# Blade Thinning Service



## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2014)

One of the most requested services that I perform is blade thinning. Since a knife is basically a wedge (triangular in cross section) it's easy to use and sharpen them to the point that they begin to earn this "wedge" description. This can be caused from improper sharpening, edge damage repair, or simply just from being a thicker knife that's been properly maintained over many years. There comes a point where thinning at just (or above) the edge doesn't work any more and the performance has tanked - this is where I come in. 

What I do is I thin the knife back to what it's thickness once was, or even thinner, down into the edge. The knife is instantly transformed into a cutting machine again, it looks better too, and it is now MUCH easier to sharpen into the future. 

Here's a very typical example of what I do when thinning a gyuto. I hope that you can see the difference in the blade's thickness from the before & after pictures. Again, this is typical, not in anyway a special job and it's typical of what you can have done to your aging knives if interested.


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## Matus (Mar 13, 2014)

Nice job. Both examples make the difference pretty obvious. Did you actually thin the knives all the way up to the spine? How long can one keep doing so - I guess at some point the knife will start to loose its mechanical stability (probably takes many years to get there though)


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## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2014)

Matus said:


> Nice job. Both examples make the difference pretty obvious. Did you actually thin the knives all the way up to the spine? How long can one keep doing so - I guess at some point the knife will start to loose its mechanical stability (probably takes many years to get there though)




Yes it's been thinned all the way to the spine but that's more for appearance's sake, to make it look even. The majority of the thinning was done on the bottom half of the blade. Each knife is different though.

How may times can this be done? I'm unsure, as many as you can get away with I guess.


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## erikz (Mar 13, 2014)

As said obe facebook: really nice Dave


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## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2014)

Thanks Erik


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## Mucho Bocho (Mar 13, 2014)

Dave is it mostly hand work or do you use a belt grinder or other power tools?


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## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2014)

Mucho Bocho said:


> Dave is it mostly hand work or do you use a belt grinder or other power tools?




It's mostly belt grinder work. The only part that is done without power tools is polishing of the choil.


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## dadams80120 (Mar 13, 2014)

Dave, do you need to take the thinning all the way up the knife if you the aesthetics are not a big deal to you? I need to thin my Misono Swedish gyuto but have never done so before. Any tips? If it all goes wrong, you may be having a knife sent to you :yammer:


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## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2014)

dadams80120 said:


> Dave, do you need to take the thinning all the way up the knife if you the aesthetics are not a big deal to you? I need to thin my Misono Swedish gyuto but have never done so before. Any tips? If it all goes wrong, you may be having a knife sent to you :yammer:




You can do it however you like. Obviously getting more off on the lower part is what's necessary usually.


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