# Best sharpening video ever?



## Michi (Feb 3, 2019)

I just stumbled across this, after watching one of her videos about seasoning a cast iron pan.

I have watched well over a hundred knife sharpening videos. What blows me away about this one:

Totally non-threatening. She makes it clear that anyone can sharpen a knife on stones, and that it isn't rocket science.
Accurate. Pretty much everything she says in that video sounds right to me. Sure, as a knife geek, I can argue that she left out this or that. But I can't find anything I would disagree with.
Didactics. The teaching technique in that video is outstanding. This is someone who doesn't just know the subject, it is someone who knows how to pass that knowledge on to someone who doesn't know. She shows people how to do things without being over-bearing, casting herself as an expert, without ego, and tells them to have a go without being afraid.
In my opinion, this is an outstanding example of teaching, and teaching well. Brilliant!


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## podzap (Feb 3, 2019)

Nice! She has got Ashkenazi blood, I'd venture to say, looks very similar to Ginnifer Goodwin. Which means that I could look at her all day and my eyes wouldn't get tired


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## Michi (Feb 3, 2019)

Yes, she's pretty. But that's not what I'm interested in. Pretty women are a dime a dozen.

What impressed me is how well she gets the point across. Confident, competent, no-nonsense down-to-earth teaching skills, and effective. I'm seriously pressed to think of a better sharpening video for beginners than this one.


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## podzap (Feb 3, 2019)

Yeah, it's really hard to get past the Burrfection spam in youtube - tons of videos clogging the search results. How did you manage to find this one?


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## Michi (Feb 3, 2019)

podzap said:


> How did you manage to find this one?


Sheer accident. I looked up something like "seasoning cast iron skillet", and this one popped up. Not sure whether that was as a direct search hit, or as one of the YouTube suggestions.

I've watched two more of her videos, and I'm seriously impressed so far. Final verdict is still outstanding. But this looks promising. I really like her non-pretentious down-to-earth approach.


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## HRC_64 (Feb 3, 2019)

Its always good to find a teacher that appeals to motivation...


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## vicv (Feb 3, 2019)

That was really well done. She made it very approachable and gave good advice. Very good for a beginner. Only thing I would add is to start on a coarser stone. 1k is really too fine to be sharpening a dull knife


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## Chef Doom (Feb 3, 2019)

If she had done the video in a bikini I would have agreed with you.


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## JBroida (Feb 3, 2019)

all in all, i think its a well done video too... thanks for sharing


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## Mucho Bocho (Feb 3, 2019)

Decent video for sure. I think the Stone she calls a nagura is actually a stone conditioner and basically used to keep the stone flat and should be washed off before sharpening. Jon what do you think?


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## JBroida (Feb 3, 2019)

I would rinse it off, but there are many who don’t even in japan


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## Nemo (Feb 4, 2019)

Worth watching, nice find.


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## XooMG (Feb 4, 2019)

Chef Doom said:


> If she had done the video in a bikini I would have agreed with you.


I said the same thing about Burrfection.


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## JBroida (Feb 4, 2019)

hey... no one ever asks me to be in a bikini


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## Michi (Feb 4, 2019)

JBroida said:


> hey... no one ever asks me to be in a bikini


You should give it a try, Jon! The reactions you'll get might surprise you!


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## Michi (Feb 4, 2019)

It is interesting to see how much she has refined her presentation skills over time. This video is one of the earliest, nearly ten years ago:

What I find interesting is that the teaching skills are present even back then. This is a very clear and useful teaching video, just without the experience she obviously has by now, and without the higher production values. But the teaching seems to be in her blood. I'm impressed.


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## vicv (Feb 4, 2019)

I don't want to take away from this post but another set of videos which I think are awesome are from Peter Nowlan. I think he teaches it very well and these really helped me make everything click. 
@Jon. Your videos are very good too but he's got an edge on you. It's not your fault he just has the inherent advantage of being canadian


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## Knife2meatu (Feb 4, 2019)

Mucho Bocho said:


> Decent video for sure. I think the Stone she calls a nagura is actually a stone conditioner and basically used to keep the stone flat and should be washed off before sharpening. Jon what do you think?



I watched this video a couple of weeks ago, and I'm not going to do so again, but -- I believe she's using the King nagura which often comes paired with the KW-65; and as far as I know this is the only King rubbing stone on the market and it's a proper #8000 grit slurry stone.


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## Michi (Feb 4, 2019)

Yes, I agree, Peter's videos are excellent. And they are also aimed at a more geeky audience. We are approaching expert level there, or at least getting towards expert level.

The Hellen Rennie video is aimed at people who, pretty much, have never heard of knife sharpening before.

Hellen's video won't turn me into an expert sharpener. (Heck, _no_ video will.) But, as a first step, I think that video is outstanding. If I get the bug (as I did), I then can go and watch Peter's videos, and Jon's, and the ones on the Korin website and go deeper.


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## vicv (Feb 4, 2019)

True no hers was good and definitely appeals to an audience who has never tried before or anything besides a pull through sharpener. She's funny too. I watched another of her videos and after she mentioned the pull through v sharpener she told all the sharpening nuts to stop giving her a hard time about them as for some it's good enough


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## Dhoff (Feb 4, 2019)

Awesome starter video. I really learned the big picture here, which I was missing a bit after watching all the other how-to-videos.

Not to derail the thread, but is the Burrfection videos mentioned not good?


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## Knife2meatu (Feb 4, 2019)

Dhoff said:


> [...]
> 
> Not to derail the thread, but is the Burrfection videos mentioned not good?



I find that the amount of real, useful information contained in those videos is inversely proportional to how highly the Youtube algorithm recommends them.

There are many better videos about technique available; namely those by Jon Broida, which are among the very best. And as for the whetstone reviews -- how often can one qualify a stone as "snappy", and "crisp", before it becomes apparent that those descriptors are better suited to choosing a breakfast cereal than a sharpening stone.


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## podzap (Feb 4, 2019)

Knife2meatu said:


> I find that the amount of real, useful information contained in those videos is inversely proportional to how highly the Youtube algorithm recommends them.



I watched one where he dipped his hand into the container to put water on his splash-and-go stone THIRTY TIMES before he ever touched it with a knife. Mouth was rambling and hand was splashing, but no knife to stone contact was being made.


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## osakajoe (Feb 4, 2019)

Good video for beginners with zero experience besides bur removal. 

I’ve never liked that method of removing bur. I’ve seen more people mess up their knives grinding their edge into the stone. As well as better ways of removing bur.


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## Mucho Bocho (Feb 4, 2019)

I like think Peters videos are decent but agree he talks way too much, rambling at times. Video could have been half as long. Jon video series is about as close to perfect as anything currently available. Personally I do exactly what he says and it keeps thing simple for me to follow and remember. Their like a complete end to end course on sharpening. And you can go back to a very specific topic if that steps needs improvement. The gold standard in knife sharpening for sure.


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## vicv (Feb 4, 2019)

I agree he does talk a little too much but maybe it's the camera angles or something but just seems to work better for me


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## podzap (Feb 4, 2019)

I was referring to Burrfection with the rambling and playing with his waterstone.


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## Uncle Mike (Feb 4, 2019)

I like Murray Carter’s Basic Sharpening video. You have to pay for it though.


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## Michi (Feb 4, 2019)

Uncle Mike said:


> I like Murray Carter’s Basic Sharpening video. You have to pay for it though.


I haven't seen that one. I did watch some of his YouTube videos, which I thought were really good. The question is whether his pay-for videos contain enough magic sauce to make the investment worth it.

The "everything is free" mentality of YouTube, and the net in general, is doing a lot of harm. Twenty years ago, I probably would have paid for Murray's video sight unseen, no hesitation. Today, not so much. There is a decent chance that I can learn what is in Murray's video with some research without paying anything (other than my time and judgement).

As a software engineer, I'm acutely aware of how many jobs the open source movement and the internet sharing culture have destroyed. It wasn't all that long ago that compilers and operating systems cost an arm and a leg. Today, you have to just about beg people to use them, even if they cost nothing.


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## DitmasPork (Feb 4, 2019)

Cheers for posting! I might send the link to my cousin who's interested in learning how to hand sharpen—she currently uses the bottom of a ceramic rice bowl, like her aunt used to do.

She's get more out if the video you posted than from this Carter video:


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## Uncle Mike (Feb 4, 2019)

DitmasPork said:


> Cheers for posting! I might send the link to my cousin who's interested in learning how to hand sharpen—she currently uses the bottom of a ceramic rice bowl, like her aunt used to do.
> 
> She's get more out if the video you posted than from this Carter video:




To be fair to Mr. Carter, he’s not advocating sharpening on a cinder block, he’s doing it to show that using his principles of sharpening do work with whatever sharpening medium you have available. This clip is from his old video. 

The OP’s video is good. It’s very approachable and she presents the information in an organized and engaging way.


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## podzap (Feb 4, 2019)

DitmasPork said:


> Cheers for posting! I might send the link to my cousin who's interested in learning how to hand sharpen—she currently uses the bottom of a ceramic rice bowl, like her aunt used to do.



Nothing wrong with that.

We have a "party" area at work where there is a kitchen. The knives there are incredibly dull and I sharpened one of them on the bottom of a ceramic dinner plate. People looked at me like I had lost my damn mind. It worked incredibly well, given the circumstances. Next time I used the place, I brought my own knife.


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## Mjdavid (Feb 6, 2019)

Michi said:


> I just stumbled across this, after watching one of her videos about seasoning a cast iron pan.
> 
> I have watched well over a hundred knife sharpening videos. What blows me away about this one:
> 
> ...



She’s not your typical “Suzy Homemaker”. I subscribe to her channel because she’s competent. I don’t ever think I can know enough about cooking...she surprised me with a series on Stella Parks pastry dough. I thought it was blasphemy to use bleached flour but results speak for themselves.


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## Chef Doom (Feb 6, 2019)

JBroida said:


> hey... no one ever asks me to be in a bikini


A speedo could easily quadruple your views


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## Barmoley (Feb 6, 2019)

Chef Doom said:


> A speedo could easily quadruple your views


Jon, please don't. It might work, but please don't.


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## cheflarge (Feb 6, 2019)

Barmoley said:


> Jon, please don't. It might work, but please don't.


LMAO [emoji2] [emoji12] [emoji41]


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## Sailor (Feb 6, 2019)

Thanks for sharing the video. I’m Peter Nowlan, I’d thought I’d share my thoughts on my videos since my name was mentioned, and with kind words and constructive criticism. 
Mucho Bocho you mentioned me talking to much in my videos before. So the last one I did I paid attention to that and tried to cut down on on the chatter. I probably failed but when I started the videos it was basically for my Blog and something I just felt kind of obligated to do. I enjoyed them but it is a lot of work, especially writing the articles to accompany them. 

I’m done with making them but I do appreciate when folks tell me their okay. FYI in my opinion the best teaching videos out there are Jon’s which is why I asked him to help me with a couple of them. If I could do it all over again perhaps I would not have done any or at least just stop talking so much. 

To be perfectly honest, I never thought many people would watch the videos anyway. I’ve never claimed that they were good, I was just demonstrating what I love to do most. When people ask me what videos to watch and I’m asked that a lot, I steer them towards the more vocally disciplined Jon.


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## vicv (Feb 6, 2019)

Thank you for stopping by Peter. I honestly learned more from your videos than Jon's. It could be the camera angle it could be the style I don't know. They helped me get edges rivalling what I can get from my belt sander/paper wheels and they're much easier to accomplish. Nothing like seeing good results to help keep a person going. I think the extra talking was you just voicing your thoughts and trying to emphasize your points which didn't bother me. So I for one am glad you did make your videos and I know I'm not alone


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## Nemo (Feb 6, 2019)

Peter's video explaning decreasing pressure levels was a watershed moment in my ability to sharpen tough to deburr steels. All of a sudden, I found bits of burr coming off on my stone and the overall result was much improved, especially on stainless steels. FWIW, I'm fine with the amount of talking in Peter's vids but I guess that we all learn and process information a little differently.

Jon's vids showed me many things but probably most importantly, that's where I got my basic sharpening technique from. It's also where I send someone who wants to learn the basics because each skill is broken down into easily understandable parts.


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## big D (Feb 6, 2019)

Agree with you Michi. She made a nice little video. Nice and clear explanation of what she is doing. Would be a good one for someone new to watch.

edited for spelling


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## Michi (Feb 6, 2019)

Sailor said:


> So the last one I did I paid attention to that and tried to cut down on on the chatter.


Peter, I learned almost all my sharpening technique from you and Jon, thank you!

I high-lighted the Helen Rennie video mainly because it represents a rare conjunction of competence and teaching skills, and I did not mean to criticise you or Jon in any way. In terms of content, your (and Jon's) videos obviously leave Helen's video for dead, and they are perfect for people who have gone past the first few baby steps.

Thank you again for having created what, in my mind, is the best in-depth sharpening resource on YouTube!


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## Sailor (Feb 8, 2019)

Thank you very much folks. Michi I’m heading to Brisbane next year to visit sime family.


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## Michi (Feb 8, 2019)

Sailor said:


> Thank you very much folks. Michi I’m heading to Brisbane next year to visit sime family.


Let me know when you get here, and we can cook something for a dinner together 

PS: I mean it! I'd love to hang out with you for a bit. If not for a home-cooked dinner, a coffee? Please let me know when you are around!


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## XooMG (Feb 8, 2019)

Sadly nobody has ever told me they learned from my sharpening videos. Oh well.


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## vicv (Feb 8, 2019)

Link?


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## Sailor (Feb 8, 2019)

Will do Michi, it will be sometime in September 2020. Thank you


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## ThinMan (Feb 8, 2019)

@Sailor I learned a lot from your videos and didn’t think you were talking too much at all.


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## charlesquik (Feb 8, 2019)

What are the advantage of sharpening both side with the same hand holding the handle instead of my current Technic of switching holding hand and sharpening both side while viewing the spine angle with the stone.


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## HRC_64 (Feb 8, 2019)

in theory the dominant hand is holding the angle if you use one hand, 
so you don't have to train the second hand, eliminating a potential source of error.

but in practice, this "one handed" technique requires two different techniques to sharpen the edge, 
so it introduces another source of variance anyway...

so the jury is out IMHO on what works best. 

...kind of depends on each person.


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## Sailor (Feb 8, 2019)

ThinMan that’s kind of you to say. Arigato.


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## Ruso (Feb 8, 2019)

By not switching the hand, you don't soil your wa handles.


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## Nemo (Feb 8, 2019)

XooMG said:


> Sadly nobody has ever told me they learned from my sharpening videos. Oh well.


I would also be interested to watch them if you could share the link.


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## Ruso (Feb 8, 2019)

XooMG said:


> Sadly nobody has ever told me they learned from my sharpening videos. Oh well.



You are not alone, Richard Blaine feels you.


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## Knife2meatu (Feb 8, 2019)

Ouch, now that's a deep cut.


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## XooMG (Feb 8, 2019)

Nemo said:


> I would also be interested to watch them if you could share the link.


Well to be honest, I've never made a sharpening video.


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## Nemo (Feb 9, 2019)

XooMG said:


> Well to be honest, I've never made a sharpening video.


Well, that could explain it... [emoji41]


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## orangehero (Feb 9, 2019)

Carter's videos pretty much explain the traditional (and best) methods and techniques. Jon Broida's videos do the same albeit with slightly lower production values (he's great for sharing, so maybe?). The lessons are essentially the same...it's not that complicated but it is difficult to Master. Learning holding angles with your dominant hand (always!) and when to apply pressure with your weak hand (on the upstroke) is fundamental.


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## rick alen (Feb 9, 2019)

Agreed, she's a natural teacher. And she's been right in Boston! One criticism, She was way over 15deg starting out with that little knife.


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