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Having joined the ranks of the FVB converts I must say I think the edges of the knives I have sharpened following the process outlined in Vadim's book are definitely sharper than my free hand honing efforts. I need to visit the drug store and buy some paper for the final test. I only have receipts on hand and by feel I think the knife slides through easier than before. My wife has asked me to wear long sleeved shirts when we go out as there is a lot of hair missing on my arms and it looks like I have a condition.

To my questions; assuming I can now deliver knives that are razor sharp what instructions do I provide my customers to help them maintain the edge for as long as possible?

• Up until today I thought the ubiquitous plastic boards and bamboo were good to use. How is maple? I always thought that if your knife could easily slice the edge of a board it was soft enough. The soft Japanese boards are very expensive and the only ones i know that have them are the two local sushi places.
• 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

Should we try and use the steel at the +1.5° to 2° increased angle used when honing? I have a steel that consists of two smooth steel rods connected at one end by an adjustable screw. I can set the angle for each side of the knife very precisely and maintain it by drawing the knife towards me while holding it vertically. Most people have the lightly serrated steels while a few have smooth steel. I do not know anyone with a ceramic rod. Which is best? I give a quick lesson on using the steel but I am guessing most are lucky if the come close half of 45° or 22.5° ± 5° or so.


Is there anything else we should be doing to extend the time between sharpening?

Vadim, I have a couple of follow up questions. At the end of your last post you say to not use hard plastic or bamboo for a cutting board. Is the hard plastic you are referring to PE (polyethylene) or HDPE (high-density polyethylene plastic)? Boards made of these materials can be found in most restaurants and many home kitchens. They are preferred as you can use stronger disinfectants and they are dishwasher safe. I did not realize bamboo was not edge friendly.

If the PE or HDPE plastic is not edge friendly how would you finish a knife that would be used for cutting vegetables and meat in a commercial kitchen?

Second question; In your original post am I correct that the blade was done at 10 dps and then honed at 10 dps followed by honing at 11.5 dps all using Tormek standard products? This is essentially steps one and two in your post yesterday. Step 3 is a refinement on how Al sharpened the knife.

I appreciate the time you put into answering these questions and my customers appreciate it as well. I think most of them think their knives were sharp out of the box and when they cut their first tomato after I sharpen them they are amazed.

Thank you

You have to do some research. Many knife making companies advertise the steel they use for their blades. For this one you can look on their site and for many of their knives it is in the specifications. No one can tell the chemical composition of a steel by looking at it. If you have a good memory or a notebook you can keep track of the knives you sharpen. Here are a couple of lists of the steels used for blades. The knife manufacturers are normally good about advertising what steel they use. For some of the really cheap knives it is sometimes a little harder to find the information; if a knife is cheap it is safe to assume it is not made with anything exotic.

https://www.knivesandtools.com/en/ct/steel-types-for-kitchen-knives.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blade_materials

Mine arrived yesterday. I want to read through the book before I use it though. I had misinterpreted Wootz's method of honing at a little bit larger angle than the grind. He squared me away in another thread but I want to go in with a better understanding of the edge finishing.

I would be interested to hear how what I presume is a secondary bevel that is created when you hone at 1° to 1.5° greater angle using the FVB impacts sharpness. Is this not a secondary bevel?

I think the curve on most bird's beak knives is more of an optical illusion due to the curve along the spine. I have done a number of these and they turned out fine using the regular wheel.

I downloaded the apps yesterday. I have one on my desktop upstairs and plan to make a chart with common angles and distances. I installed the other 2 apps on my iPad and will use them in my basement shop. I am really looking forward to honing with a controlled angle. My freehand results range from good to extremely good at times but I want reputability. For now I am patiently awaiting on the arrival of my FVB.

I am also thinking about getting a couple of additional leather wheels and using even finer grit diamond spray possibly 0.5 micron. I will be doing this in steps to insure that I am achieving the best results with each. I also want to digest the deburring book before I start expanding my kit.

Since I retire after tomorrow maybe I will put mechanical engineering skills (rusty) back to work and see what the local college has in the way of 3D printing equipment.

I just ordered the FVB and program; I am looking forward to using it on a couple of cleavers and the leather wheel.

The inclusion of the book was a pleasant surprise. Thank you Wootz.

The FVB is next on my list of things to get.

Another tool that I use to inspect the edge as I sharpen is this pocket magnifier. I have had mine in my toolbox for almost 40 years. I find that knives that come to me have small defects that are difficult to see with the naked eye. More grinding is required to make the edge perfectly clean and remove them.

https://www.amazon.com/Bausch-Lomb-Folding-Pocket-Magnifier/dp/B00012KAAC/ref=sr_1_13?hvadid=241884699741&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9021483&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t2&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12060953469107441309&hvtargid=kwd-685613373&keywords=bausch+lomb+magnifier&qid=1553863762&s=gateway&sr=8-13

This is a great result. I like to see how well the stock setup does.

I delivered some newly sharpened knives to a customer yesterday. The smile on her face was very rewarding as she tried cutting some vegetables and a tomato. Prior to sharpening she said she had to pierce the tomato skin to get started and she could never do a thin slice.

Before you venture into the exotic steel arena I would practice as Ken suggests and digest this pdf http://knifegrinders.com.au/Manuals/Knife_Deburring_book.pdf or the complete book. You really need to know what steel a knife is made of in order to apply the proper technique to obtain a truly sharp edge. I also suggest browsing around the www.knifegrinders.com.au site. There is an excellent section on the process they follow.

Another excellent reference on sharpening is provided here: http://www.sharpeninghandbook.info/

What I do on knives with a curve is visualize a line along the point of contact when I am sharpening the straight part of the knife. When I get to the radius I try and maintain contact along that line. This works out well for me and reduces any flare on the tip. Depending on the amount of curve I mostly lift but some require a little rotation.

Before you invest in any additional wheels I would recommend giving the SG-250 (comes with unit) a good trial. You may find that is more than adequate for your purpose.

I have a couple of questions. I watch this video and see a Global knife sharpened with a resulting BESS score of 75. By all standards quite a sharp edge. Should I expect an even lower value if the Japanese stone was used in lieu of the leather honing wheel? Will the ground edge just be smoother and more reflective with the Japanese wheel or actually sharper? Would a CBN 1000# be a better investment for the sharpest edge?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UckPmizllk0