how would cliff pose it to you?

[juanbenae]

since vash no longer takes my calls i needed to come here fer some advice on guttin & killen.. you know, makin meat killed in the yard er store bought more mouth size? to the meat of it...

i got some decent kitchen cutlery about a year ago and am wondering if i am sharpening these blades like i should. because these were the 1st non-serrated knives i had ever used i was anal early of about treating them right. even delayed in sharpening them until they were all dull to touch. they came with one of those fancy sharpenin' deals that i am trying to use, but i am not sure what i am doing. i try to keep a 45* or so off the blade and pull the entire blade surface when pulling it across the shapening pole. what ive been able to accomplish is an edge that seems to stay sharp for a use or two but quickly goes away. with this type of edge will i need to sharpen each use or am i dulling with ignorence? this might be meat or vegetable? use both wood and plastic cutting surface boards & hand wash at all cost..

what do you do? or, at a minimum tell cliff to do?

toby

[9dreizig]

Sounds like you're not getting a good edge on them. Do you have a steel ? I find that that if you take a few swipes with it whenever you use the knife it stays sharp.

[Tobra]

If they are really dull, have them sharpened by someone who knows his business, then maintain the edge.

[gtc]

45 degrees from the sharpener is too wide of an angle. Depending on the brand of knives, you probably want to hold the knife at about a 20 degree angle from the sharpening stone or steel.
A steel should be used frequently, while a using sharpening stone should be an infrequent thing.

[vash]

here is what VASH does. i take my knives to a pro once a year. no exception. they not only sharpen my blades to lazers, they also help me maintian proper blade shape. throughout the year, i simply straighten out the edge with my tuning steel. this is just my kitchen stuff. all my knives go in december. $1 per inch.

my hunting blades, i brutalize with a spiderco cermamic stick sharpener. in the field, i have a walmart one handed sharpener, and my broadhead sharpener.