# damn thats sharp experiences



## memorael (Sep 20, 2011)

Anyone ever had to sharpen a knife for a fellow knife nut that thought he was good at sharpening stuff only to find that the edge you put on his knife is like 100x better than what he is accustomed too? Share your story, mines goes like this:

I was cooking at this kitchen and one of the chefs there saw I had a wa handle knife and so the knife chat started. He said he was ultra proud of having the sharpest edges in all the kitchens he has worked... Grabbed his knife and I was like nice... (right).

So one day he comes in and his knife has a chip, I told him I could fix it and so I did, what I didn't tell him is I ran the knife through all the usual Memo special progression, when he got the knife I told him I had done the Memo special, he gave me THE LOOK, until he touched the edge. I remember seeing his thumb pop like an overly juicy grape. The look on his face PRICELESS. :eek2:


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## mr drinky (Sep 20, 2011)

That hasn't happened to me yet, but when I got my first Martell sharpened knife and my first Carter, it was the other way around. I felt as if I was on the sharpening short bus. 

k.


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## tk59 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yeah. Unfortunately, I don't know anybody around here that raves about their own sharpening prowess...


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## Justin0505 (Sep 20, 2011)

I've sharpened knives for a few non-knife knut friends and usually the reactions are pretty funny (mixture of fear and awe), but they best was when they actually changed the storage location of the knives from buried in a drawer-o-kitchen-crap to in a bay window behind the sink... And they asked that I post a warning note so that their stupid roomate wouldn't accidentally dismember himself.
It's easy to impress people when they've never even seen a knife cut paper before...


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## tk59 (Sep 20, 2011)

Actually, I did have one friend of mine get totally pissed at me for having sharp knives around and little kids in the house. She said it was like letting your kids play with guns and she didn't want her kids anywhere near them either...


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## mr drinky (Sep 20, 2011)

My aunt just told me a few days ago that after getting her knives sharpened once, she quickly went about dulling them because she didn't like how they felt sharp. She was used to how they cut when dull. 

k.


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## macmiddlebrooks (Sep 20, 2011)

mr drinky said:


> My aunt just told me a few days ago that after getting her knives sharpened once, she quickly went about dulling them because she didn't like how they felt sharp. She was used to how they cut when dull.
> 
> k.



I feel you on this.....makes me sad to go to work somedays.


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## sachem allison (Sep 20, 2011)

macmiddlebrooks said:


> I feel you on this.....makes me sad to go to work somedays.


 
right there with you. My guys asked me to sharpen their knives on my stones, i got them mirror polished and gorgeous, they test it out and smiled and then put them an a 220 grit carborundum because it didn't feel right to them. yet they try to steal my knives every chance they get. so sad:sad0:


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## Mike (Sep 20, 2011)

tk59 said:


> Actually, I did have one friend of mine get totally pissed at me for having sharp knives around and little kids in the house. She said it was like letting your kids play with guns and she didn't want her kids anywhere near them either...



Isn't it great how people like to shift responsibility? My wife and I taught our boys from a young age how to handle both guns and knives. They are now 9 and 13 and they both handle tools and weapons better than the majority of adults I've met (keep in mind, this goes for my military experience too). Much like everything else, people would rather avoid things they perceive as dangerous rather than taking the time to learn, teach or understand the correct way to handle them. Heck if I had a dollar for every comment people have made in regards to my boys growing up with pitbulls, guns, knives and power tools!  Ok. Rant over.


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## Eamon Burke (Sep 20, 2011)

1. Working with a sorta-sharp knife is actually a different skillset from working with edges that are truly sharp. I've seen guys do things I can't do, because my knives are too sharp. If I did that, I'd hack my finger off. That said, there is stuff I do that they can't...and my food stays fresh longer.

2. People worried about kids and knives...my daughter has spent 2 years in a house full of shaving-sharp objects, and the worst injury she ever got was one she garnered courtesy a hardwood floor(fell off a chair, 28 forehead stitches). The sharp knives are on the wall. She knows she isn't allowed to reach on the counter, because she can't see up there. I'd much rather my kid grab a 270 Yanagi and cut the **** out of their hand than grab a container and knock a pot of boiling water on to themselves.

3. I've yet to get good feedback from anyone about my edges, except from Colin. Every other person has just said something amounting to "its very sharp", which doesn't help, or mean a whole lot. And it's not like I don't ask...


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## memorael (Sep 20, 2011)

Sometimes people talking about how dangerous knives are makes me wonder if they are just talking because they can. I mean I consider irresponsible parents way more dangerous to their kids. I think people sometimes are just plain lazy and rather than take the time to do things right they seem to say something is dangerous and just ignore something that sooner or later they are going to have to deal with.

For example I was a pyromaniac when I was young, and rather than have someone explain to me why fire is dangerous, they just hid the matches. Soon after I found them and I did some dumb things, all because rather than let me play with fire under a supervised condition I had to do it by myself. Luckily no one got hurt.


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## stevenStefano (Sep 20, 2011)

johndoughy said:


> 1. Working with a sorta-sharp knife is actually a different skillset from working with edges that are truly sharp. I've seen guys do things I can't do, because my knives are too sharp. If I did that, I'd hack my finger off. That said, there is stuff I do that they can't...and my food stays fresh longer.



The point about things staying fresher with proper sharp knives is often overlooked I think. There are others I work with who could perhaps cut a little quicker than me, but the things I cut are just nicer and will stay fresher for way longer than anything anyone else cuts. The feel of a cucumber or a tomato cut with a proper sharp knife versus one cut with a blunt Victorinox is totally totally different


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## Eamon Burke (Sep 20, 2011)

stevenStefano said:


> The point about things staying fresher with proper sharp knives is often overlooked I think. There are others I work with who could perhaps cut a little quicker than me, but the things I cut are just nicer and will stay fresher for way longer than anything anyone else cuts. The feel of a cucumber or a tomato cut with a proper sharp knife versus one cut with a blunt Victorinox is totally totally different


 
Yes it is. A sharp set of knives can pay for their sharpening job in a week at a restaurant with any standards for quality. My boss put me in charge of cutting everything that needs being cut at work, for the entire operation, because my tomatoes don't look mealy, my onions aren't giant translucent slabs, my lettuce keeps longer, etc. Try explaining that to the average food service manager.


I want to also add my favorite sharpening story ever. I remember this moment vividly. I had just gotten decent at sharpening and took a guy's knife from the BoH at the sushi bar, a Dexter chinese cleaver. It had chips in it, and he wanted it sharpened. I stupidly rubbed it on a 2k shapton pro(my 2nd stone ever) for about 45 minutes, didn't get all the chips out(duh). But I did sharpen it somewhat. I gave it back and told him I called it quits, and he said, "No, it's very GOOD, guey!" I went to the front and got my Tojiro and had him slice a sweet potato square off the board. Then I gave him mine. After it fell through the potato, he looked at me like someone had pranked him, or he had walked into a surprise magic show. The bleary-eyed stare of childlike confusion was the best reaction I've ever gotten to a knife I sharpened.


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## aaronsgibson (Sep 20, 2011)

Have to love stories like this. Had one about a week ago. The head was getting ready to do some prep next to me so I asked him if he wanted to use one of mine. (I was wanting to test out a new stone, so I needed a dull knife) He basically jumped at the chance. The knife in question is a 240 TKC, which had only been stropped for the past two weeks (used at work and home lightly, so not talking fresh off the stone) But anyways. So he starts using it and after a few minutes I see him leave real quick. I didn't think to much of it so went back to my prep. He comes back a minute later putting a band-aid on. The sous asked him what happened, and it turns out that he poked himself with the tip, (Absolutely none of our house knives have any sort of tip or point) So after that was all over he comes over and says that, that was he finest knife he ever used, and how sharp it was. I almost didn't want to tell him that it had been used for the past while... almost.  he then gave me a slightly funny look when I said that it could be better.


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## memorael (Sep 20, 2011)

Another cool thing that people commented while I was in school is that when I sharpened some of my peers knives, they ALWAYS ended up cutting part of their fingernails off or some knuckle meat... That generation sure knows how to properly tuck their fingers.


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## G-rat (Sep 20, 2011)

This is highly true. IT is much more effective to teach someone in a calm way why something is dangerous or what the proper way to do something is than to fly off the handle and take away the supposed source of the problem. Only thing I would add though is that sometimes people just do dumb stuff because they can or because they don't care about the consequences.


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## ThEoRy (Sep 20, 2011)

About the Michael Rader pass around blade Eamon said this..



johndoughy said:


> I got it with a really hair-popping edge, it push cut paper like crazy. I was humbled because I felt that whoever sharpened this must be far better than I am.


 
:O
Thanks, coming from someone like you who truly knows what sharp really is that meant a lot to me.

I get strange looks all the time when people use my knives and say "wow thats sharp" and I'm like, "meh I haven't sharpened that thing in weeks."


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## mc2442 (Sep 20, 2011)

Now that is just funny Mr. Drinky. The edit reason was that you were drunk.......and the edit time stamp was 10:55.....a.m.


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## mr drinky (Sep 21, 2011)

...and on a Tuesday.


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## Zwiefel (Jul 29, 2012)

Mike said:


> Isn't it great how people like to shift responsibility? My wife and I taught our boys from a young age how to handle both guns and knives. They are now 9 and 13 and they both handle tools and weapons better than the majority of adults I've met (keep in mind, this goes for my military experience too). Much like everything else, people would rather avoid things they perceive as dangerous rather than taking the time to learn, teach or understand the correct way to handle them. Heck if I had a dollar for every comment people have made in regards to my boys growing up with pitbulls, guns, knives and power tools!  Ok. Rant over.



+1 Couldn't agree more. Teaching children about these things, and letting them understand when/how to handle them removes the mystery and taboo. One of my mentors with firearms starting letting his children touch his when he was cleaning them and they were disassembled...then they graduated to helping clean them...and after that to using them. This taught them that these things are about responsibility first, and everything else second.


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## K-Fed (Jul 29, 2012)

From the sb1 pass around:

Me:
Thanks Robin
I sharpened it on the naniwa akamon 1k red brick and a sweet little light nakayama karasau, finished and stropped on 3 micron natural diamond, and 1 mincron poly crystaline diamond. It's basically the edge I put on most of my knives for work, so no more work went into it than usual. =)

RobinW:
Cool! I haven't used it yet, but the edge seems very sharp (did the three finger, cut som post-its etc behind a closed office door ()). You have some serious skills!

This the only feedback I've gotten off the forum though the guys at work call me the knife whisperer or dr. Edge. Must be doing something right.


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## TB_London (Jul 29, 2012)

At a recent UK forum meet down the pub it was one of the guys birthdays so we took a cake and the kitchen brought it out for us with a knife. I had my stones with me for people to see and have a try on so I asked the kitchen if they minded me sharpening their knife. They said fine, so I went through a quick 400, 1k, strop on a 5k progression and then gave it back to them. Few minutes later all the guys came out of the kitchen to find out what I had done as they'd not seen a knife that sharp, it was funny seeing them all come out in a pack. Ended up sharpening 3 more knives for them, and as a thank you got a plate of food. They were just cheap victorinox alikes so they weren't ridiculously sharp either....


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## bieniek (Jul 30, 2012)

Sharpened misono swedish carbon for my chef. The first use he chopped half of thumbnail off. He have decent collection of knives and definitely have some knife skills, just is not used to working with "extra sharpness"


Owner of company ordered V2 yoshikane damaskus. Knife came with broken tip... He said to me, "its very sharp out of the box". 
So I just told him "I shall fix the tip" - and thought to myself - and'll show you sharp 
Next time I showed him what this knife does to tomatoes, he was so excited he had some friend chefs coming over to throw tomatoes on that knife. 

But the best moment was when, week after that, he was just prepping small tapas and chopping spring onions with that blade. 
He just stopped halfway, and stared a while on the blade in disbelief 

:rofl2:


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## JanusInTheGarden (Jul 30, 2012)

If anyone needs a show-a-knife-nut-what-sharp-is experience then please feel free to look me up if you're in the NY area (I'll even go down to the city). Judging by these posts, I think I might be performing in the "pretty sharp but lots of room for improvement" category. Just give me a week or two, I'm between homes, shall we say. Might just need to send it in to Dave now that I'm so much closer to him.


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## NO ChoP! (Jul 30, 2012)

I had this cat start out in the kitchen, and was very proud of his beat to hell Shun Classic Santoku. It had several chips, a broken tip, scratches everywhere, etc... I cut him early, and told him I would "touch up" his knife for him... well, I fixed the tip, polished out all the scratches to a nice luster, polished the bolster and end cap, removed the chips, thinned it out, installed a nice mirrored bevel, oiled up the handle; better than new! When I returned it to him, I think he didn't believe it was the same knife....


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## VoodooMajik (Jul 31, 2012)

I enjoy reactions I get when I test edges after sharpening them at work on a slow day. Nothing sepcial even. 1k and 4k. I'm looking at Dave's core set and need a base..

Cutting with a blended bevel for the first time was a good one for myself, Managing some success in maintaining/duplicating the results.


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## macmiddlebrooks (Jul 31, 2012)

After using several Konosuke's in W1, W2 and HD over the past year and becoming proficient at sharpening... I haven't had many "Wow" moments recently. Until today, when I put a fresh edge on my new CCK cleaver, stropped it and started cutting some shallots. I seriously had to stop and say "[email protected]#$%". That just blew my mind.


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## Crothcipt (Jul 31, 2012)

When I started sharpening I would have my boss try out the edges I was getting. One day he stuck it on his nail like he always does, wasn't paying attention and put a good gash in the nail. He yelled at me screaming how sharp that was. The next week I was sharpening his crappy Wusthof's. I now am known as the sharp maker at work. As much as those guys love the beaters I will be practicing for a life time.


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## Sambar Stag (Apr 28, 2014)

Last year I bought a new Mora Ice Auger (used for ice fishing). I took it out of the box and noted the plastic cover on the blade with a yellow- Caution Extremely Sharp Swedish Steel- sticker on it. I thought Humph, I know what sharp is; ain't no way this lump of steel with an edge angle of about 70 degrees can be as sharp as any of my fine knives.
I proceeded to do a sort of back-hand unsupported 3-finger test on that lame looking edge to test it- Holy ****! It took three bandaids, one on each finger to stop the bleeding.


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## LKH9 (Apr 29, 2014)

Zwiefel said:


> +1 Couldn't agree more. Teaching children about these things, and letting them understand when/how to handle them removes the mystery and taboo. One of my mentors with firearms starting letting his children touch his when he was cleaning them and they were disassembled...then they graduated to helping clean them...and after that to using them. This taught them that these things are about responsibility first, and everything else second.



These cases remind me of watching some documentaries where the native kids used bow and arrow to hunt and they were also carrying huge machetes. Modern parents will just teach us these are DANGER, STAY AWAY!


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