I tried the thickened water - nectar thick to be exact. Used it with an aebl Marko, SG500 and SG2000. It felt good, very smooth. Did not inhibit burr formation (very light on SG500), did not make a mess, liked that it's food safe, cleaned up easily. I'll do it again - but likely not every time.
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This thread really got me thinking about other institutional mediums for sharpening, so I did some experimenting of my own! Both my Dragon and Ashi petty were pretty dull, so we thickened a few things and got to work!
Experiment #1
Medium: Puréed carrots thickened with Rubicon™ Protein Shaping Puree Mix #50601 (raw)
Substrate: Unsoaked King KW65 1k/6k Combo Whetstone (1k side)
Knife: Misono Swedish Carbon Steel Gyuto (24cm)
Initial sharpening was particularly slippery: I found it difficult to hold an angle with the carrot goo all over my fingers, but after 20 or so passes I began to feel the familiar coarse bite of the stone. Routinely had to scrape the medium from the sides of the stone back onto the face, but, all things considered, it was surprisingly less messy then I anticipated:
Raising a burr was a little more challenging than usual, though one did eventually form and--if I gotta be honest--the swarf mixed with the purée and created a rather attractive "sticky" slurry that I considered using as a polishing compound (perhaps in another experiment).
After flipping the burr a few times I decided to move straight to the finishing stone without deburring first.
Experiment #2
Medium: Puréed carrots thickened with Rubicon™ Protein Shaping Puree Mix #50601 (cooked)
Substrate: Unsoaked King KW65 1k/6k Combo Whetstone (6k side)
Knife: Misono Swedish Carbon Steel Gyuto (24cm)
Given the fairly coarse nature of the uncooked purée, it seemed inappropriate for finishing so I cooked the remainder for 18 minutes at 325F as per package directions, before applying to the fine stone:
Finish sharpening was silky smooth - the burr abraded away with almost no effort, and the tactile feedback of the cooked purée along a 6k stone was akin to the creamy responsiveness of something more familiar, like a Rika 5k. It raised little swarf, though the mess was mostly contained to the stone and the stone holder - perfect for easy cleanup!
Results: well polished edge that can cut an S through parchment paper and shave your arm hair, perfect alternative if you don't have any Hormel Thick 'n Easy laying around.
Experiment #3
Medium: Puréed Honey Ham thickened with Rubicon™ Protein Shaping Puree Mix #50601 (uncooked)
Substrate: Unsoaked King KW65 1k/6k Combo Whetstone (1k side)
Knife: Ashi Ginga White #2 Petty (21cm)
This was a pleasant surprise! The slightly grittier texture of the compound helped pull a burr in as little as 5 passes, and while some of that could be attributed to the better steel in the knife, in practice I'd say it went faster than just the bare stone and water. Swarf captured almost entirely by the slurry; the mess from this was virtually nothing compared to a more traditional approach like, you know, putting water on a rock and applying pressure:
Experiment #4
Medium: Puréed Honey Ham thickened with Rubicon™ Protein Shaping Puree Mix #50601 (cooked)
Substrate: Unsoaked King KW65 1k/6k Combo Whetstone (6k side)
Knife: Ashi Ginga White #2 Petty (21cm)
Again, I left the burr from the 1k as I moved to finishing on the package prepared thickened compound. This was an unusual sharpening experience: the ham, even cooked, slowed down the cutting and felt just a little more gritty than you'd want for a 6k substrate - reminiscent of a 3k splash and go than anything you'd want for polishing . That said, the mess was again easily contained and, unlike other swarf, a little tasty.
Alternating 10 / 8 / 6 / 4 / 2 passes on either side finished removing the burr and tidying up the edge.
Results: well polished edge that can cut an S through parchment paper and shave your arm hair, perfect alternative if you don't have any Hormel Thick 'n Easy laying around.
Lastly, because I do enjoy a bit of a toothy bite to my edges (nobody likes slippery tomatoes), I stropped both knives with edge-trailing strokes on the 6k side, using riced mashed potatoes:
Final Thoughts: I was really skeptical of this thread at first, but having tried my own thickened products for sharpening I gotta say: I'm a believer now! Nice job KKF!
