# Sharpening Services



## mattrud (Jun 26, 2011)

So I have only every used one sharpening service vg:
and I am not one to start issues or talk a ton of **** but two of my cooks recently bought knives at korin and brought them into work. They both said the saw the sharpening guy there sharpen their knives before they took them home. One girl had used it a bit before I helped here break some fish with the knife and the edge was good, nothing great but good.

The other guys knives were another story. He had never used the knife before. The honesuki was good, again nothing great. The Slicer though was not so great at all. It could barely shave arm hair, and I mean barely. 

You guys have much experience with the many sharpening services out there?


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## 99Limited (Jun 26, 2011)

When I bought my A-Type from "the place which we do not speak", it came sharpened by someone else whom we don't speak of. I was pretty disappointed with the edge. Professional sharpeners like Dave who really have the skills to deliver the finest edges are pretty rare. 

When I lived in Atlanta, I took my knives to a sharpening service that also provided sharpened knives to restaurants. That guy absolutely wreck my knives.


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## tk59 (Jun 26, 2011)

Only sharpening service I've seen (not used) was a guy that apparently shows up at one of the local grocery stores and sharpens on some kind of grinder for cheap. I'm not sure what grit he uses but it doesn't shave well and it's quite toothy. Not sure why he doesn't just invest in a Chef's Choice.


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## rockbox (Jun 26, 2011)

There is only one real knife sharpening service in Austin and they are the guys you make the grambo knife sharpener. For 3 bucks you can get a knife to shave hairs and push cut paper. Comparable to a OOTB job for a decent knife. Not bad for 3 bucks and adequate for 99 percent of the population.


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## Eamon Burke (Jun 26, 2011)

I do NOT understand why services offer such crappy edges. My brother showed me the best work he'd ever seen from the local guy, and it was a cheap gerber outdoor knife. It was a job passable for a cheap gerber, but if that's the best he's done, then I say booooo. Finish comparable to a 320 grit stone by hand, but was done on a machine so it was a bit more useful.

My father gave him a chisel to sharpen and had to send it back 3 times before he returned it with the edge square. Just hold the bloody thing straight.

With the compounds and tools out there today, you can take a knife off a high grit belt and finish the dang thing by hand and it'd make no mess and would take like 2 minutes. Baffles me.


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## EdipisReks (Jun 26, 2011)

99Limited said:


> WI was pretty disappointed with the edge.


 
well, at least the knife was delivered with a bevel.


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## 99Limited (Jun 26, 2011)

EdipisReks said:


> well, at least the knife was delivered with a bevel.



I guess I should be grateful for that based on my results at thinning the shoulder. ullhair:


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## MadMel (Jun 27, 2011)

I've tried 3 here in Singapore. 2 were crap... they used belt grinders and literally grounded the bevel paper thin.. Yes you get really sharp edges and ease of re-sharpening but at the expense of the knife itself... The other was much much better. Kinda the only guy here who is anything close to a real knife sharpener lol.


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## Vertigo (Jun 27, 2011)

We used to have an old vagabond show up at the back door and sharpen our stable in exchange for breakfast. Used a small portable grinder and put the kind of edges on our knives you'd expect getting 20 done for a $10 plate of food. 

The other service I've used, besides Dave's and Ken's, was another local guy with a shop, who used belts to convex the edge on our old pre-WW2 carbon slicer. It wasn't the epitome of sharp, but its lasted for ages.


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