Sharpening Henckel knives

[av8r]

So I've set up my new T8, I have the hand tool kit and have sharpened a few cheapo Sam's club knives and tried my hand at my 20 yr old Henckels.  The Henckels have been dull for a long time.  I used the suggested 15 degree (30 inclusive) and it took a long time to get any burr.  I used the wheel at 1000 grit.  Are these knives made from steel that is generally harder?  Any pointers on sharpening these in general?

thanks

[cbwx34]

So I've set up my new T8, I have the hand tool kit and have sharpened a few cheapo Sam's club knives and tried my hand at my 20 yr old Henckels.  The Henckels have been dull for a long time.  I used the suggested 15 degree (30 inclusive) and it took a long time to get any burr.  I used the wheel at 1000 grit.  Are these knives made from steel that is generally harder?  Any pointers on sharpening these in general?

thanks

They're not particularly hard steel... it is not unexpected that 20 year old knives sharpened at 15 deg. would take a bit of time... (I think older Henckels usually came at around 20 deg.)... especially if you did them with the stone graded fine.  I'm guessing you now have a noticeably wider bevel?  So, two things to "overcome"... the new angle, and probably very dull knives.

Only real suggestion would be to do some of the initial work with the stone graded coarse, to speed things up.  If you mark a knife bevel with a Sharpie marker, and you want to sharpen at a specific angle, and notice that you're removing marker at the top of the bevel (away from the edge), that's a good indication to start with the coarser setting.  Then when you establish a good bevel, you can switch to the finer grit, if desired, to finish the edge.

BTW, nothing wrong with them at 15° (if they were originally higher)... should be fine... (if not you can always put a small microbevel on at a higher angle).

[stevebot]

First I suggest you start with native or 200 grit. With practice and confidence you can increase your pressure and the initial bevel grinding will go faster. When I was working I was routinely sharpening in 1 to 2 minutes regardless of size or dullness. If you are grinding off the edge the burr is much larger and easier to detect. I have found that Henckels and Chicago Cutlery have very tough burrs that flip back and forth and are hard to remove. I suggest an intermediate step like a SharpMaker to remove the burr before stropping on the leather wheel. And who knows, you may prefer the toothy edge from the SharpMaker for kitchen slicing tasks.

[av8r]

So I've set up my new T8, I have the hand tool kit and have sharpened a few cheapo Sam's club knives and tried my hand at my 20 yr old Henckels.  The Henckels have been dull for a long time.  I used the suggested 15 degree (30 inclusive) and it took a long time to get any burr.  I used the wheel at 1000 grit.  Are these knives made from steel that is generally harder?  Any pointers on sharpening these in general?

thanks

They're not particularly hard steel... it is not unexpected that 20 year old knives sharpened at 15 deg. would take a bit of time... (I think older Henckels usually came at around 20 deg.)... especially if you did them with the stone graded fine.  I'm guessing you now have a noticeably wider bevel?  So, two things to "overcome"... the new angle, and probably very dull knives.

Only real suggestion would be to do some of the initial work with the stone graded coarse, to speed things up.  If you mark a knife bevel with a Sharpie marker, and you want to sharpen at a specific angle, and notice that you're removing marker at the top of the bevel (away from the edge), that's a good indication to start with the coarser setting.  Then when you establish a good bevel, you can switch to the finer grit, if desired, to finish the edge.

BTW, nothing wrong with them at 15° (if they were originally higher)... should be fine... (if not you can always put a small microbevel on at a higher angle).

Does the stone grader accelerate wear on the stone?  I was unclear on this point or if it had been measured in any way.

Thanks for the reply.  I have a lot to learn.  The videos make using this thing soooo easy.  I can see why there are so many for sale used with little use.

[cbwx34]

Does the stone grader accelerate wear on the stone?  I was unclear on this point or if it had been measured in any way.

Thanks for the reply.  I have a lot to learn.  The videos make using this thing soooo easy.  I can see why there are so many for sale used with little use.

The stone grader does "wear" the stone a bit... but it's a misconception to think it "accelerates" wear.  It's designed to wear over time.  I think Ken says it best, so I'll quote him...

...
It took me quite a while to outgrow the "precious grinding wheel" notion. Your grinding wheel is a consumable, designed to be worn out. Think of it like the brakes on your car. Both are not inexpensive and last a long time. Both are designed to be replaced when worn out. The precious things are the people riding in your car and the people you built things to please. Use your grinding wheel wisely, but use it. Keep it true and cutting well.
...

... and I totally agree with this, because I felt the same way.  Once you learn to use both the grader and truing tool on your wheel... your sharpening will improve a lot.  And, while both do wear on the wheel, unless you start sharpening professionally, the wheel will probably outlast you.  Your Henckels are a good example.  You may have to grade the stone coarse for the initial sharpening, but once they're set up, you can leave the stone graded fine for many subsequent sharpenings. 

You're also right, there is a learning curve that many never overcome.  (I see that with most sharpening systems).  But you've probably overcome one of the hurdles here already, and while you're initial sharpening of your Henckels may have taken a while, you probably learned quite a bit in the process... how to set up the knives in the jigs, proper technique... etc., so it wasn't a wasted effort!

[Ken S]

So I've set up my new T8, I have the hand tool kit and have sharpened a few cheapo Sam's club knives and tried my hand at my 20 yr old Henckels.  The Henckels have been dull for a long time.  I used the suggested 15 degree (30 inclusive) and it took a long time to get any burr.  I used the wheel at 1000 grit.  Are these knives made from steel that is generally harder?  Any pointers on sharpening these in general?

thanks

I think there is often a tendency in life to oversimplify. While the 1000 grit grading does a nice job for a knife which is not quite sharp, long dull Henckels Mine that were that way for many years (I recognize the symptoms; mine were that way for many years....) these are near the "childproof" catagory. The "precious Henckels" syndrome is very much like the precious grinding wheel syndrome. Really dull knives need a coarser grinding wheel, even Henckels.

As you get more experience, you will find that the stone grader is not limited to only 220 and 1000 grit. I know a very experiencd Tormek knife sharpener who routinely uses his Tormek SG grinding wheel graded to "600". I put six hundred in quotes because I believe all stone grader grits are approximate. For me, 600 is a medium coarseness. It is very useful, and the grit designation is plenty accurate.

Frequent, light truing will help keep your sharpening accurate, just like keeping your car engine well tuned. Likewise, frequent use of the stone grader will keep your grindstone cutting better. Both truing and grading will become very quick as your skill increases, and will help your skill develop.

Ken