Knife sharpening for a noob

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I have a set of kitchen knives of unknown quality that are in need of sharpening. I bought a no-frills sharpener that just has two slots with instructions to hold the blade against one side and slide it through a few times, then repeat on the second slot. There are stones set at an angle that I can feel grinding as I do this. Doesn't seem to have much effect, though. After doing this, they can't cut through a sheet of paper. FYI, the brand is "Tedron Swords", if that means anything. Anybody got some recommendations?
 
sometimes if you use a knife for to long without keeping the edge, you kan no longer sharpen them your self. then you need to get the edge grinded by a pro, typically a knifes edge should be grinded in an angle o 15-20°

when thats done, get a good quality sharpening steel, and use it often(i use it typically 2-3 strokes everytime before i use the knife. you really can not use it too often.

here butchers will grind/sharpen your knife for a little money. i might be the same in the US
 
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You probably need to finish it off after using your sharpener with a finer stone. I use an Arkansas stone with a little water or cooking oil on the stone for the final honing/sharpening for a nice edge.
 
America's Test Kitchen did a test a while ago on knife sharpeners and the hand-held AccuSharp got top marks for most sharpening jobs.

They said a $200 powered sharpener did a little better job but not $190 worth

I bought the AccuSharp and use it regularly for a great edge.
 
Ok I know nothing about oil or filters, but this? this I can help with.

I had a quick search for Tedron Swords but couldn't come up with anything useful. They are for sure not what you would call "top tier" That being said, if they are of good quality, then putting an edge on a dull knife takes quite a bit of time. That pull through sharpener you have is more a maintenance tool than a sharpener per se. If you can get a decent set of stones, then you can get amazing results with a very simple plastic jig that clamps to the back of the blade. I use the same basic technique as you'll find in this video, and my knives are as sharp as he demonstrates at the end of the video (he recommends a 7000 grit to finish and I use a 4000).


http://makesushi.org/how-to-sharpen-japanese-knives-for-sushi/

It takes about an hour to properly sharpen a knife that already has a decent edge on it. Add more time and a courser stone for one that is really dull or damaged.

As shDK mentions, a good steel used often really helps, it is not for sharpening the blade, it re aligns a rolled over edge.

BTW others posted while I was composing this, so I'll address the accusharp mentioned above. I've bought one for my mom and one for my mother in law. They will put a usable edge on a dull knife pretty quick, but they remove a lot of metal, and it's not the same edge you'll get if you sharpen correctly with stones.
 
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Oh and if you dont have one, Get a http://www.amazon.com/****-Bread-Utility...ords=****+knife
 
You need a whetstone to sharpen a knife properly, and a grinder to sharpen one not-so-properly. Then, each use, you use a honing surface to keep that edge straight.

I sharpen my knives 2x/ year with the whetstone (which has two surfaces; one coarse and one fine).
 
Took me 40 yrs to learn how to sharpen knifes.
Japanese water stones and learning to feel the
burr (understanding the burr) on one side when it's sharp.
Lots of video's on the net.
Good luck.
 
My GF is a dental hygienist. A couple of years ago she gave me her "worn out" sharpening tool because I tend to find uses for things. This tool is great for tailoring the burr on your knives, gardening tools, etc. It looks like an X-acto knife, but has a tungsten carbide "blade." She uses one to sharpen her hygiene tools. Think about this next time you get your teeth cleaned. The tools they use have to be top quality steel and need to have their sharpness maintained.

This tool helps me maintain my knives, scissors, landscape tools, etc.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Neivert+whittler
 
I'm a lot better at it than I was starting out with larger blades and files. I sharpen axes with a file. Knives and scissors eluded me for some time, but over the yrs I've gotten better. By no means a leather strop guy, but I can touch up a knife with a few licks of a steel.
 
You may have to repeat on both sides many, many times to bring a dull knife back. Examine the cutting edge with a magnifier. Keep sharpening until you can no longer see any light reflect off of it.

+1 on the AccuSharp. Very quick and effective.

For a better edge though, use a sharpener like a Lansky which clamps onto the back of the blade, keeping the sharpening angle consistent. A knife sharpened this way will stay sharp for a very long time unless misused.

If you have the money, you can pay $80+ for one of the electric sharpeners that use magnets to hold the knife at the proper angle.
 
Some grocery stores will do it for free. I invested in an electric sharpener by Chef's Choice ten years ago. I still use it today. It requires no skill at all. They cost $30-50; a worthwhile once-in-a-lifetime investment
 
Thanks all, certainly lots of info. Might be having to take a closer look at the blade and see what condition it's really in. Thanks for the tips!
 
We bought a three step electric sharpener at Target for $40 a while back. I'm sure it doesn't come close to producing the results a professional or even enthusiast could produce, but it keeps our kitchen blades acceptably sharp, or at least they don't feel dangerously dull.

I'd invest in nicer blades and pay more to maintain them, but after I bought our current knife set I couldn't convince the wife that she needed to learn how to use the steel to maintain them.
 
I would recommend starting with the following book:

The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening by John Juranitch


Using the Library/inter-library will give you a no cost introduction.


take care.
 
I used to use a Lansky knife sharpening kit and it did well. Uses a metal blade clamp and has fixed angles for the stone rods to keep the angles desired.
Now I just use a stone and oil because after years and many knife sharpening, I wore out the Lansky, and just got used to the stones/oil.
 
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