How do you decide that you've reached the ultimate sharpness a particular blade can attain?

Find deals on amazon
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
tk59 said:
Tristan, I find that sectional sharpening really helped me work on my consistency but I do a variety of strokes depending on what seems to be working. I think the direction I stroke affects the way the knife cuts significantly.
Click to expand...

Makes sense though. I have noticed this as well. For a extremely exaggerated example, the way teeth on a saw are designed to cut in either a pull or push.

So for a gyuto that one push cuts with, you would want to sharpen in one direction, and in say a suji, where you are making long pull cuts, the opposite way.
 
JohnnyChance said:
Makes sense though. I have noticed this as well. For a extremely exaggerated example, the way teeth on a saw are designed to cut in either a pull or push.

So for a gyuto that one push cuts with, you would want to sharpen in one direction, and in say a suji, where you are making long pull cuts, the opposite way.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think that's what I'm getting. I'm also thinking that a one-handed sharpening would yield a better all around edge than one that has been sharpened by switching hands. Again, I think I want to test this on an unsuspecting cook/chef and see if he notices. I'm afraid I might be "wanting" to see a difference and I'd rather eliminate that bias.
 
You should try to get 2 or 3 identical knives, sharpen them differently, mark them, and let testers try them blind.
 
Yup. That's more or less the plan. Too bad you don't work nearby. You could be one of the guinea pigs. :biggrin:
 
tk59 said:
Stephan: I didn't say stainless can't be fine grained. I cited AEB-L and powdered steels as examples of stainless with small or fairly small grain size, in general. I think it is safe to say that most stainless knives out there are med to large grained steel.
Click to expand...

Oh I agree, I was just trying to further the discussion along a path that generally doesn't get exposed when the discussion turns towards stainless vs. carbon

I hate to see stainless all lumped together when there are truly spectacular examples available.
 
tk59 said:
Stephan: I didn't say stainless can't be fine grained. I cited AEB-L and powdered steels as examples of stainless with small or fairly small grain size, in general. I think it is safe to say that most stainless knives out there are med to large grained steel.
Click to expand...

Hey on this line of thought, has any one had a Global suddenly chip on them while sharpening? I had this experience once and it scared the **** outta me cause I thought I damaged the knife or something. I later heard that it was due to the carbides of the steel being large grained and was wondering if this is the case?
 
How big was the "chip?" What stone were you using and what angles were you sharpening at? That explanation doesn't really sound reasonable to me. I'd guess it's more likely a defect in the blade.
 
tk59 said:
How big was the "chip?" What stone were you using and what angles were you sharpening at? That explanation doesn't really sound reasonable to me. I'd guess it's more likely a defect in the blade.
Click to expand...

I was using a Naniwa SS 5k. In preparation for going onto 10k.. I can't give an accurate number on the angle. I'd assume about 18 degress give or take the spine was prolly 3-5 mm off the stone. And the chip was not very big, about 3mm across. Thing is, it happened a few times, at different places along the edge. Good thing it was during some sharpening training that I did at a pro's shop.
 
Hmm. In my book, 3 mm is enormous... Large carbides might be around 0.1 mm across. That really doesn't sound right to me but I'm no expert. Really wierd. Was the owner surprised or did he think it was pretty normal?
 
It was actually a blade that was sent for sharpening to the guy that I'm practising my sharpening skills with, so the owner was not present. But according to the pro, it is not the first time that this has happened to a global. And I agree that 3mm was pretty large so I was kinda stunned.. He says that usually, the chips are not so large but still large enough to be seen with the naked eye. And I think the 3mm was a 1 off cause after that, I did see some shiny metal bits come off now and again but nothing as large. In the end, he did a 20* angle on it and also added a micro bevel...
 
3-5mm off the stone for a Global is pretty extreme, in my book!
 
Seb said:
3-5mm off the stone for a Global is pretty extreme, in my book!
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what I thought when it happened. Tho 3mm off any knife without a visible defect is pretty extreme in any case.
 
Global steel is so gummy and tough, that I am very surprised it could even chip like that...especially on a 5K stone?

I sharpen a G-2 that my girlfriend uses with less than a 20 degree angle, and there have been no problems at all (and she goes hard with it). So your issue doesn't seem common in my experience.
 
good question. i didn't know that either.
 
Carbides are not that big. Large carbides break off in larger clusters than finer grained steel, and you can feel it, but you need some magnification to see any difference.

Did you see it break? And did it break off in one piece that you found? How fast were you moving?

I ask because it's possible that you were abrading the knife against an edge of the stone due to improper pressure and/or dishing and actually ground the "chips" into the blade without noticing.
 
Yup I saw it break. The way I was sharpening was the way it was shown in Jon's vidoes. I was not moving fast at all by any standards, in fact I was moving slower then Jon did in his vids cause I'm still kinda getting a feel for it. The stones were pretty flat so i don't think dishing was an issue. The break actually occured when I ran my fingers across the blade like that:
kitchen_knife_sharpener_2.jpg

I was doing that when a piece came off in my fingers...
 
either you ground the edge too thin (which is not what i think based on this thread) or that knife has issues
 
yeah. send that thing back. sheesh. talk about mass production quality control--a knife that didn't even get rubbed before it shipped.
 
That's not a finish issue, that's a defect issue. I've had a Global G-2 for close to ten years and it has not had a significant chip once.

That steel is so friggin tough (which is why it's a PITA to sharpen well). I've used it to chop/hack through all kinds of chicken bones, fish bones, cartilage, etc., and it's survived them all. It's even gone through a old plastic/fiberglass countertop. No chips in the edge like you're talking about.
 
MadMel said:
I didn't know that... How do you tell if it is a real global?
Click to expand...

...from a couple of Google articles....where'd you buy it and how much did you pay - big discounts and auction buys are one indicator. Block sets and /or chef roll's are another. The Dimples - real Globals use a dark color metal for the dimples, not paint, the logo's should be etched, not painted, and apparently Gobal Professional was only sold in Japan...but google it for for info.
 
mikemac said:
...from a couple of Google articles....where'd you buy it and how much did you pay - big discounts and auction buys are one indicator. Block sets and /or chef roll's are another. The Dimples - real Globals use a dark color metal for the dimples, not paint, the logo's should be etched, not painted, and apparently Gobal Professional was only sold in Japan...but google it for for info.
Click to expand...

I have to deal with making sure sneakers arent fake...now I have to make sure my knives arent either! Yeesh!
 
I've seen quite a few fake globals and it's quite easy to tell if you've ever used a genuine one, they look wrong, the steel has a different shine to it, the handle finish is dodgy, they just feel wrong.

The chipping may have been caused by small cracks near the edge from misuse, that as you thinned the edge from sharpening weakened it enough to chip? Just a theory.....
 
I've had it happen a few times to Globals. My guess has been that it was the result of a small dent or deformation that because of the steel's toughness didn't chip out immediately, but wore thin once sharpened into.
 
That's a bunch of reasons to consider. I think curtis's reason may come pretty close to the truth, although maybe it was also due to bad QC on this particular shipment.
 
I just sharpened up two defunct globals thanks to this thread... and the 'flexible' utility knife ate my fourth finger on my left hand. Sheet, it tingles as i type this.

The 20cm chef and the petty (in this forum's speak) both were kinda weird on my choseras.

I had these strange particles in the swarf, like tiny grits. Sounded awful on chosera stones too, usually there is a very pleasant sound when I go to it. Very scratchy sounding. But in the end, other than a few scuffs I made due to my inconsistent angles, nothing came off. And I was fixing a rolled edge at one point of the chef - My friend's mother used it for a while on loan, I think she must have chopped at a chicken pretty vigorously. Still didn't chip off. The edge realigned after some time on the stones.

Quite sharp edge too, just not as satisfying as sharpening a nice carbon blade.
 
I have a Global 18cm chef's and I have got it pretty damn sharp, if I do say so myself. It's just that the geometry sucks - it's fat. And I never use it, it's in my knife bag on the shelf up high. lol

But I have the 15cm flexible utility and I like it as a pineapple or mango knife. Very very thin.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top