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How to tell if your knife is sharp enough
- Thread starter Glenn MacGrady
- Start date
That would be 'The Old Uninterrupted Drop Cut Test'.
Really Really Sharp you could slice it sidewards uninterrupted.
Really Really Sharp you could slice it sidewards uninterrupted.
That's sharp
That's the Really, Really Sharp by a Coordinated Ninja Test.
The sharpness and the coordination are both beyond my skill level.
The sharpness and the coordination are both beyond my skill level.
I came across lots of sharpening videos as I was researching knives this month. Another tomato test:
I've become relentlessly expert in making knives duller while attempting to sharpen them. Sort of like a paddler who goes backwards when trying to paddle forwards. So, I bought two new ones this week. Knives, that is, not paddles or boats.
I've become relentlessly expert in making knives duller while attempting to sharpen them. Sort of like a paddler who goes backwards when trying to paddle forwards. So, I bought two new ones this week. Knives, that is, not paddles or boats.
Well it looks to me that if your happy with the way your knife slices a tomato it passes the test. When my knife doesn't easily slice the tomato skin I put it on the steel for a half dozen strokes and it's good again. When I have to work the steel harder and more frequent it's time to put it on a stone. My steels are special, probably over 100 years old. One was called the "magic steel" by the guys in the boning room. I could never get the same results with my knives with a new steel. An old timer told me that the old timers before him used to put their steels in salt and then pay a kid to sand them down to get them smooth. My steels no longer have the ridges, they wore off before my time.
A way to do it outside the house... say dressing an elk next to the truck would be the top of your trucks window glass. Works the same as a steel
The other day I heard a sound I hadn't heard in years; the slow steady ding ding of the mobile knife sharpening truck rolling through the neighbourhood. I first heard it in a small city one province away, so I guess there're knife sharpeners in many places. I tried out their services in a small town years later and wasn't keen on the results. (sorry for the pun) My kitchen knives wound up sharp, yes, but became roughly ground. And I was missing a surprising amount of metal too. Come to think of it I've seen these mobile sharpeners in every town and city I've lived in, with the same ding ding ringing as they roll down the street.
I have a fine sharpening stone I found in Canadian Tire, originally for lawn mower blades, but it has worked great on my axes and folders. Last year I bought a sharpener consisting of 3 stones that are set in a small plastic rack; coarse, medium, fine. It works okay but not great. I've managed to dull a few edges with it so it must have some bite. Last year I got so fed up with my poor sharpening skills on our kitchen chef knives we wound up replacing them all with new ones. I noticed the other day I had trouble slicing a tomato (which was firmly on the cutting board NOT tossed into the air) and wondered how much luck I'd have sharpening it. I'll probably practise some more on my two folders; not being in the mood or market to replace another set of kitchen knives just yet. Ha. BTW, I saw on a cooking show that serrated knives work best on tomatoes. Our serrated bread knife is very sharp, and easily handles anything tomato-like with pulpy flesh and thin skin. Ask me how I know.
I wish I could get as good an edge as my wife's Mora. I'd like to blame my low budget sharpening stones but I know it's my low level sharpening skills that are to blame. Any suggestions for better stones, techniques etc? (Besides tomato juggling tricks.)
I have a fine sharpening stone I found in Canadian Tire, originally for lawn mower blades, but it has worked great on my axes and folders. Last year I bought a sharpener consisting of 3 stones that are set in a small plastic rack; coarse, medium, fine. It works okay but not great. I've managed to dull a few edges with it so it must have some bite. Last year I got so fed up with my poor sharpening skills on our kitchen chef knives we wound up replacing them all with new ones. I noticed the other day I had trouble slicing a tomato (which was firmly on the cutting board NOT tossed into the air) and wondered how much luck I'd have sharpening it. I'll probably practise some more on my two folders; not being in the mood or market to replace another set of kitchen knives just yet. Ha. BTW, I saw on a cooking show that serrated knives work best on tomatoes. Our serrated bread knife is very sharp, and easily handles anything tomato-like with pulpy flesh and thin skin. Ask me how I know.
I wish I could get as good an edge as my wife's Mora. I'd like to blame my low budget sharpening stones but I know it's my low level sharpening skills that are to blame. Any suggestions for better stones, techniques etc? (Besides tomato juggling tricks.)
The trick to a keeping a knife sharp is to sharpen it as soon as you notice it needs it, not waiting until it has deteriorated to being dull. Another thing is not to abuse a blade by cutting on a glass dish or other hard surface. Once the edge is gone it may need to be put on a grinder to bring it back to life. I have knives in my kitchen that I wouldn't invest any time into sharpening until it got some professional help.
You also need a steel for the finishing touches and retouching every few minutes. If I were looking to buy a new steel I would get a ceramic one.
You also need a steel for the finishing touches and retouching every few minutes. If I were looking to buy a new steel I would get a ceramic one.
I just want to add that the first tomato drop test should only be attempted by martial arts experts IMO. I personally would never take a swipe at anything airborne for safety reasons alone and I doubt many others who work with a knife would either. We have too much respect for what they can do.
Years ago my father in law gave me an antique barber's clay. It's literally a thin block of baked very fine grey clay. if I use it after my regular stones, it can make a knife "stupid" sharp! and yes I mean Stupid, as in" where is that blood coming from?" I actually use it to sharpen utility knife blades because It makes them so sharp that I can slice Kleenex without tearing or dragging. Better than any stone, hone, or steel that I've ever tried!
Sharp is good. I keep my sharp carbon steels knives in a drawer and lend them to no one. Some are over 100 years old. I like retired butcher knives, old Shefields with antler handles, that kind of stuff.
The stainless steel knives sit on the counter and anyone can use them.
I have collected knives since the age of about 8. My Dad used to travel and brought me knives more than anything else. An Olsen from the factory in Michigan. A small knife from Africa he bought off a guy in a parking lot RSA.
The stainless steel knives sit on the counter and anyone can use them.
I have collected knives since the age of about 8. My Dad used to travel and brought me knives more than anything else. An Olsen from the factory in Michigan. A small knife from Africa he bought off a guy in a parking lot RSA.
A dull knife is worse than useless. I'll never be a cook but I have found that cooking is one of those life skills that serves any individual well, even if all you want to do is slap together a Saturday grilled cheese or a Sunday chili. If you can't slice the cheese with ease or chop the peppers properly then you're stuck opening cans. That ain't livin'.
I sharpen our kitchen knives before every use. Ten to twenty strokes doesn't take that long. I use an inexpensive handheld Smith's and am impressed with the results. No I wouldn't shave arm hairs so I haven't achieved stupid on the sharpening scale, but the blades are still quite keen. Sharp blades are easier to work with and much safer in careful hands.
Anything I take tripping is similarly cared for. An old stone comes along on trips to keep edges sensibly sharp.
I sharpen our kitchen knives before every use. Ten to twenty strokes doesn't take that long. I use an inexpensive handheld Smith's and am impressed with the results. No I wouldn't shave arm hairs so I haven't achieved stupid on the sharpening scale, but the blades are still quite keen. Sharp blades are easier to work with and much safer in careful hands.
Anything I take tripping is similarly cared for. An old stone comes along on trips to keep edges sensibly sharp.
Gotta be able to cut through 1 inch manila rope!
As a onetime traditional cabinet maker and still being a sometime meat cutter I've learned to put a good edge on a blade. I usually us a 12" Dexter tri-stone setup for dull blades and finish on some old Arkansas whetstones,some of which are over a hundred years old and are so fine grained that they feel like glass to both skin and a fingernail and are almost translucent. And I have Japanese style water-stones down to pretty silly grits.
That video was fairly impressive. I've read a number of accounts of Japanese and medieval Arab swords with edges so keen that they would cut a falling silk kerchief in half. Now that is something I'd like to see. As sharp as I can get good steel I don't think I've every gotten something that sharp.
Best regards,
Lance
That video was fairly impressive. I've read a number of accounts of Japanese and medieval Arab swords with edges so keen that they would cut a falling silk kerchief in half. Now that is something I'd like to see. As sharp as I can get good steel I don't think I've every gotten something that sharp.
Best regards,
Lance
Cutting the silk scarf like that is a scene in “The Body Guard” with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Probably theatrics though.
Jim
Jim
All my knives are still sharp enough to cut my fingers...don't ask!
Although I'm a career carpenter and I think half decent working with my hands, I have to confess that I've never mastered the skill of consistently sharpening knives free hand on stones. This reality combined with the fact that my best knives (stay sharp longer) are hardest to sharpen has been frustrating. A few years ago I needed to step up my sharpening game big time. I bought a Razor Sharp Edgemaking System and really like it. It consists of a high speed buffer with two 8 inch paper wheels, one charged with 180 grit silicon carbide abrasive and the other rouge buffing compound. You still use freehand technique as with stones, but for me at least, it's easier to achieve consistent competency. I've also learned that I can keep a good edge going for a surprisingly long time by maintaining the edge with a smooth steel or leather strop.
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