# Washington post video article on knife sharpening



## gic (Dec 11, 2014)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/postt...c13388-7f22-11e4-b936-f3afab0155a7_video.html

The guy seemed to know what he was doing, (OK he did hone a wusthof using a steel while simultaneously saying this wouldn't sharpen - not sure the point of that but still...)

Are you one of us??


----------



## knyfeknerd (Dec 11, 2014)

That's the DC Sharp guys. I know a couple of DC members have had some positive interactions with them. IIRC they joined the forum a couple of years ago, but probably got booted because they didn't sign on as vendors, etc. I don't know if anyone has visited their store or not though.


----------



## toddnmd (Dec 11, 2014)

Good timing on this. I was actually meeting some people for brunch at Union Market on Sunday, and made sure to get there a bit early so I could stop by DC Sharp. There were several guys there, but the one I spoke to mostly was Derrick, who was super nice. We talked some about sharpening (he told me that he often starts with a 220 stone because a lot of the knives they get in are in pretty bad shape). The cases were unlocked, and he told me I was welcome to take out various knives to look at them. I'd looked at their website earlier that morning, and they had just a few listed there. There were quite a few knives on display, and I was impressed with their selection--that was the largest number of high quality knives I've ever seen in person (not that I've been to that many places). After brunch, I went back by and talked to Derrick some more. We talked about KKF, and he mentioned that Dave Martell is a friend of his. I believe he's a member, but doesn't have a vendor membership. He also told me that he had gone on Murray Carter's trip to Japan and that it had been an amazing trip and he thought is was well worth the retail price, and that he was very impressed with the tour and Murray's knife-making skills, particularly after he saw some of the master smiths in Japan. 
He also told me that I was welcome to come back to hang out and watch and talk about sharpening.
All in all, a very cool visit, and I hope to return soon, and I'd encourage anyone in the DC area to make the visit as well.


----------



## mhpr262 (Dec 11, 2014)

I wonder what those professionals do with all those knives knives that have a bolster and are already so worn that they have a slightly concave curve in the edge in front of the bolster so that the edge will not touch the cutting board. 

Do they grind off the lower end of the bolster and reprofile the whole blade? or do they just sharpen the convex front part and leave the blade alone apart from that?


----------



## panda (Dec 12, 2014)

i looked at their site and was glad to see they stock watanabe! it's too bad the offering is only 2 knives. =\


----------



## Salty dog (Dec 12, 2014)

but do they have beards?


----------



## Lizzardborn (Dec 12, 2014)

Just a quick question - what is his tip sharpening technique? It seemed interesting.


----------



## toddnmd (Dec 12, 2014)

panda said:


> i looked at their site and was glad to see they stock watanabe! it's too bad the offering is only 2 knives. =\



I did specifically ask to see the Watanabe that I had seen listed online, since I'd never handled one of his knives in person. They have a lot more in the cabinets than they have listed on the website. I think most of their business is in sharpening, but it's nice that they offer some good-quality knives, and I'm sure it gets people's attention as they're wandering around the market.


----------



## WildBoar (Dec 12, 2014)

They keep a decent amount of knives in their cabinets. Not JKI quantities, but way more than I expected to see. From my limited interactions with them (one visits and some emails) they seem to be a pretty stand-up operation and very passionate. A few of the pros here that I have talked to have used their services and been happy with them. I saw a nice Carter gyuto earlier today that they had tweaked/ tuned for one of the pros.


----------



## panda (Dec 12, 2014)

you should definitely try one todd, i had a pro series kasumi and it was a unique knife, i only passed it along cause it was too big. i would love to try the KU version at some point.


----------



## Dave Martell (Dec 12, 2014)

Derek is a member here (but he's very respectful of the forum rules and lays low) and yes I consider him a friend. He's a good guy and I'd trust in recommending him.


----------



## Benuser (Dec 12, 2014)

mhpr262 said:


> I wonder what those professionals do with all those knives knives that have a bolster and are already so worn that they have a slightly concave curve in the edge in front of the bolster so that the edge will not touch the cutting board.
> 
> Do they grind off the lower end of the bolster and reprofile the whole blade? or do they just sharpen the convex front part and leave the blade alone apart from that?



You should reduce the protruding heel, correct the reverse belly and remove a bit of the fingerguard to have it flush with the relief bevel. Very common with oversteeled vintages and other neglected blades.
Not correcting it will cause accordeoning when cutting. And the small area that remains in contact with the board will dull rapidly.


----------



## Benuser (Dec 12, 2014)




----------



## Dardeau (Dec 12, 2014)

1k words


----------



## Benuser (Dec 13, 2014)

Not sure I know what you mean.


----------



## Mr.Wizard (Dec 13, 2014)

"A picture is worth a thousand words" I assume.


----------



## Benuser (Dec 13, 2014)

Thanks, Mr Wizard.


----------



## mhpr262 (Dec 17, 2014)

Benuser said:


> You should reduce the protruding heel, correct the reverse belly and remove a bit of the fingerguard to have it flush with the relief bevel.



Well, that is one way to do it. I just ground the whole protruding corner off at a 45°, with an angle grinder.


I am a bad person :O



Do you use a stone for that or a belt sander or similar? I Imagine it takes forever on a stone.


----------



## Benuser (Dec 17, 2014)

So far I did it on coarse automotive sandpaper on linen, P120, "Metall" by Robert Bosch. Quite fast with carbons. But for profile correction only Rick's solution is better. See post nr 4.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/20755-how-do-I-fix-this-uneven-blade


----------

