# Scared of Sharpening?



## [email protected]

I am NOT scared of sharpening my first Japanese knives. But I do want some moral support. I've tried sharpening 3 times in the past, and never made it to the end completely (my patience ran out, or didn't set aside enough time). The total time spent on sharpening is probably less than 30 minutes. 

I'm planning to do some sharpening sometime this week.... 

Is there anyone who has never tired sharpening before? I need a good, strong moral support here!


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## schanop

Yes, go Sarah. And into Natural stone too. So soothing.


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## Deckhand

[email protected] said:


> I am NOT scared of sharpening my first Japanese knives. But I do want some moral support. I've tried sharpening 3 times in the past, and never made it to the end completely (my patience ran out, or didn't set aside enough time). The total time spent on sharpening is probably less than 30 minutes.
> 
> I'm planning to do some sharpening sometime this week....
> 
> Is there anyone who has never tired sharpening before? I need a good, strong moral support here!



Lol I think Jon may be able to help.


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## Andrew H

Every time I thin a new knife for the first time. It's a sad day to see the finish and geometry change. :sad0:


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## markenki

Just do it!


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## Keith Neal

It is intimidating at first. But everyone goes through the same fear. You have the best coach there is, and in no time you will be a master (mistress?).

Jump in there and enjoy!


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## lowercasebill

my first japanese knives were tosagata .. inexpensive but still blue and white steel. i practiced on them for a year and then took daves course before i bought my first $$$ knife. your problem as i see it is ... you dont have much in the way of inexpensive knives ... however you have a solution [roll over in bed and look at it ] pick a knife .. do your best and if you screw it up Jon will fix it.. with out complaint or the rest of us will have at him :viking:. like learning to drive a stick shift car ,,,, often a non relative is the best teacher... i took me a year .. good luck .. my annual meeting is in LA this year ,, not sure how far the venue is from you but i am hoping to visit your store . 

p.s. i am a fairly unremarkable old guy but we met twice at warrens .


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## TB_London

First time I sharpened freehand with stones I was a bit daunted as I'd only done woodwork tools before, but knowing what sharp is really helped. First time I sharpened a woodwork tool I used a jig, so I guess I didn't really have that sharpening epiphany. The fact that I could make a piece of steel in my shed shave hardwood but my kitchen knives struggled with food was what made me first look into decent knives.
You can do it, you have resources available that most of us would dream of when we started out. Plus if you screw it up you have someone who can fix it for you, a rare and valuable safety net 
Good luck


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## Namaxy

So there's these good videos available on sharpening....I forget the website but they're based in Cali. Affiliated with some kind of knife society too. The guys name is Joe, or Jeb....or something with a J......I'll bet someone here could help you find them.....


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## JBroida

YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes 

I'm here to help, but this is all her


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## JasonD

I think it was more the "reset button" that you can provide if she actually does mess something up. As far as teaching her during the actual sharpening, good luck. 

Sara, as a new sharpener I'd like to refer you to these really great tutorial videos. They should help answer most of your questions and get you going in the right direction.


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## DwarvenChef

JBroida said:


> YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes
> 
> I'm here to help, but this is all her



I'm so with you on this one... Now I just get the reminder now and again... "this knife is getting dull" "Ok" She will let it turn into a butterknife and buy another before she will sharpen it.

Koodoes to Sara for wanting to learn  More power to ya


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## Namaxy

JBroida said:


> YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes
> 
> I'm here to help, but this is all her



Hehe, reminds me of giving my wife golf lessons


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## EdipisReks

Andrew H said:


> Every time I thin a new knife for the first time. It's a sad day to see the finish and geometry change. :sad0:



no, it's a good thing! you are making it your own! i think i'll be able to sharpen again in another week, and the first thing i plan to do is really thin my Kochi, to make it cut how it did when brand new. 

you can do it, Sara!


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## Wagstaff

No envy, no meanness, no fear.

That is all.


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## Andrew H

EdipisReks said:


> no, it's a good thing! you are making it your own! i think i'll be able to sharpen again in another week, and the first thing i plan to do is really thin my Kochi, to make it cut how it did when brand new.
> 
> you can do it, Sara!



I am making it my own, that's the problem.


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## EdipisReks

Andrew H said:


> I am making it my own, that's the problem.



oh, hah!


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## [email protected]

oh wow! a great moral support here! thank you guys so much  ! I agree with all of you... I can always be fearful of sharpening, but f i were to learn about it, it really has to start from somewhere... yes, i might quickly be a sharpening ohimesama (Japanese princess)! 

i will take a lot of photos and write up a blog again when I do sharpening... if Jon is a bully or meanie, I will tell on you guys! :viking: haha! yay for the KKF moral support <3


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## Taz575

Sharpening seems scary at first, but once you try it, it's not too bad. To learn, I used the Sharpie trick to see where the stone was wearing the steel and also looked at how the blade edge met the stone. If it was too steep, it would cut into the stone, but when the edge is right on the stone, that means it's just about the right angle. I just followed the original bevels at first and then went lower at the next sharpenings to help thin the edge. The only times I scratch a blade is if the blade slips off of the stone at the end of the sweep, but that's only when I am in a rush and not paying attention to what I am doing. If you go too low, it will scratch, but that isn't very common for me.

Take lots of pics!! Maybe have Jon make a video! 

As a last tip, I find I can touch up with a 2K or 5K stone from time to time and not have to do really major sharpening for quite a while if I do the touch ups. Most people also strop as a touch up, too.


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## Eamon Burke

JBroida said:


> YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes



Deal.


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## shankster

JBroida said:


> YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes
> 
> I'm here to help, but this is all her



It would be like teaching her how to drive...not a good idea.


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## tweyland

Practice on a few inexpensive ones first!! You can do it!

~Tad


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## mhlee

tweyland said:


> Practice on a few inexpensive ones first!! You can do it!
> 
> ~Tad



+1 

Start with some of those beater/cheaper knives that Jon has. For me, using a Sharpie, working slowly, and concentrating on the amount of pressure I used and my sharpening motion really helped me improve. 

And always remember - there's nothing that you can do to your knife that Jon can't fix! Good luck! YOU CAN DO IT!!! :doublethumbsup:


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## The hekler

I'm sure everyone was scared there first time. I'm still very new but I have done it before and taken dave's class and am still scared to sharpen, mostly due to screwing up beautiful kasumi finishes on my shiges with scratches. But it's all part of the experience, I'd rather have ratty looking knives that are sharp then some dull ones that are flawless looking. Of course eventually I hope to be able to have the best of both worlds.


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## [email protected]

nooooo I'm not scared anymore! 

I will give it a shot today (or Friday), and I will be a better sharpener than Jon! Then I'll be his "horrible boss"! (this idea - I'll be better than Jon right away - might not be a good sign for being patient for sharpening) :viking:


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## heirkb

It's ok, I don't think that idea can really last all that long given where you are. I remember struggling with a knife for something like 10 minutes at JKI once. Jon came over and fixed the issue in literally one swipe. You really get an appreciation of your newbie-ness, lol.


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## markenki

How did Jon learn to sharpen?


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## EdipisReks

markenki said:


> How did Jon learn to sharpen?



magic.

i went ahead and thinned my Kochi, and got magic (I had chipped it and never fixed it, really, so this was the real fixing), so if I can do it with a half broken hand, anybody can start. 

I'll finish any blades that are started but can't be finished, for the cost of postage, and the promise of a beer if I ever show up there. 

* this is not an advertisement, and I don't really want your knife. This is only for stuff that is half done and nobody else will take, and you are a regular.


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## Gravy Power

My first time sharpening I went with crappy knives and it went very well. Since I've introduced stropping and I seem to end with a dull edge. I think I'm folding the burr over.


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## JBroida

markenki said:


> How did Jon learn to sharpen?



years of mistakes together with a good chef in japan and a lot of time with the sharpening professionals in sakai and knifemakers all across japan


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## [email protected]

JBroida said:


> years of mistakes together with a good chef in japan and a lot of time with the sharpening professionals in sakai and knifemakers all across japan



.... wait! He learned sharpening from Japanese craftsmen, that's very true. But where's the recognition for my translation? 

Through listening to craftsmen and Jon, I have a good sense of what I'm supposed to do, and now I really need to do it and get muscle memory as well. Part of the reason why I think it might be challenging is that I "know" what I'm supposed to do, but it doesn't mean I can physically recreate that "right" image for sharpening. 

I couldn't make time today, so my sharpening will probably take a place on Friday... 


nervous.


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## schanop

Don't be, boss.


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## tk59

JBroida said:


> YOU try telling your wife how to sharpen and let me know how it goes


I must admit, the one moment I felt fear at WCG was when Jon announced that we should all give Sara sharpening advice.


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## mhlee

tk59 said:


> I must admit, the one moment I felt fear at WCG was when Jon announced that we should all give Sara sharpening advice.



Oh, I missed that! Good thing too because that question to me would have probably been met with silence since you were there - I would have just deferred to you. :thumbsup:


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## tk59

Haha. Yeah, I didn't want any part of that one. Jon can take his own lumps, thank you very much.


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## [email protected]

... it's happening today, I think. My nails are relatively short and I don't have ridiculous sized rings on me today. Off to a good start. 

Wish me luck :aikido:


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## Taz575

Next step is to put them in a box with a fake return address and mail them to Jon to have him do them  Don't worry, we won't tell!! :razz:


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## Andrew H

[email protected] said:


> ... it's happening today, I think. My nails are relatively short and I don't have ridiculous sized rings on me today. Off to a good start.
> 
> Wish me luck :aikido:



Good luck! Before and after pics would be really cool...


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## Miles

Have fun!


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## [email protected]

Taz575 said:


> Next step is to put them in a box with a fake return address and mail them to Jon to have him do them  Don't worry, we won't tell!! :razz:



very impressed with your idea... This is going to be my safety net.


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## schanop

Will you use THE WHEEL?


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## Taz575

Yeah, use the wheel and then make Jon clean up afterwords!!:idea2:


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## Cutty Sharp

I think it's a great idea to have Sara sharpen. First, then JKI will be able to say things like, 'Would you like yours finished by Jon or our resident Japanese sharpener from Yamagata-ken?' Over time people will probably also assume Jon learnt from Sara. ... It will also keep Sara busy, instead of hiding between the display cases. :thumbsup:



JBroida said:


> years of mistakes together with a good chef in japan and a lot of time with the sharpening professionals in sakai and knifemakers all across japan



That's it!?? :scratchhead: ... Just kidding. Yup, I'd say that that should just about do it!


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## [email protected]

Cutty Sharp said:


> I think it's a great idea to have Sara sharpen. First, then JKI will be able to say things like, 'Would you like yours finished by Jon or our resident Japanese sharpener from Yamagata-ken?' Over time people will probably also assume Jon learnt from Sara. ... It will also keep Sara busy, instead of hiding between the display cases. :thumbsup:
> 
> 
> 
> That's it!?? :scratchhead: ... Just kidding. Yup, I'd say that that should just about do it!



this is the award winning idea... I have a feeling that Jon will be soon spending more time on a beach and cry in the corner...


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## Cutty Sharp

Hmm... Well, my suggestion is that we turn Jon into a &#31379;&#38555;&#26063;. I believe you have a nice glass shop front, don't you? He can observe the passersby.


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## [email protected]

... soon enough he will be jealous with my sharpening skills.


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## Crothcipt

well? How did it go???


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## [email protected]

.... okay, I'm done with one side of a knife. Now ready to go back to sharpening and finishing it!


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