The beauty of this format is that I can talk about whatever the hell I want to. Every now and then, I have a desire to do writing that isn't so much an exercise in entertainment, but rather just the sharing of useful information that I've acquired to those so interested. Therefore, if you do not care about sharpening and maintaining the knives and tools in your home, please do yourself a favor and return to whatever you were reading before you clicked on this link.
For those remaining, this post addresses one of my stranger hobbies. I have a bizarre collection of hobbies. Along with my practice of law, I do martial arts, I hike, I run, I write, and I cook. As an extension of cooking, I accidentally fell into the practice of knife sharpening, and somehow it became one of my hobbies as well. For those who have never dabbled in it, sharpening may seem like a simple chore. I certainly thought that it was when I decided to clean up the edges on my kitchen knives. The knives are made of very fine Swiss steel, and they have excellent weight and feel, but their edge retention is not phenomenal. After a year of regular use, the three in my block that I favored were really dull.
Imagine my surprise when I started researching this "chore" of sharpening and discovered that people did it for a living. Especially with the more basic methods, there is a lot of technical skill and even some mental discipline involved. Even with the more "user friendly" methods, there is a lot of science involved, and a lot of different strategies for solving the same problems. I wanted to do a short post addressing the more common methods for those interested in maintaining their own knives, to some extent or another. I wish I had an over view like this when I started learning about this.
The idea for this primer is to give a basic background on the pros and cons of each system, so you can pick what works for you. I'm going to do them in "families" of problem solving, started with the least amount of skill and ending with the most demanding.
Electric / Automated Sharpeners
Virtually no skill involved here. Buy the machine, stick your knife in it, and it does the sharpening. This is as easy as it gets. You might wonder why most people don't use these. There are a few good reasons.
These systems eat a lot of metal off the knife. If you have a crappy $10 knife from the grocery store, that might not be a problem. If you have a $100 chef's knife, you might be a little apprehensive about getting it chewed up. My grandfather used one of these electric machines religiously, and when he died, we found a drawer of whittled down sharp slivers of metal that used to be knives. Yikes.
The speed that these things boast also can be a problem. That super-fast grinding action creates heat. Most knives have a tempered edge. If the heat from the machine gets high enough, these machines can ruin the temper and screw up the hardness of your knife's edge. Again, if you have a cheap knife, this may not be an issue.
Finally, there are limitations on the results in these systems. You will assuredly get a somewhat sharp edge from the electric machines. It will be usable and up to most tasks. These machines will never get a blade extremely sharp. These machines tend to cut the edge at a pre-set angle. If this angle varies from the geometry of your knife, it will simply eat knife until it gets to the appropriate angle. This can negatively affect cutting performance. If a knife-maker put a 17.5 degree bevel on your knife, there's a reason. These electric machines totally disregard that.
Verdict: If you don't give a damn about your knives and can't be bothered to learn any skills, this is the one for you.
Aside: Belt Sanders and Grinding Wheels
These are really heavy pieces of machinery. You can get scary edges with them, but it takes skill and it can be dangerous. I'm addressing stuff that your average person can do at home here, so I won't discuss these in detail.
V-Sharpeners
I should make clear that I'm not talking about the little "pull through" sharpeners here. I will address those monstrosities below. The v-sharpeners are the systems where there are two abrasive components that are propped into a "v" shape, and you run your knife down one part of the V, then the other, in order to get it sharp. The best examples I can think of for this category is the Spyderco Sharpmaker or Crocksticks.
I think these represent a good compromise.
The real pain about freehand sharpening (just using a sharpening bench stone) is that you have to make many, many passes over the stone with the knife blade held at precisely the same angle. Let me assure you, this is a demanding skill that is acquired through years of practice.
The v-systems take care of the angle part for you. All you have to do is hold the knife blade straight up and down as you pass it along the sides of the V. Even for rank beginners, people tend to get pretty decent results and sharp blades with these systems. This is a nice way to get your knives sharp without too much of a learning curve, but avoiding the metal massacre that is the electric sharpener.
There are some problems, of course. If your v-system only has one or two angles (for example, Spyderco's system will sharpen at 30 or 40 degree angles), this can be a limitation. Unless you want to start treading into that "I'm learning a complex skill" territory, you can only use these to sharpen at the angle they set. Of course, not all knives are supposed to be sharpened at the angle set by the v-sharpener.
You have to understand that any blade-making is a science. And if you buy anything worthwhile, quite a bit of thought when into all the aspects of the blade. The handle, the steel, the temper, the blade shape, the edge geometry... they all matter. If the bevel of your knife is at a certain angle, it is probably because someone who knows a hell of a lot more about bladecraft than you made it that way. This is where the v-systems experience a problem. Like I said before, the angles do matter. You might be compromising your knife's performance a little bit if you go with a v-sharpener.
Mind you, it isn't a huge compromise. There is a reason that legions swear by these things. Even professional knife-makers and sharpeners will often "cheat" with one of these if they need to put an edge on something quickly.
Verdict: if you've got some decent knives you want to take care of, but don't want to learn to much, this is your absolute best option, in my opinion.
Clamp and File Systems
There are some companies, like Lansky, that have a much more direct way of solving the "angle problem". In these systems, you clamp a metal guide to your knife and then push an abrasive on the end of a stick back and forth across the blade.
The good thing is that it takes almost all the possibility for human error out of the angle thing. You can only use them at the set angle, so you are going to get wonderful consistency and good results. In fact, you'll get slightly better consistency than the v-sharpeners because those still rely on your perception of "vertical".
I won't repeat the bad, but you are again limited because these systems only use a set number of angles. See above regarding blade geometry, etc. I won't beat a dead horse.
The other issue I've discovered with these systems has to do with the limitations on the actual shape of the blade. On a fairly straight cutting edge, these things get phenomenal results. On a curved edge, like a chef's knife or a hunting knife, you have problems. To hit the whole knife, you've got to move the clamp around. When you do, there is going to be some variation in the angle as it goes along these different pieces of the edge. I briefly considered putting a diagram with some geometry up to prove this... but it is Saturday night and I'm tired. Please just take my word for it.
Consequently, you can get some less-than-stellar results with these if you try the wrong knife. Also, if you care about the cosmetics of your blade, the clamps can scratch up the blade itself.
Verdict: Great system... for some knives. If you have a fairly non-curvy knife that fits the bill and you don't want to learn much, this is another easy option.
Bench Stones
There's a reason these are last. Bench stones represent the most basic way to put an edge on steel. The concept is really simple. Take something harder than the knife, and rub the knife along it to wear away the new edge. Simple, right?
Wrong.
The idea is simple. The execution is not. Good sharpening takes technique. The pressure must stay consistent for each of the dozens or hundreds of knife passes. It has to stay consistent for each pass, for each millimeter of the blade. Same goes for the angle of the blade as it is held against the stone. For the many, many passes, it has to be consistent or else you are just shaving metal and wasting your time.
This is not easy. Good sharpening on a bench stone takes extremely good coordination, focus, and a lot of patience. People do it for years and years before they get good. It is absolutely a learned skill. In fact, in many parts of the world, it is a profession. If you doubt me, go on google and type in the word togishi.
I take a lot of enjoyment through freehand sharpening because it almost becomes like Zen sitting for me. The mind is totally absorbed and all of the clutter just falls away as you totally commit yourself to a simple task.
Go to any professional knife sharpener, and you will see a few bench stones laying around. There is a reason. While they are the most demanding of the abrasives you can use in terms of skill, they also get the best results. Swordmakers, dentists, woodworkers, and anyone else that needs great results for extremely valuable tools use bench stones. If a skilled person progresses through the right grits for the right amount of time, you can get mind-bending sharpness out of a blade.
These stones are also the most versatile type of sharpener. Doesn't matter what angle the maker put on your blade. Proper use of a bench stone will get the blade razor sharp and keep that optimal angle. These also tend to take the least metal off your knife. That is why any really expensive, nice blade tends to only see a bench stone.
Verdict: If you want to devote a few years of your life to learning a skill, this is the most bang for your buck. These get the absolute best results if you've got the talent. So, if you own and maintain really expensive blades, either acquire this skill or pay someone who knows how to do it.
Aside: "Pull Across" Sharpeners
I'm talking about the little plastic handle with a carbide "V" at the tip. These are the ones where you put a knife edge up on a counter, and run this device right along the cutting edge of the knife.
Don't use these. Period.
Foremost, they are dangerous as hell. You are applying pressure with your hand, directly towards and across the cutting edge you just sharpened. If you slip, you will really fuck your hand up. I've yet to encounter any pull-across that doesn't address this huge safety concern. Sure, there's a little plastic finger guard on some of them... but that does absolutely fuck-all for your wrist or forearm if you slip.
Also, the performance on these things is really lack-luster. Like the electric, that ultra-hard carbide rips a ton of metal off your blade. It will create a really sharp edge. That edge is totally unpolished, really skinny, and really unstable. It will only last for a few uses, and then you'll be going right back to your trusty death-trap to get your edge back.
In short, these things trash your knife and repeatedly endanger you in the process.
Do. Not. Use. Them.
No comments:
Post a Comment