Knife Sharpening

[Michelle]

I was reading the article on how to sharpen your blade and I was wondering if anyone can recommend something I can use on kitchen knives. I had a whetstone and lost it so I don't know if there's something 'homegrown' so to speak that I could use.

[Mountain Man]

In the past, I've found that rubbing the blades from two knives together against each other will do a decent job of sharpening your blades. But don't go back and forth, just do one direction with the blades.

[ejdixon]

Learn this from my mom: hold the knife in a slight angle and run this up and down the back of a ceramic plate in a motion like you're painting something. Works rather well.

[CozInCowtown]

Ace hardware should have hones.

[wvbreamfisherman]

For a quickie home-grown edge, use the unglazed bottom ring on a ceramic mug. It's pretty coarse, but it will put a quick edge on a kitchen knife.

Obviously for the longer term you'd want to get a good stone or ceramic rod sharpener.

[dinosaur]

Most kitchen knives are made of soft steel and aren't really dull when they fail to cut properly. They suffer from edge layover and simply need to be realigned. This is why runnning two blades together or sliding one on a ceramic will work.

If you have actually dulled your knife, it needs to be resharpened. This involves taking some of the steel off and creating a new edge. For this you need an abrasive.

[CatsEye]

I agree, dinosaur, those tricks will work but you really need to sharpen them when you are trying to cut things like food products. A dull blade is the easiest way to get cut in the kitchen. A whetstone is one of the best ways to keep a sharp edge on any knife. I use a wet whetstone for my pocket knives AND our kitchen knives too. Any one of the knives in our house could cut you and you wouldn't know it until you saw the blood.

[catspa]

When I was married, I had stainless kitchen knives with plastic handles because I couldn't get my wife to stop leaving them in the sink or dishtub. Now that I'm alone, I use carbon steel kitchen knives - they're almost antiques really but I sure like the edge they take.

I've got about a grand worth of fancy power sharpening equipment out in the shop, but I use a diamond rod in the kitchen, when I don't just slide them down the spine of the chef's knife. Probly about 250 grit, I like my kitchen knives to have a little tooth to them.

Parker

[wvbreamfisherman]

I MUCH prefer carbon steel for any knife. It may take a bit more effort to get an edge, but it holds the edge much better.

A good set of carbon steel knives , properly cared for, can be an heirloom.

[Michelle]

Thank you all for your answers. I'm surprised at the number of ideas I've gotten here. When I asked it I thought it was kind of a lame question for here and belonged more in a household forum or something.