Messages

john,

what makes a good steel? I do have one in my kitchen, but never really got into using them.

I think all of the commercial steels are close to the same. The variations come in length and finish. I prefer a smooth steel that I use every day when I pick up a knife or more often if I am doing a lot of prep work. Steels also come in coarse or fine grooves. These are a little more aggressive and can be useful when you are not diligent in using the smooth one. I personally do not use ceramic or diamond ones as I feel they are too aggressive and remove material. When my knives do not respond to the steel it is time for sharpening. When a knife has been properly sharpened and maintained subsequent sharpening is an easy job. I use the SG-250 with a light touch at its finest and the leather hone. Here is a good video on using a steel. His is grooved and he does not use it every time. Mine is smooth and I do it every day. If you are not using the knife much you do not need to do it daily. Butchers will steel several times a day to maintain the edge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKYPCxx20zg

Is the recommendation to use a traditional "steel" steel, or ceramic? 

I am under the impression that the steels are too aggressive, that the finer ceramics are better for maintaining an edge.  Under microscopic examination, my sense of the steel steels is that they tear up an edge more than restore them.  I don't care for what ceramics do to and edge either, but it is far more acceptable, to me at least. 

Last summer, when I was doing farmers markets, there was a discussion of using a ceramic as part of the finishing process of sharpening.  I tried it but did not like the results.  May well be my unpracticed technique.

Rick

Rick,
There are different steels available and ceramic ones. The primary difference is that the ceramic ones remove material while the steel ones do not. The steel rods come in 3 basic configurations coarse and fine grooves and smooth. If I remember correctly Wootz's research indicates that the smooth steel used before each use of the knife is the best. I will go look at his book as that is where I think I saw it. I am convinced proper technique is key to using the steel. Maintaining the sharpening angle the most important. I have always wondered how some chefs maintain the angle when they steel a knife at breakneck speeds. Here is the one I use. I got it many years ago and I am able to set the sharpening angle then draw the knife across it while maintaining the knife vertically. The fine and coarse grooved ones will help bring a more degraded knife back to a usable state but I have found little need if I use the smooth one each time.

I do not think my steel is available but here is a picture of it.

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3955.0;attach=3233;image

Your skill will quickly improve with a little practice. When sharpening I would rather make 2-3 gentle passes rather than 1 heavy handed one.
Also, care of the knife is important. Here are a few tips:

Use a wooden or plastic board
Never use the dishwasher and hand wash and dry individually after each use.
Store your knives in a block with the edge up or use a magnetic strip. Do not throw them in a drawer unprotected
If you must cut bone identify one cheap knife for that purpose. We have a lot of people that cut the knuckle off of chicken thighs to make lollipops for BBQ.
Do not use the knife's sharp edge to scrape food off the board. Most people always scrape in one direction which can't be good for maintaining the edge.
Last use a steel before each use

How did you ruin your kitchen knives? I started out practicing on old kitchen knives in the camping box. They all came out sharp but with time and practice I have "honed" my skills and they are now an par with razors.

Let us know what problems you are facing and the group here always is glad to help.

I would go with Ken's suggestion. If you are using it very frequently and adding compound occasionally I doubt you will have an issue. Long term non use and storage in hot and dry conditions is the enemy of any leather.

Do take a hard look at the FVB. It can be made in a shop quite easily or bought fully assembled.

The software and accurate height setting is key to really sharp knives. When I say sharp I am referring to several levels beyond out of the box sharpness.

I have not found a good up to date listing of knife steels used by each manufacturer. Here is a listing of a few of the more common ones.
https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/ct/steel-types-for-kitchen-knives.htm
There are many sites that discuss the individual steels.

It has been my experience that the vast majority of knife owners own knives ranging from the very inexpensive to the moderately priced knives such as Victorinox, Wüsthof , Shun, Global, Henckels, etc. These knives can all be sharpened to a razor's edge using only the SG-250 and the leather wheel. I know a couple of chefs that own and use high end Japanese knives. They treat them very well and all sharpen them by hand on water stones. Also note that many of the knives made from the super steels are EDC and survial/hunting knives not kitchen knives.

I think a lot depends on who you are sharpening for and the range of knives you see. If you look at the knife forums I get the impression that super steel knives are common place. This has not been my experience. I too am tempted to buy a fine diamond wheel and even a Japanese wheel but both are hard to justify based on the knives I see. I am what I like to call a concierge sharpener. I have a nice group of loyal customers that I sharpen for and my financial goal is to support my hobbies.

My recommendation is to become truly proficient using the SG-250 and leather wheel and only buy additional wheels if you have knives that require it. The one add on that I did buy was the FVB. This and the software for setting the proper blade sharpening angle have resulted in consistently sharper knives. https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3627.0

Good advice Ken. With worldwide distribution it must be difficult for Tormek to insure that their standards are always maintained.

I have not had an opportunity to contact customer service but from all that I have read they appear to be dedicated to making sure the customer is satisfied. I think most of us have used the equipment without issue as the number of problems raised does seem small.

Jam I like the idea of the diamond plate. I find that I rarely need the coarse range offered by the SG wheel, however, grading it to the finest possible value would be a real benefit.

I have seen a real decrease in damaged knives since I began my education campaign. I am more of a concierge sharpener and I have a group of repeat customers. I do get some new word of mouth customers that I have to explain the care and feeding of a knife edge to.

Using your phones calculator you can easily calculate where the sandpaper bar should contact the table for your chosen angle.

Simply divide the thickness of the board the knife is sitting on by the Sin (DPS). This will tell you where the sand paper board should contact the table. You can put a piece of masking tape down for reference. This would be useful if you are not replicating the DPS angle as was shown in the video.

Double check your wheel diameter setting in the applet. The grinding wheel is not exactly 250 mm but this should not result in the variation you are seeing.

I see the answer was just posted here:

https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=3685.msg27666#new

Following the sharpening and deburring processes from the "Knife Deburring" book has taken my results to another level.

I am now contemplating getting another leather wheel and using an even finer honing compound.

If I will only have one compound finer than the Tormek paste what would you suggest?

I had a small business making wheel thrown pottery and I did it as a sideline to my full time  job. Doing all the paperwork and record keeping was a pain for even my small operation. The good part was that it turned out to be profitable. I was able to convert a hobby into a money making operation that paid for itself and my other hobbies. When we relocated I did not start it up again but switched over to teaching evenings. A lot less paperwork as an independent contractor. Most of the effort is up front and once you are going it becomes more routine every month.

Good luck