I've got a few beautiful carbon steel Chinese cleavers that I love to use in the kitchen. The blade on the big one is about 21cm / 8¼", and the small one, 18cm / 7". Both have almost perfectly straight edges with the slightest of arcs, and they are both quite heavy.
I'll "cut" straight to the point Sharpening these blades on my T8 seems to require a lot of practice to get perfect. Even though there is no lifting or pivoting needed at the tips like normal kitchen knives, the narrow width of the wheel compared to the long length (and weight) of the blades makes it challenging to do perfectly level (i.e. flat) pass along the entire length of the blade. I inevitable tilt the blade a fraction of a degree along the pass, and it leaves a tiny groove in the blade that then takes a lot of time to smooth out.
Apart from more practice practice practice, is there any advice on how I can improve my technique?
I wonder if my stance is off, or I should be using a different type of jig that helps to keep the blade perfectly flat against the wheel? (I use the SVM & KJ knife jigs).
Any tips appreciated!
I'll "cut" straight to the point Sharpening these blades on my T8 seems to require a lot of practice to get perfect. Even though there is no lifting or pivoting needed at the tips like normal kitchen knives, the narrow width of the wheel compared to the long length (and weight) of the blades makes it challenging to do perfectly level (i.e. flat) pass along the entire length of the blade. I inevitable tilt the blade a fraction of a degree along the pass, and it leaves a tiny groove in the blade that then takes a lot of time to smooth out.
Apart from more practice practice practice, is there any advice on how I can improve my technique?
I wonder if my stance is off, or I should be using a different type of jig that helps to keep the blade perfectly flat against the wheel? (I use the SVM & KJ knife jigs).
Any tips appreciated!