What grit range do you sharpen your single-bevel knives up to?
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Michi
I dislike attempts to rewrite history
I only have two single-bevel knives, a yanagiba and a deba. With the yanagiba, I go up to 10,000. With the deba, I stop at 5,000.
parttimevegan
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the bigger question for me would be what do you use the knife for. there is such a thing as too sharp and too much polish. a knife sharpened to 5000 works like a serrated but the 10,000 works like a razor. a knife sharpened to 10,000 will instantly bend or chip off if you don't have the steel and geometry and appropriate use case for exactly that. a razor is not an axe. an axe is not a razor. all the real answers depend on so many factors that it would probably just be your intuition guiding you as a knife maker and knife designer. we all want tools that cut well. that is what you are building. as long as you never forget that then the results will reinforce what you learned through practice. a microscope helps. I have one.
The specific question I'd be asking for my own purposes is "Is it worth going above 8000-grit for a j-carbon usuba?".
But I was asking more generally; I'd also be curious what people might use for other single-bevel knives (e.g. yanagiba's, sakimaru-takohiki's, mukimono's, true-kiritsuke's etc.) and other steels (e.g. single-bevel knives of stainless steels such as ginsan, VG-10, or even oddballs like PM-steel ones).
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I like the egde on yanagiba and deba that a suita give. The deba get a micro bevel with the suita and the yanagi get a micro bevel with a fine Takashiama. I use them only for home, and like to sharpen.
What grit range do those stones tend to be?
I have two different Ohira suita I use. One is a little bit finer than the other. Maybe 5-6k. The Takashiama (LV4 JNS) is much finer. I think with only water, it is in the 8-10k area.
In my situation, it depends on how often I have to sharpen the knife. When I have to work with big quantity of fish on a longer time I prefer a very soft suita with bite. When I do only 20-50 slices/day I use a harder suita.
Anyway, always a fine Nakayama for the ura.
Anyway, always a fine Nakayama for the ura.
Why would a harder stone result in inferior edge retention?
I mean, sometimes, an aggressive/coarser/softer stone can be helpful when time is an issue.
Keith Sinclair
Senior Member
For years used a 5K Rika for white steel yanagiba would sharpen after heavy days usage. Used it for Deba too always put micro on the Deba.
Later used 8K for Yanagiba. Only used for platters of Sashimi & Sushi topping.
Later used 8K for Yanagiba. Only used for platters of Sashimi & Sushi topping.
Barry's Knives
Well-Known Member
Because of micro serrations. As one serrated peak dulls another, slightly smaller adjacent one takes on a greater role in the edge's cutting ability. With super refined edges, they are 'sharper', but when they dull, they dull. These micro serrations are particularly prevalent when using natural stones because of the uneven particle sizes. That's why you can get a very refined toothy edge (best of both worlds). Generally speaking, harder stones leave finer edges.
