# How long does it take you to sharpen a knife?



## cabarete_cub (Jun 28, 2014)

I know, I know, it all depends. For the sake of an example let's say it is an average 8" chef's knife,
straight, nothing tragic, just dull. No thinning, nothing fancy. Just put it back to good working condition,
using two stones.

My procedure (please, bear in mind, I'm a total beginner, and taking my time in order to practice)
is as follows: 5 min (each side) on medium (1000), 3 min with light
pressure on medium, 1 min lightest pressure on medium, 3 min light on fine, 1 min lightest
on fine, then maybe 30 sec stropping/deburring, and another 30 sec stropping on a newspaper.


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## Seth (Jun 28, 2014)

I generally spend five to ten minutes total but I don't strop. To me, stropping is almost a more of a technique of super light pressure on a very fine stone and not necessarily a strop - just me. Followed by cork or similar. If you are spending a total of ten minutes on 1000, maybe you should start with 500, though you might just get faster with your routine as you get better. I often can start with a fast cutting 2000, then 4000 like Jon's synthetics, following by light stropping on a Kityama and cork. My only concern is that you may be going with the amount of time rather than feedback, like raising a burr. Most of my knives are white steel which will go very quickly. If you are doing ss it is a different story.


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## cabarete_cub (Jun 28, 2014)

Seth said:


> My only concern is that you may be going with the amount of time rather than feedback, like raising a burr. Most of my knives are white steel which will go very quickly. If you are doing ss it is a different story.



This is a very, very valid point. I know it is probably too early for me even to start working on the routine. Sometimes - most of the time - I would check the edge/burr every several passes or so and won't mind the clock at all.
Just looking for a way to get more organized. And, yes, most of my knives are ss.


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## LKH9 (Jun 28, 2014)

For totally dull cheap knife at that length, within 1 hour or more, because I have to grind my own custom primary & secondary bevel + strop and paper cutting tests.

Don't care about time when you're just learning, when I was just learning, it took me 3 hours and still got me nowhere, LOL. Rather get a good understanding on how to feel the burr and how to remove them.


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## ThEoRy (Jun 29, 2014)

Somewhere between 3 minutes and 2 and a half hours.


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## convis (Jun 29, 2014)

^ +1, i thin a bit and refinished pretty much every other time. without, 3 minutes max, with, 15+ it all depends. i had recently thinned everything, and my whole kit needed a quick sharpening... 3 chefs, petty, slicer, paring, boning, 2 filet took me about 20 minutes, but thats about as fast as i get. daves lineup that time around.


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## panda (Jun 29, 2014)

so youre asking about touch ups?
stainless: 15 min minumum
carbon: 5 min


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## cabarete_cub (Jun 29, 2014)

ThEoRy said:


> Somewhere between 3 minutes and 2 and a half hours.



It seems very unlikely to me that some steels are 50 (2.5hrs = 150 min; 150/3 = 50) times
more abrasion resistant than the others, so I'm sorry if my question sounded inconsiderate or 
too intrusive. The problem with beginners is that we don't even know what to ask.
There should be a "sandbox" subforum for that.


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## cabarete_cub (Jun 29, 2014)

panda said:


> so youre asking about touch ups?
> stainless: 15 min minumum
> carbon: 5 min



Now I know what they are called.
Thank you. I was recently asking about what knives would be good for a beginner sharpener to practice,
and although many people said stainless is more difficult, it was never said how much more difficult.


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## LKH9 (Jun 29, 2014)

Stainless steel is not difficult if you use Silicon Carbide or Diamond plate.


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## panda (Jun 29, 2014)

people say get a carbon to learn because it is easier, but i say just sharpen cheap stainless knives, because you are going to mess up. and because it is more difficult, it will force you to learn it right.


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## cabarete_cub (Jun 29, 2014)

Currently sharpening whatever I can put my hands on. Carbon putty knife (I hope I won't get banned for such a blasphemy) including. 
Sharpened it both sides, and learned hard way not to put a thumb on the back to push the knife along the stone 
What I found the most difficult with ss, though is not the material being "gummy", but guessing the bevel angle.
Some have huge angles, like 60 or so. Magic marker was a big help.


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## Lizzardborn (Jun 29, 2014)

On cheap SS I just reset the bevel. They are usually sharpened at 90 included. Which is insane even for an axe.


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## KitKat (Jun 29, 2014)

panda said:


> people say get a carbon to learn because it is easier, but i say just sharpen cheap stainless knives, because you are going to mess up. and because it is more difficult, it will force you to learn it right.



Totally agree! That's what I did. Made life easier transitioning to carbon knives too.


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## jaybett (Jun 29, 2014)

It's not so much about time, as it is check the edge, recheck it, and check again. A good amount of metal can be removed in a surprisingly short time. I'll do four or five strokes and check the edge. Do another four or five strokes and check again. If I am hitting the entire bevel of the knife. I might do ten or fifteen strokes, and then check for the burr. Then another ten or fifteen strokes, and check again for the burr. Once its raised, flip the knife and repeat the process. 

There are some days, especially when I was in the early stages of learning that I couldn't raise a burr. The smartest thing I did was put the knife down and walk away. A few days latter I would try again. Some knives took five or six attempts before I got a decent edge on them. 

When first learning to sharpen there are so many things to keep track of, that it can be overwhelming. Hopefully you have stones that provide good feedback. That was a difference maker for me, when I could really feel what was happening on the stones. 

Stainless has a reputation of being harder then carbon to sharpen. Part of it is the gummy feel of the knife on the stones. The other is burr removal. It can take a lot of effort to remove the burr from a stainless knife. 

Jay


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## ThEoRy (Jun 29, 2014)

cabarete_cub said:


> It seems very unlikely to me that some steels are 50 (2.5hrs = 150 min; 150/3 = 50) times
> more abrasion resistant than the others, so I'm sorry if my question sounded inconsiderate or
> too intrusive. The problem with beginners is that we don't even know what to ask.
> There should be a "sandbox" subforum for that.



Wait, what? Maths lol. I was generally speaking. Single bevel initial blade road flattening and polishing properly can take some time. To specifically answer your example, it shouldn't take more than 5-10 min with stropping included.


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## cabarete_cub (Jun 30, 2014)

ThEoRy said:


> To specifically answer your example, it shouldn't take more than 5-10 min with stropping included.



Sorry again for misunderstanding. This kind of ballpark answer is what I was looking for, not the details I don't understand anyway.


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## JMJones (Jun 30, 2014)

3-5 minutes for sharp serviceable edge, more time for extra polish.


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## chefcomesback (Jun 30, 2014)

I touch up my knives once a week or two , they may need a 5 -10 min job per month total. My kitchen crews knives ;depending on their bluntness and chipping 10min , if thinning needed 30 min


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## Chuckles (Jun 30, 2014)

^+1^

Of course if it is chips, really blunt, or thinning it starts much coarser than 1000 grit.


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## Keith Sinclair (Jul 2, 2014)

I do a little theater to get student's attention. Dull a thinned 230mm white carbon drop nose gyuto on steel grate of gas burner till it just bends paper. Tell them to time me. One pass on each side leaves me with even burr heel to tip. One second cross sweep on stone for burr removal than one sweep on each side on newspaper. Then pick up the newspaper & sail the knife thru it. On the stone including burr removal sweep worst time 31 seconds after doing this for several classes best time 19 seconds.

Of coarse I use a white steel carbon knife not too long in length to do this & putting on one bevel each side to get my burr. Do this at start of class to show them that this technique really works. Then I vastly slow it down to show knife positioning on stone how one hand on handle moves the blade, controls spine angle while other hand fingerpad pressure behind the cutting edge.

Of coarse this is just for show but it deff. gets their attention. Learning to sharpen should always start slow perfecting technique speed will come later. Also no need overkill deburring on newspaper. Stand at the middle of the paper one sweep & a curve sweep to get the tip cleaned up flip the knife over do same thing. Angle on the newsprint should be last angle on stone raised just a hair. You change hands for each side using other hand to hold the edge of the paper so it does not slide.

Actually spending too much time deburring can be counter productive it is a light touch without pressure. On newspaper or leather stropping too much with too much pressure can crush or round your crisp edge.


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## DDPslice (Jul 4, 2014)

My blade is very reactive and I like to keep it clean with no patina. It takes me about 30 minutes to go through a 1200, then Jnats (about 4 different rounds of 5 minutes) then a quick Micro mesh progression from the neck to the tip. Though I do like to take particularly good care of my knife and I find the sharpening and polish progression to be sort of meditating.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Jul 5, 2014)

This question piqued my curiosity, so I timed myself this evening. Total time, from deciding to sharpen a 240 Kochi to putting away the sharpening equipment was just under ten minutes. The stones were JKI diamond stones (1k and 6k) and were splash and go, so no soaking was required, nor was flattening. It took three passes on one side to raise a burr the length of the edge, and two on the other side. Flipped the knife twice with a single edge trailing pass to reduce the burr. Check the edge by cutting a rolled up paper towel. Repeat with the 6k stone. Rinse and dry all equipment and return it to its storage place.


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## JDA_NC (Jul 5, 2014)

Pensacola Tiger said:


> This question piqued my curiosity, so I timed myself this evening. Total time, from deciding to sharpen a 240 Kochi to putting away the sharpening equipment was just under ten minutes. The stones were JKI diamond stones (1k and 6k) and were splash and go, so no soaking was required, nor was flattening. It took three passes on one side to raise a burr the length of the edge, and two on the other side. Flipped the knife twice with a single edge trailing pass to reduce the burr. Check the edge by cutting a rolled up paper towel. Repeat with the 6k stone. Rinse and dry all equipment and return it to its storage place.



Just curious.

I remember that initial sale thread. Now that you've had more time with those diamond stones, what are your thoughts?

Out of your stone collection, do you tend to reach for that combo when it comes to speed, feedback, and resulting edge (sans thinning)?

I've never used any diamond stones (except for flattening) so I'm interested in how higher grit, good feedback ones are.


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## Ruso (Jul 5, 2014)

I just worked on my parents cheapo henckel chef knife 8'' using 3 stones. The following steps:
Setup; thin behind the edge on coarse stone; remove scratches from thinning; put the edge; refine the edge; remove burr(wire edge); strop on leather; test; clean after. Took roughly 22 minutes.


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## Seth (Jul 5, 2014)

Pensacola Tiger said:


> This question piqued my curiosity, so I timed myself this evening. Total time, from deciding to sharpen a 240 Kochi to putting away the sharpening equipment was just under ten minutes.



Just being a little silly: in the time a young person at the peak of reaction time can push the button to answer the question, a dog can bite you five times. Your wording just sounded like a game show. I can raise a burr in 200 dog bites. (The puppy can pick up a line drive on the short hop better than...)

So it sounds like the timing runs from a few minutes to a lot more but clearly this is based on the type of steel and its condition, etc. Sharpening, to me, can be meditative mostly but sometimes not. I spent hours trying to get the shinogi line straight on a usuba once and that was an exercise in frustration. That it took so long told me I had a lot to learn.


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## cabarete_cub (Jul 5, 2014)

Of course, and more probably than not once upon a time there was a man who retreated to the mountain top and sat there for a year polishing something.
Then he (hopefully) brought his gained knowledge to the others. But my original question was about most average knife in most average condition,
just to get the ballpark estimate from people who know what they are doing. 

And with regards to meditation there are some schools who advice beginners to start with timed practice. And speed is really really relative.
Trained long-distance runners, while moving fast, meditate because the moves they are making are deeply ingrained in their muscle memory, for one example.


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## LKH9 (Jul 5, 2014)

If I don't care about those cheapo knives' appearance, the uniformity of the bevel width and angle, it can be done pretty fast. It will take a lot longer being a perfectionist.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Jul 6, 2014)

JDA_NC said:


> Just curious.
> 
> I remember that initial sale thread. Now that you've had more time with those diamond stones, what are your thoughts?
> 
> ...



These stones have become my go to for most all of my sharpening that doesn't require thinning or creating a kasumi finish. They don't require thinning, and a quick spray of water is all that's needed. There is really no comparison to the DMT diamond plates, or even the Atoma. Feedback is similar to the 1k and 5k Shapton Pro stones.


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