# How sharp is sharp enough?



## holdmyphone (Aug 13, 2017)

Until recently I've always sharpened my knives on a king kds 1000/6000 combo stone, but I picked up an old razor hone which interestingly gives a less polished edge than the 6k, maybe 4-5k range and I'm liking it. Still great cutting performance with a little more durability and a little more tooth to get through those waxy tomato skins.

I'm probably on the more pragmatic side of things, but I know there are some people out there trying to get ultimate performance and sharpen up to 8k, 10k+ grit for kitchen knives... Of course it also depends on the task and type of knife. I'm curious, how high do you guys go?


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## panda (Aug 13, 2017)

i stop at 3k for carbon, 1k for stainless.


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## Chef_ (Aug 13, 2017)

6000 is good enough for me.


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## Marcelo Amaral (Aug 13, 2017)

It depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you are sharpening to get practical results, 4k is enough; if sharpening for fun, i like to push it to ohira renge suita/ohira karasu/ao renge suita to finish hard carbon.


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## Benuser (Aug 13, 2017)

For me, the only reason I go beyond 800 is deburring and maintenance.


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## K813zra (Aug 13, 2017)

Practically speaking I too like to be in the 1-3k range for stainless and 3-5k range for carbon. I use mostly naturals now and which depends on how I am feeling. Practically speaking I could stop at Aizu every time but I normally don't.


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## kurwamac (Aug 13, 2017)

Depends on steel and style; a cleaver in 1141 goes up to 2k, whereas an usuba in shiro1 goes usually to 10k, or further if I feel I can tell the difference. I've seen far too many cooks ruin a nice stone (and edge) by trying to sharp a steel beyond what it can hold or they can achieve


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## ob-gym (Aug 13, 2017)

Depends on the type of prep I'm doing, I have dedicated knives

Mincing Scallions - 8-10k (White #2 santoku)
General Mirepoix/Tomatoes - 3-5k (various carbon gyuto)
Trimming and Deboning Meats - 2-3k (carbon petties)

I actually the King 1k/6k is a great stone IF your entire arsenal is carbon, it's garbage on most stainless, but respectable on carbon steels. 1k side for meats and 6k for fish and veg, the 6k edge in particular is fantastic.


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## Matus (Aug 13, 2017)

Gesshin Synthetic Natural gives a great edge for general kitchen use. Once we move to natural stones Ohira Suita gives great edge with a lot of bite. Ohira Asagi will make your knife feel like a razor - but still have enough bite. I would stop there


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## K813zra (Aug 13, 2017)

Matus said:


> Gesshin Synthetic Natural gives a great edge for general kitchen use. Once we move to natural stones Ohira Suita gives great edge with a lot of bite. Ohira Asagi will make your knife feel like a razor - but still have enough bite. I would stop there



I really like my Ohira Asagi too. It removes metal quickly, leaves a fine edge with just enough bite. I have not pulled the trigger on an Ohira Suita, though.


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## KimBronnum (Aug 13, 2017)

I take everything to ohira suita or similar. 
- Kim


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## tommybig (Aug 14, 2017)

KimBronnum said:


> I take everything to ohira suita or similar.
> - Kim



Same for me. Thou on softer stainless i go up to 1000 and then suita just for deburring.


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## loong (Aug 14, 2017)

It depends, usually I need a super sharp edge to make sashimi.


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## XooMG (Aug 15, 2017)

I sharpen until it is fragile and easily dulled so I don't need to wait long for another chance to sharpen.


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## malexthekid (Aug 15, 2017)

XooMG said:


> I sharpen until it is fragile and easily dulled so I don't need to wait long for another chance to sharpen.


What he said


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## holdmyphone (Aug 16, 2017)

Interesting... A lot more people using lower grit finish than I expected, for a knife forum anyways


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## Chef_ (Aug 16, 2017)

I never thought about using different grits for different blades and different steels, makes sense .


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## Marek07 (Aug 16, 2017)

XooMG said:


> I sharpen until it is fragile and easily dulled so I don't need to wait long for another chance to sharpen.


 +1
I like the way you think!


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## K813zra (Aug 16, 2017)

Marek07 said:


> +1
> I like the way you think!



+2 Me too!


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## Chef_ (Aug 17, 2017)

XooMG said:


> I sharpen until it is fragile and easily dulled so I don't need to wait long for another chance to sharpen.



I guess that would be fun to do if I didnt use my knives professionally. But id rather not sharpen all my knives once a week.


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## K813zra (Aug 17, 2017)

Chef_ said:


> I guess that would be fun to do if I didnt use my knives professionally. But id rather not sharpen all my knives once a week.



I can understand that, for sure. I love to sharpen everyday, though, but I have knives specifically dedicated to that task. Not so into chewing up my preferred stock.


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## ThEoRy (Aug 18, 2017)

I keep double beveled knives, deba, honesuki and usuba at 5k. Yanagiba and takobiki I go up to 12k. Different edges for different blades/tasks.


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## rick alen (Aug 22, 2017)

Depends on what you're doing. For me all my knives are microbeveled, and all on high-grit stones, regardless of steel. For board work I just use a steeper microbevel. Knives for in-hand cutting stay relatively shallow, even Krupp/4116. All microbevels are put in with stropping strokes.


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## K813zra (Aug 22, 2017)

rick alen said:


> Depends on what you're doing. For me all my knives are microbeveled, and all on high-grit stones, regardless of steel. For board work I just use a steeper microbevel. Knives for in-hand cutting stay relatively shallow, even Krupp/4116. All microbevels are put in with stropping strokes.



I am glad to see that I am not the only one who does this, micro with a stropping stroke.


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## holdmyphone (Aug 24, 2017)

What would you say is the advantage of microbevels? Preventing chipping? That's really all I've heard people use them for.


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## rick alen (Aug 24, 2017)

Yah basically, a thin edge that is still pretty keen and stays that way lots longer and, less prone to chipping.


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## StonedEdge (Aug 24, 2017)

Also less prone to rolling over on itself with board contact


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## Benuser (Aug 24, 2017)

The purpose is allowing a thinner edge than the blade would be otherwise capable of.


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## Nemo (Aug 24, 2017)

Benuser said:


> The purpose is allowing a thinner edge than the blade would be otherwise capable of.


By this, do you mean an edge with a more acute angle rather than a blade which is thinner behind the edge?


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## HRC_64 (Aug 24, 2017)

A good discussion of keen vs sharp 
in terms of edge geometry 
was written by that guy who did the electron microscopy


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## Benuser (Aug 25, 2017)

Nemo said:


> By this, do you mean an edge with a more acute angle rather than a blade which is thinner behind the edge?


Both.


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## Nemo (Aug 25, 2017)

Benuser said:


> Both.


Thanks.


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## Timthebeaver (Aug 25, 2017)

Schwartz'd to 64000 grit.


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## holdmyphone (Aug 26, 2017)

This is great! Finally a scientific resource! Thanks for sharing.


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## rick alen (Aug 26, 2017)

Well for expediency I wasn't using "keen" quite right. Keen I believe is actually a measure of how little truncation there is at the edge. A 60deg edge can be very keen, but not necessarily so "Sharp" as this is a combination angle and keenness, with toothiness possibly thrown in there also.


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## panda (Aug 26, 2017)

i value keenness more than sharpness


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## rick alen (Aug 26, 2017)

Being a microbeveller I guess you could say that goes for myself also.


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## Benuser (Aug 26, 2017)

Timthebeaver said:


> Schwartz'd to 64000 grit.


For sure that salesman sells up to 64k. On poly boards I don't go anyfurther than 2k. But I'm quite aware we live in different worlds.


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## paulraphael (Aug 29, 2017)

For years I've taken my gyuto to 10K, but am considering experimenting with something more like 6K (it's a ginsan stainless tadatsuna). 10K used to give me an edge that worked well for everything, but I had trouble with edge retention. Jon at JKI recommended I try microbevels, which have made a huge difference in retention. But now I'm experiencing for the first time the drawbacks that people attribute to highly polished edges ... namely, a lack of bite when cutting things like grape tomatoes. I'll be curious to see if a somewhat coarser edge fixes this problem without hurting push-cutting performance.

Any recommendations on a 5K6K stone for fine-grained stainless, with very thin geometry? I've had a Suehira Rika on my list for a while, but there's so much more out there.


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## nevrknow (Aug 29, 2017)

Of all the 5-6K's I have. The Rika is my go to. The rest collect dust now.


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## Mucho Bocho (Aug 30, 2017)

Takenoko leaves a perfect 6K kitchen edge.


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## paulraphael (Aug 30, 2017)

I'm also curious about JKI's Gesshin splash-n-go 6K.


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## donhoang14 (Sep 10, 2017)

panda said:


> i stop at 3k for carbon, 1k for stainless.



I have noticed a few members saying that they stick to lower grits for their stainless like a 1k. Can you help me understand why that is the case? Thanks!


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## ThEoRy (Sep 10, 2017)

donhoang14 said:


> I have noticed a few members saying that they stick to lower grits for their stainless like a 1k. Can you help me understand why that is the case? Thanks!



I want to say they are speaking about cheap or soft stainless like Globals, Henkels and Wusthoff. 

This is because the steel isn't hard enough to retain a refined edge so it's just not worth your time. As soon as you start cutting with it the edge is rolling over making all of that extra refining work futile. You'll have a slick soft edge that doesn't perform. Lower grit stones leave a larger toothier edge so even if the teeth start rolling over there's still something there to give some cutting action. These knives can be quickly touched up with a sharpening steel for maintenance until sharpening. 

Not all stainless works this way. Properly heat treated R2 or AEBL are great examples of stainless steels with great edge retention.


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## Nemo (Sep 11, 2017)

I assume that Aus8 and similar steels at 58 HRC would also fall into the "too soft to polish past 1k" category? What about Aus10, VG10 and gin3 at say 61 HRC?


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## HRC_64 (Sep 11, 2017)

I wonder if some of these guys like panda may also be using carbon for their main cutting knives 
so maybe not everything is perfect apples to apples with the use case as well as the steels.

so maybe a combination of lower quality alloys, inherent limitations of the alloys, 
and some use-cases where 'good enough' is 'good enough' without any more work/refinement


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## donhoang14 (Sep 11, 2017)

Thanks for this! A very good explanation for me.


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## K813zra (Sep 11, 2017)

Nemo said:


> I assume that Aus8 and similar steels at 58 HRC would also fall into the "too soft to polish past 1k" category? What about Aus10, VG10 and gin3 at say 61 HRC?



I find Aus8 to do just fine with higher refinement. I take my wife's Suisin western knives to 3k and they hold a nice edge well enough. Actually, that is about 3k as I finish on an aoto.


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## Benuser (Sep 11, 2017)

I believe it has to do with carbide size. Sandvik's 19c27 -- used in Misono's UX-10 -- and its Japanese answer Ginsanko-3 are made to provide a toothy edge. For sure you will need fine stones to get rid of the burr, but looking for a high polish makes no sense here, IMHO. Do that with AEB-L or so.


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## Nemo (Sep 11, 2017)

K813zra said:


> I find Aus8 to do just fine with higher refinement. I take my wife's Suisin western knives to 3k and they hold a nice edge well enough. Actually, that is about 3k as I finish on an aoto.


Thanks.

Similar to what I have been doing on FKMs (with Chosera 1k, 3k). They did seem to hold that sharpness OK, but I was wondering if I was being excessively optimistic.


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## Nemo (Sep 11, 2017)

Benuser said:


> I believe it has to do with carbide size. Sandvik's 19c27 -- used in Misono's UX-10 -- and its Japanese answer Ginsanko-3 are made to provide a toothy edge. For sure you will need fine stones to get rid of the burr, but looking for a high polish makes no sense here, IMHO. Do that with AEB-L or so.


Does this mean that for 19c27, G3 (and presumably VG10) you use around a 1k edge deburred on 3-5k?

Do you sharpen AEBL (presuming a good HT) like a carbon steel?


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## Benuser (Sep 11, 2017)

Nemo said:


> Does this mean that for 19c27, G3 (and presumably VG10) you use around a 1k edge deburred on 3-5k?
> 
> Do you sharpen AEBL (presuming a good HT) like a carbon steel?



For sure. I want to enhance existing qualities. No polishing for coarse steels, fine polishing with fine stuff.


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## Nemo (Sep 11, 2017)

Benuser said:


> For sure. I want to enhance existing qualities. No polishing for coarse steels, fine polishing with fine stuff.


Thanks. I'm going to give 1k edge, 3k deburr a go next sharpening on Aus8 or Gin.


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## K813zra (Sep 12, 2017)

Nemo said:


> Thanks. I'm going to give 1k edge, 3k deburr a go next sharpening on Aus8 or Gin.



I think that sounds like a good solution that I too will play with.


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## rick alen (Sep 12, 2017)

Grab something like a Vic, sharpen it at 12deg/side or so, then strop in a micro-bevel at 25-30/side with a 6K stone. I think you'l be surprised at what it will do.


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## aaamax (Jan 15, 2018)

rick alen said:


> Grab something like a Vic, sharpen it at 12deg/side or so, then strop in a micro-bevel at 25-30/side with a 6K stone. I think you'l be surprised at what it will do.



This is how I see it as well.
I am possibly in the minority here, but I will take the Mrs's German stainlesses up to Ohira Suita with what I consider very good results in the ability for these less-than-ideal blades to perform and edge retention. The difference between stopping at a 1k synth as opposed to 1>4 synth, ending with Ohira Suita is dramatic for me.


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## panda (Jan 15, 2018)

polish a vic, lol yall delusional. soft stainless i sharpen on chosera 400 and strop on cardboard, that's it!


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## andur (Jan 16, 2018)

Interesting! I thought most people take their edges way higher. I've always considered the 5k edge as toothy and rough. Most times I go at least 10k for most knives.


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## mack (Jan 16, 2018)

As I use an angle-controlling system (Bogdan), I end with 12K. Without the system I end with the Naniwa Professional 5k.
And I'm controlling the edge with a microscope. 
A little bit of overkill of course, but with Bogdan you get a closed and fine Edge witch lasts a lot longer than a non-closed edge. 


Mack.


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## Nemo (Jan 16, 2018)

Please don't start the Bogdan wars again! &#129296;


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## Gnickrapon (Jan 16, 2018)

Slightly off topic, but also on......how far do people take their Xerxes Primus?


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## mack (Jan 16, 2018)

I go up to 12K. The Primus gets an incredible sharpness, love the knife!

Mack.


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## mack (Jan 16, 2018)

Nemo said:


> Please don't start the Bogdan wars again! &#129296;



Wasn't my intention. Only wanted to say, that with any angle-controlled system you can finish with a finer stone. At least that ist the experience I made and it works for me. Doesn't mean it's the only way.


Mack.


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## aaamax (Jan 16, 2018)

panda said:


> polish a vic, lol yall delusional. soft stainless i sharpen on chosera 400 and strop on cardboard, that's it!



I hear ya Panda and totally agree that you end up with a good, serviceable edge stopping under 1k on softer ss. When I am doing the house knives after a shift I will often end at Red 800, or whatever I happen to have with me. But for some reason there is more to be had when I go further. A simple explanation might be that my technique isn't good enough to end on the low grits, I just don't know.


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## HRC_64 (Jan 16, 2018)

One theory of stopping early on soft stainless is that you will 'steel' the knife 
which will undo any refinement in short order, if not immediately. 

Thats not to say any 'soft stainless' cannot take refinement in the first place.
The latter idea is incorrect without specific qualifications and is easily disproven.


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## Nemo (Jan 16, 2018)

mack said:


> Wasn't my intention. Only wanted to say, that with any angle-controlled system you can finish with a finer stone. At least that ist the experience I made and it works for me. Doesn't mean it's the only way.
> 
> 
> Mack.


Yeah, most of those that use the Bogdan system feel that it helps to take advantage of a higher polish. IIRC, one user thought that it was because you could maintain an angle more easily whilst applying next to no pressure on the edge. I am kinda interested to see it for myself one day.


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## K813zra (Jan 16, 2018)

Nemo said:


> Yeah, most of those that use the Bogdan system feel that it helps to take advantage of a higher polish. IIRC, one user thought that it was because you could maintain an angle more easily whilst applying next to no pressure on the edge. I am kinda interested to see it for myself one day.



Sounds more like a camp song than a system. Bo doe ska deeten daten, or something like that. Seriously, looked it up and it is totally over my head. I am going to go put the chickens away now...:laugh:


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## Bensbites (Jan 16, 2018)

I am still learning here, functionally, how do you test for sharpness. My knives will bite into a tomato or pepper, but only recently have I been able to perform horizontal onion slices since refining my sharpening technique. I am still playing with the details.


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## galvaude (Jan 17, 2018)

Bensbites said:


> I am still learning here, functionally, how do you test for sharpness. My knives will bite into a tomato or pepper, but only recently have I been able to perform horizontal onion slices since refining my sharpening technique. I am still playing with the details.



Obviously, cutting food and noticing the improvements is the best guide, different produce will give different information about the edge. Cutting carrots will tell you about the cutting ability and the overall geometry of the blade while cutting tomato and peppers will tell you more about the apex, the toothiness of the edge and its initial sharpness.

But realisticaly I don't have food around and like to test while sharpening. I like cutting phonebook paper I try to pushcut perpendicular across the grain, along the grain will be a lot easier. Slicing paper towel and feeling for any rough spot is a good indicator of how well the burr removal is going, especially at the tip/belly. Shaving arm hair gets old pretty quickly.

I know Carter's 3 finger test is not popular here but I like. It tooks me a while before understading its simplicity but now I quite like it. If you're into super polished edge and high grit stuff you will find it less helpful.


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## rick alen (Jan 17, 2018)

Sharpen steep then strop in the final angle. I think that will do you at least as well and better than any of the jig systems out there right now.

I designed a twice-size Wicked Edge system that eliminates the angle limitations and angular change inconsistencies of the original, and the Bogdan for that matter, no problem controlling pressure either. I hope to get it built one of these days, machining costs would not be that great, I'm sure it would be fun to use and very possibly get better results, certainly more consistent, but the urgency isn't there as my knives get almost as sharp as I really would like some of them, and I haven't even got to diamond stops yet.


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## Khorax (Jan 17, 2018)

I was putting everything at 3k (naniwa pro), stainless and carbon for a while. But recently during traveling, I only had my 1k during visits to family/friends and sharpened their knives on that (set bevel on 220 first). I then stayed at their house(s) for several days and used their knives for cooking and now I'm converted to stopping at 1K on cheap/soft stainless. Went back to my place and ground all my stainless knives back down to 1k. I prefer it. It's subtle but you do get more "bite" than at 3k. 

Hell I even enjoyed my 220 edge for one prep session... I couldn't finish all my brother's knives before supper so I had his chef knife done at only 220 (it was 15 years old and chipped everywhere). I had my brother use that for food prep and he kept saying how amazing it was, and thought I was finished. I tried it and it was doing quite a good job. I put it to 1k after supper and he didn't notice a difference.

So perhaps we here obsessing over sharpness on this forum often forget that you probably have the entire worlds 0.001% sharpest knives in your kitchens.


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## Benuser (Jan 17, 2018)

My only reason for going to finer stones is to get a better deburring. I only rarely perform a full progression. Much more commonly a full sharpening on a 400, stropping and deburring on a 800, deburring only on a 3k or higher. No reason to polish out all the scratches of the previous stone, at least not with double-bevelled as used in Western cuisine with a lot of board contact. 
As with cheap soft stainless: 220 and 400, deburring with a green ScotchBrite sponge. No refinement with Vics.


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## unprofessional_chef (Jan 17, 2018)

Benuser said:


> My only reason for going to finer stones is to get a better deburring. I only rarely perform a full progression. Much more commonly a full sharpening on a 400, stropping and deburring on a 800, deburring only on a 3k or higher. No reason to polish out all the scratches of the previous stone, at least not with double-bevelled as used in Western cuisine with a lot of board contact.
> As with cheap soft stainless: 220 and 400, deburring with a green ScotchBrite sponge. No refinement with Vics.



Assuming Japanese knives, how is your edge better deburring on 800 vs 3K or higher? What differences have you noticed in testing? Any difference when cutting food?


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## Nemo (Jan 17, 2018)

Benuser said:


> My only reason for going to finer stones is to get a better deburring. I only rarely perform a full progression. Much more commonly a full sharpening on a 400, stropping and deburring on a 800, deburring only on a 3k or higher. No reason to polish out all the scratches of the previous stone, at least not with double-bevelled as used in Western cuisine with a lot of board contact.
> As with cheap soft stainless: 220 and 400, deburring with a green ScotchBrite sponge. No refinement with Vics.


Benuser, when you say "deburring", are you talking about strokes along the length of the edge? Or srtopping followed by those strokes? Or something else?


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## Benuser (Jan 18, 2018)

Nemo said:


> Benuser, when you say "deburring", are you talking about strokes along the length of the edge? Or srtopping followed by those strokes? Or something else?



Longitudinal strokes.


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## Benuser (Jan 18, 2018)

unprofessional_chef said:


> Assuming Japanese knives, how is your edge better deburring on 800 vs 3K or higher? What differences have you noticed in testing? Any difference when cutting food?



Better deburring offers a more durable edge.


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## mack (Jan 18, 2018)

Benuser said:


> Better deburring offers a more durable edge.



That's the reason why I use the Bogdan-System, the edge is a lot more durable because I'm able to put a perfectly closed edge on my knives.


Mack.


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## Nemo (Jan 18, 2018)

Benuser said:


> Longitudinal strokes.


Just to clarify, does this mean that you essentially sharpen only on your coarsest stone? Then you refine the edge only by performing logitudinal deburring strokes on progressively finer stones?


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## Bensbites (Jan 18, 2018)

mack said:


> That's the reason why I use the Bogdan-System, the edge is a lot more durable because I'm able to put a perfectly closed edge on my knives.
> 
> 
> Mack.



What is the bogdan system. I a few minutes on google did not enlighten me. 

Thanks in advance


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## Benuser (Jan 18, 2018)

Nemo said:


> Just to clarify, does this mean that you essentially sharpen only on your coarsest stone? Then you refine the edge only by performing logitudinal deburring strokes on progressively finer stones?



No, I strop (=make edge trailing strokes) before deburring.


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## mack (Jan 18, 2018)

Bensbites said:


> What is the bogdan system. I a few minutes on google did not enlighten me.
> 
> Thanks in advance



Hi! 
I know that the Bogdan System was discussed here hard before I started to be part of this community. And I also know that there are different opinions, some think it's great (as I do), some think it's not necessary (or a total overkill). Bogdan is the name of an ukrainian tinkerer who built a angel-controlling system which also allows to reduce the weight of the knife while sharpening. I don't know wheater it's allowed to post youtube-links here or not, so just search there for bogdan. 

The system is expensive (~500$) (and extremely hard to find), but for ME (which is important to underline) it works fantastic. But there are also some cheaper systems which help controlling the angle.

But I think I have to stop the Bogdan-posts, some may find it inappropriate here (especially written by a new member like me), which is not my purpose.


Mack.


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## chinacats (Jan 18, 2018)

mack said:


> Hi!
> I know that the Bogdan System was discussed here hard before I started to be part of this community. And I also know that there are different opinions, some think it's great (as I do), some think it's not necessary (or a total overkill). Bogdan is the name of an ukrainian tinkerer who built a angel-controlling system which also allows to reduce the weight of the knife while sharpening. I don't know wheater it's allowed to post youtube-links here or not, so just search there for bogdan.
> 
> The system is expensive (~500$) (and extremely hard to find), but for ME (which is important to underline) it works fantastic. But there are also some cheaper systems which help controlling the angle.
> ...




I don't see any reason not to share what works for you. I for one have no time for any type of jig setup but that is me so others may find what helps you to work for them as well. This community is about sharing... as long as you're not pushing something that you're selling then people won't take offense. And same would hold true for videos of said system.


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## panda (Jan 18, 2018)

i should do a 'make knife usable: a sharpening video by panda' for those of us who can't be arsed to spend more than a few minutes on this task. and then i would take donations for saving them time and boredom.


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## HRC_64 (Jan 18, 2018)

panda said:


> i should do a 'make knife usable: a sharpening video by panda' for those of us who can't be arsed to spend more than a few minutes on this task. and then i would take donations for saving them time and boredom.



+1 you should do it ! I think there is a demand for minimalist sharpening techniques / tips/ tricks


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## StonedEdge (Jan 18, 2018)

Dull is sharp enough if you only eat jello.


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## galvaude (Jan 18, 2018)

For a minimalist sharpening video checkout Joe Caltons sharpening video the guy doesnt noodle around, DMT coarse and thats it, works for him.

The DMT coarse leaves a surprisingly thin and clean apex for such low grit.


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## aaamax (Jan 18, 2018)

HRC_64 said:


> +1 you should do it ! I think there is a demand for minimalist sharpening techniques / tips/ tricks



A thread starter right there.
But no matter how quick I try to be, I always spend way more time than I should. It's just too damn fun. Try explaining that to a non-enthusiate, lol.


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## StonedEdge (Jan 18, 2018)

aaamax said:


> A thread starter right there.
> But no matter how quick I try to be, I always spend way more time than I should. It's just too damn fun. Try explaining that to a non-enthusiate, lol.


On top of the fun, for me there's always that little voice in the back of my head going "but is it as sharp as it can be? Is this the cleanest edge you can muster? Is it 100% deburred?" Which leads to a 5 min touch up becoming a 20 minute experiment.

All in good fun.


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## K813zra (Jan 18, 2018)

Hah, you both hit the nail on the head. Non enthusiasts think I am ill.


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## Nemo (Jan 18, 2018)

Benuser said:


> No, I strop (=make edge trailing strokes) before deburring.


Thanks for the feedback.


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## Nemo (Jan 18, 2018)

Bensbites said:


> What is the bogdan system. I a few minutes on google did not enlighten me.
> 
> Thanks in advance


Search for "Bogdan Skorpion knife sharpening jig".


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## Benuser (Jan 18, 2018)

Nemo said:


> Thanks for the feedback.



My pleasure, Nemo.


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## Nemo (Jan 18, 2018)

mack said:


> But I think I have to stop the Bogdan-posts, some may find it inappropriate here (especially written by a new member like me), which is not my purpose.
> Mack.



Not at all, Mack and I'm sorry if my post about the "Bogdan wars" gave you that impression.

I was really just a flippant remark recalling a series of robust discussions that were had about sharpening jigs including the Bogdan system about a year ago. I hope it hasn't given you the impression that it is a taboo subject.

As I said, I'm actually kinda interested to see it in action despite the fact that I enjoy freehanding (even if I'm still a relative novice).


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