:thumbsup:
Wait, I have a 2 questions that I don't think has been addressed regarding kens demo. 1) why the hell would you have to set the platen to any degree of a angle? I mean at any degree is it not still the flat platen and edge angle going to be the same?
Assuming that I am on the mark.....
For sharpening, My Belt grinder's platten is set at angle ( Platten is not parallel to the belt) so that one end is almost in contact adn the other end further away form the belt. The greater the slack, the greater the convexity and also the secondary edge . The closer the platten is to the belt less slack and less convexity with smaller secondary edge.
I also put the vertical grinder at 10 degrees so that when when I run the blade at 0 degrees ( knife upright with edge facing down) I have 10 degrees and with it tilted slightly towards me.. it wld be greater than 10 degrees.
Hope that this answers your question.
Rgds
D
When we venture into using Japanese kitchen knives we often find that were interested in sharpening our own knives and begin searching for information on this subject. This leads us to research waterstones, sharpening techniques, and the subject of blade asymmetry inevitably comes up. Since this discussion is regarding asymmetry Ill leave waterstones & techniques for another time.
What is asymmetry? For our discussion purposes (here within this community) were referring to how the knifes blade is forged/ground in uneven amounts from side to side. While its the norm to have a blade be perfectly symmetrical in the western world it is uncommon in Japan to find examples of this. In my experience with working with thousands upon thousands of Japanese knives I can confidently state that 99% are asymmetric with the majority being ground favorably for a right handed user.
Common terminology:
100/0 (single bevel) yanagiba, usuba, etc
90/10 (double bevel) honesuki, garasuki, etc
80/20 , 70/30, 60/40 (double bevel) gyuto, nakiri, sujihiki, etc
50/50 (symmetric) non Japanese knife
Now I wont go into why these knives are made this way as Id only be speculating with regards to some of this. I have my theories and Ive heard a lot of others views on this yet none completely convince me to be the true cause so Ill leave this part of this subject alone. I will tell you very simply how you can deal with asymmetry and how to sharpen an asymmetric knife though.
To that end I first have to point out that youre sure to stumble upon some information (I call them myths), while doing your research, that somewhat contradicts what Ill be talking about here, stating that Japanese knives are ground or can be sharpened symmetrically (50/50) - I call BS on this. Also, you will see it stated that it is not required to change the angle of the sharpening stone arm when using guided (assisted) sharpening devices (like the EdgePro) when you switch from side to side - again I call BS on this.
I suggest that you consider the sources that you discover this information coming from as when Ive done so Ive discovered that in 99% of these cases I find that it is a Japanese knife retailer or a distributor of guided sharpening devices (and proprietary accessories like stones, etc) that make these claims. I believe that the reason for this is simple they do not want you to know the REAL DEAL with asymmetry because if you were to know about it you would be questioning them on the proper ways to sharpen these knives (which is not an easy question to answer) and in the case of the guided devices you would come to the realization that they are more complicated to use on asymmetric knives blades that they were never meant to originally deal with.
Heres the REAL DEAL and what you really need to know stripped of all BS and put in plain simple terms .
If you want your double beveled Japanese knife (which has a blade that has been either forged or ground asymmetrically) to cut straight and wedge less you will sharpen the edge bevels as close to matching the asymmetry of the blade itself. Thats it in a nutshell!
How can you do this? Simple you look at the blade and mimic its asymmetric grind when working its edge bevel. I used to use a straight edge laid on the side of the knife to compare side to side and then follow by rough estimating this form while sharpening the edge bevel. Luckily most of you will have a new knife that youre starting out on and youll likely find that this ratio has already been worked into the bevels and all you have to do is follow along.
Now lets talk more specifically of how to sharpen asymmetric knives .
I always suggest sharpening any knife starting at the top of the current edge bevel (this is whats referred to as the shoulder of the edge bevel its the transition between edge bevel and blade face) and working your way down (by grinding/polishing/etc) to the cutting edge. Doing this will ensure that you dont repeat the same angle (since repeatability is bad in sharpening) so that you always thin the edge bevel as it moves upward into the ever increasing thickness of the blades cross section.
When sharpening you should be stopping and checking your progress often so as to ensure that youre on (or hitting) the correct location on the edge bevel. You should never aimlessly grind away steel without stopping and checking as doing so will ensure that you stay on the correct path through making incremental adjustments. If you see that youre hitting the edge bevel too close to the cutting edge then lower the spine (which adjusts your angle of attack) to correct and if youre hitting the edge bevel too high (above the shoulder of the bevel) then raise the spine (by adjusting the angle of attack) to correct.
Notice that I didnt say that you had to use the same angle on each side of the knife nor did I say that you needed to change the angle for each side of the knife or to make each side different angled than one another?
So lets take a fairly asymmetric gyuto as an example to work with here, Ill use the Hiromoto AS series as this is easily a typical asymmetric 70/30 ground blade.
In this first case I will be freehanding (thats using no sharpening guide or aid) on a waterstone. If I were to select one specific angle (lets say 15deg - or as close to that as I can guess and hold steady) and just go at it Ill see a couple of things happen. The first is that Im not hitting the edge bevel where I want to, and I now regret not stopping to check what I was doing, and that the right sides (if its a right handed knife) edge bevel is much taller than the left side is. So I used the same angle yet the right sides bevel is taller than the left sides bevel. Why? Because the blade is ground asymmetrically!
Now I take another untouched Hiromoto AS gyuto out of the box and lay it down on the table of an EdgePro, select an angle (lets again pick 15deg - or as close to that as this device allows for) and then go at it again. What do we now see? Well well likely have that same feeling that we had when freehanding, about wishing that we had stopped and looked before carrying on, but we also see that the stone hasnt at all hit the bevel on one side of the knife like it did when free handing. Why is this? Because the blade is ground asymmetrically!
Unlike freehanding, where we adjust the distance between the spine of the knife and the stones face for angle approach, we instead (on the EdgePro) laid the knife down on a fixed position table and then swung the stone over the opposite sides edge bevel. Why does this matter? Because the blade is ground asymmetrically its not the same on both sides!
To revisit the issue of myths, many EdgePro type device retailers will tell you to just pick an angle and grind more from one side than the other or maybe to count strokes (like 7 strokes on this side and 3 on another for 70/30 grinds) ..they state that this will allow for correct asymmetrical ground edges. I respond to this by stating that this is an irresponsible solution to tell people to sharpen their knives this way as I know from my years of experience that this will only lead to an unevenly sharpened knife that steers and wedges while cutting.
So if youre using an EdgePro type device and you have to adjust the stone arms angle for each side of the knife to properly hit the edge bevel in the correct position then do so. Yes this sucks but this is what youve decided to use to sharpen your asymmetric Japanese knives with. If youre upset with having to do this then tell this to the people who sold you the myth, but sharpen your knives correctly.
Again people, these retailers dont care if you get it right or not they care about selling knives and sharpening systems (with those proprietary stones) so if you screw up it doesnt matter one bit to them.
So lets summarize .
- All Japanese knives are asymmetric the entire blade is asymmetric not just the edge.
- Use your mind and your hands to find the ratio of the blade and then mimic this within the sharpening of the cutting edge bevel.
- Adjust your angle of approach as need be - yes even if using a sharpening aid/device.
Thats it folks you now know the REAL DEAL
Happy sharpening!
Dave Martell
Again people, these retailers dont care if you get it right or not they care about selling knives and sharpening systems............so if you screw up it doesn't matter one bit to them.
Hiromoto 60/40 does it matter?
Hi ****,
I have a question about the Hiromoto knives you offer. I was considering the 210 gyuto and a paring knife, but I read on another site that Hiromoto knives have a 60/40 bevel? Is this the case? I'm a lefty so it does make a difference. If they only come with a 60/40 bevel, are left handed versions available?
Thanks!
*****
Hi *****,
It makes no discernible difference when you use the knife and once you sharpen it you can easily sharpen it evenly if you like. If you are really hung up on the tiny asymmetry you can choose the finish sharpening service and we will sharpen it evenly before we send it out.
Given that it looks like the blade itself is symmetrical, a 60/40 edge bevel should not cause any issues. Chances are that unless you work to keep the bevel you'll get it to a 50/50 bevel through sharpening anyway. Shouldn't be a big deal at all.
Now if the blade itself was ground for a righty, then you might have some issues.
Ignorance, stupidity, arrogance, or deceit.....I don't care....it's wrong info either way. :bashhead:
That's funny. I found recently a salesman -- probably another --praising a Misono's symmetry...
http://www.This Site Not Allowed Here.comforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4245&hilit= Misono
What do lefty's do who want a Hiromoto ?
I believe you are on the wrong track there warren. The edge is not centred under the spine. It's more offset to one side due to the asymmetrical edge grinds: grinding more from one side moves the very edge around. Also it's not just at the edge level but the blade face is also ground asymmetrically. You can really see it if you closely examine the choil. ( someone correct me if that's wrong )
Back to the sharpening dvd then:lol2:
focus on doing what you have to do to get your knife to perform right
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