed or replied to in Polish
Kinds regards,
Dennis
- enjoy yourself / have fun here!
