# Sharpening Global Knives



## steevjp (Aug 6, 2020)

Hi All

I’ve a set of global knives and they have a very dull edge. I don’t have the money to buy global recommended stones so bought a shanzu 1000/6000 waterstone to try and sharpen them up a bit, no idea how good or bad they are is ive never used stones before.

After soaking the stone for 10 minutes and trying multiple times the knives seem duller than when I started. I think I should have maybe bought a stone below 1000 but also having a problem maintaining the 15 degree angle suggested.

I have the global knife guides and have used those too but I still cannot get these knives sharp and I am not sure why, and tips would be appreciated.


----------



## Benuser (Aug 6, 2020)

Use a permanent marker and a loupe to find out where you're actually abrading steel. Quite likely you're far from having reached the very edge. 
As the Globals come out of the factory with a very convexed edge — almost without a bevel — the first stone sharpening requires the removal of a lot of steel if you want to make straight bevels of it. You will need a very coarse stone and a lot of time. 
Better send it out for this first sharpening. So you get edges you can easily maintain. That being said, the steel is one of the most unpleasant to sharpen. Burrs popping up, carbides breaking out. No fun.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

Thanks Benuser: doesnt sound like a fun job at all.


----------



## Benuser (Aug 7, 2020)

You're most welcome, Steve. Thank you for taking the bad news as you do.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

haha, I did have a little cry, feel like i wasted money on the whetstone now, i had them sharpened some time ago, a guyu came around with a machines and they were razor sharp, they started to dull again quite quickly though.


----------



## Benuser (Aug 7, 2020)

steevjp said:


> haha, I did have a little cry, feel like i wasted money on the whetstone now, i had them sharpened some time ago, a guyu came around with a machines and they were razor sharp, they started to dull again quite quickly though.


That’s a new element. So, you're not dealing with the factory edge any longer. That's rather encouraging. If you want to give it a try, a few suggestions:
You may follow the existing bevel. Colour it with permanent marker and start a very low angle to abrade steel behind the edge. Little by little, you raise the spine and get closer to the very edge. Verify with a loupe. It wouldn't surprise me if you were to reach the very edge only at a far higher angle than the 15° you had in mind. Go on until all the paint has gone. You now should feel a very obvious burr on the opposite side. 
Go on at the other side and start again at a low angle, behind the edge. 
When you've reached the very edge from the other side, again, all paint should be gone. Both bevels meet, and now a clear burr has appeared on the other side — the one where you started. 
Now comes the most important point: getting rid of the burr. 
It has to get abraded with a very light pressure. Otherwise, it only folds without getting reduced. Or, even worse, it gets abraded but in the same time a new one is being raised side. So, very light strokes. 
The quality of the deburring is by far the most important factor in edge retention. And the steel used by Global doesn't help much. 
Sharpening is no rocket science. A century ago, almost every man sharpened his own razor. Farmers used to sharpen their own scythes. 
There're plenty of videos about sharpening, some good, most of them not so. A very reliable source:








Japanese Knife Imports


This is the official channel of Japanese Knife Imports www.JapaneseKnifeImports.com [email protected]




www.youtube.com


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

Ah, this is encouraging then, I will do this a bit later today. I could feel no burr yesterday when i tried it but i was probably doing it wrong,

What is a loupe? and ill check out that youtube channel


----------



## Benuser (Aug 7, 2020)

steevjp said:


> Ah, this is encouraging then, I will do this a bit later today. I could feel no burr yesterday when i tried it but i was probably doing it wrong,
> 
> What is a loupe? and ill check out that youtube channel


----------



## inferno (Aug 7, 2020)

i sharpen lots of globals. i usually start with a coarse stone, shapton glass or pro 220. or coarse diamond like atoma 400. 
or just a 150-240p sandpaper on a piece of wood (dry). this is where 90% of the work is done. then off to the 1k then 2 or 3k. if i strop i strop on cardboard.


----------



## Kawa (Aug 7, 2020)

I'm being honest here: sharpening knives is very simple, but it isn't easy.
It sounds like, according to your opening post, that you are very new to hand sharpening. If you had a little panic moment (little cry) after you didnt improve your dull knife, that might be because you underestimated how hard it is to get a good edge for the very first few times.

Although what benuser says is 100% true, i feel like (as a starter) you can read and watch as many info that you can find, you simply cant reproduce what they are saying.

'Raise a burr' --> Why the .. am I not seeing a burr?
'Important to keep angle consistent' --> yeah ofcourse, how the .. do I do this?
'sharpie helps you see where you abbraded' --> I see i was on too high/low angle, but I thought i was at the same angle... what the f...

etc etc

You have to start. Start practising. You will make multiple unintended edges on your knife. Go back, start over. Sharpening is also a game of patience.
You don't have to make hours, you have to make weeks, months. Sharpen every knife you can get your hand on.
When the knife is sharper then before you sharpened, you succeeded. You will improve over time and what you find is sharp to you now, is badly sharpened to you in a year.

Remeber that what most people in here call 'dull' is razor sharp in the eyes of a student with his kitchen drawer knives..
1000 gritt may be too fine of a gritt to start if your knife is really dull or if you allready made multiple edges. Prepare to start over a lot of times and dont be afraid to start on your coarsed stone again.


----------



## Kawa (Aug 7, 2020)

steevjp said:


> Ah, this is encouraging then, I will do this a bit later today. I could feel no burr yesterday when i tried it but i was probably doing it wrong,
> 
> What is a loupe? and ill check out that youtube channel



Then you probably were too flat on your stone (too low angle). The very very apex of your edge wasn't grinded.
The good thing is you probably didnt hit the knife too high! Or you would have felt a burr immediately.

If you are not sure what a burr feels like: if you have a very cheap knife (10 knives for 5 bucks officeknife or so) do a few passes on an angle you are certainly off that it is way too high.
Then feel on the other side with your fingertips or thumb (move from left to right side of the blade, dont do heel to tip cause thats a cutting motion and you will cut yourself).
Better: feel both sides: one side is smooth, other side has a 'sharp feeling ridge'.
Do the same high angle shaprening on the other side, and now that side feel smooth and the other side has the ridge. Thats your burr.


----------



## cotedupy (Aug 7, 2020)

What @inferno said!

I spent a huge amount of time trying to figure Globals out. You really need to sort them on coarse stones. The factory bevel is horrible to sharpen.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

yeah ive never sharpened a thing in my life, i am not even familiar with some of the terms being used here so I am proper green to this. Kinda loathe to buy a course stone when I dont even know if this is something ill continue with and may jut end up shelling out for it to be done, not as satisfying maybe but less frustrating maybe... there certainly seems to be a billion things that I never thought of. I thought ahh, kinfe, stone, sharpen... how ignorant of me haha


----------



## inferno (Aug 7, 2020)

just get a few sheets of 150-240p sandpaper then. attach it to something flat-ish and go to work. it will cost you 1€£$ for 2-3 sheets at most.


----------



## kayman67 (Aug 7, 2020)

When I read about the difficulties with Global, I always wonder why haven't I seen this. I imagine we develop edges in a very different way. At some point I even started to cut lots of cardboards just to show that they still shave hair or slice a tomato after. And they always did. Never saw such low grits in their lives, either. 
There are some knives/alloys that seem to notorious for being hard to sharpen and never seen them like that.


----------



## inferno (Aug 7, 2020)

the only problem i've seen with globals is that they are quite soft aus-6 steel (55hrc measured in a lab), and therefore they are likely to roll at low angles. 
and they are a bit more "smeary" on the stones. i prefer steels over 60hrc but even aus-8 at 57 (mac standard steel) is quite a bit less smeary on the stones imo. it just feels better and. feels right.

i just do edge leading swipes on the fine stones with globals, alternating sides every swipe. 2-3 minutes after the C stone and its done.


----------



## chiffonodd (Aug 7, 2020)

I have sharpened some globals for a coworker and yeah it's not the best experience on the stones but there's also nothing magical about having to sharpen them. Pretty much did the normal routine:

- edge leading strokes on a 1K to form a burr (feel with finger/finger nail); flip knife and use edge-leading strokes to sharpen the other side, cut off whatever burr has formed;
- then it's just burr removal to make sure there's no burr either side combo of edge leading and edge trailing strokes depending on what's working
- repeat at 3K but with fewer/lighter strokes

End scene. Don't go too low of an angle because the steel can't handle it. Aim for something kinda conservative but still serviceable. Don't expect miracles, but you can end up with a knife that's perfectly pleasant to cut with, at least for a while.


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

I'm so glad I've sent back this knife... sorry OP!


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

Initially i was using the guides within I think are set at 15 degrees, I wanted to visually just see that angle, and then i try not to use the guides but keep the 15 degrees, I do know that when Ive been doing it i find it imposible to keep the knife at theat angle and ive watched number of videos taht show that technique, I do tend to go slowly though.

I tried cutting an onion today after sharpening one and I could slice it pretty thinly but it feel that the knife could be a bit sharper. Does have to be ultra optimal, its jsut me and my missus cooking for 2

I thought I read that the steel for them was very hard.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

ModRQC said:


> I'm so glad I've sent back this knife... sorry OP!



lol, thats OK, ive had them a long time, i must admit (not that I know anything about kitchen knives) i wouldnt buy them if i had the money now, I find them stupidly expensive, although no idea how they rate price wise around better options


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

Badly, I'm sad to say.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

Lessons learnt I guess, I have them now so just need to make to most of them, dont think I could sell them, they have some marks on them although in realtively good condition, not chips or damage to the cutting edge from what i can tell. They have not been mistreated.


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

I guess we could say that Global are the "tourist trap" of J-knives, while Shun are the "Gift Shop" on the main floor of the hotel...


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

I guess they just have good marketing then to pull the unknowledgable in, Ill look for a thread for recommended knives, never know i may be tempted at some point to chnage


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

I guess you could sell the whole set for enough money to buy yourself better "crucial 3" knives...


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

possibly I have about 6 or 7 (they were actually all bought for me)


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

Marketing wise, effectively, Global and Shun have had that nailed down in good time - they've been selling like crazy since "forever".


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

ModRQC said:


> Marketing wise, effectively, Global and Shun have had that nailed down in good time - they've been selling like crazy since "forever".


yeah ive had these knives a long time, cannot recall how long, but long


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

Now the problem is to find the buyer, and well I guess the final amount will be just enough to buy you a real decent Gyuto.


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

What are the 6-7 knives, just for kicks? And they came with a block?


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

If I think the globals are expensive and i coul dsell all 6 or 7 to get a decent Gyuto (never heard of that) then I guess they are eye wateringly expensive


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

This is them, one is meat holder so dont count as a knife lol

they do need a good clean I can see from this pic









Gyazo







gyazo.com


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

Nah, it's more a question of loss within a fairly knowledgeable secondhand market. Meaning either you find a fish to buy them almost full price, or at least to a decent percentage of their selling point. Thing is, intrinsic value is working against you.

However, if say you can salvage a petty, a paring, a bread knife, a boning - whatever you feel you need and works well with your Globals - then I guess you could have a decent Gyuto anyway out of selling say a 8" Chef, a 10" slicer, and a Santoku. More popular options among neophytes, it might catch on with your FB friends or something.


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

Ok so you could save the petty, the bread, the carving fork because it won't hold much value, and sell a set of 4 that has some appeal. The Chef, overlarge Santoku, Nakiri and tomato, these knives are about 500$CAD on the market. I guess a good 350$US at least. If you can get 200$ US out of it, you have a fairly decent range of very very good Gyutos to chose from. Folks here will lead you to the best choices as per your region and buying power.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 7, 2020)

Thanks.


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 7, 2020)

De nada. Advantage is, while you're trying to sell, you still can use them and (learn to) sharpen them, in turn benefiting in your resell value if you succeed.

For sharpening listen to @Benuser advice. You won't go wrong, the process he describes is incremental and failproof. You'll find the edge, get the burr... and then the deburring game is where you'll have to work until proper.


----------



## cotedupy (Aug 7, 2020)

It's interesting people's different experiences sharpening them. I think a lot of the trouble I have is that the ones I've sharpened are not mine (my in-laws have, I kid ye not, about 30 of the things), they tend to come to me very blunt, sometimes chipped, and having been run through dishwashers their entire life.

My suspicion is that they're naturally quite fat behind the edge, and have quite a convex grind, so when they're in this state it you have to remove quite a lot of steel in order to be able to start sharpening proper. Which is why I pretty much always start on very coarse stones. Just a hunch, I've never looked too closely at it.

So perhaps my issue is as much with the people who often own globals, as it is the knives themselves 

EDIT - And obviously I'm not putting anyone here into that category of person!


----------



## Benuser (Aug 7, 2020)

cotedupy said:


> It's interesting people's different experiences sharpening them. I think a lot of the trouble I have is that the ones I've sharpened are not mine (my in-laws have, I kid ye not, about 30 of the things), they tend to come to me very blunt, sometimes chipped, and having been run through dishwashers their entire life.
> 
> My suspicion is that they're naturally quite fat behind the edge, and have quite a convex grind, so when they're in this state it you have to remove quite a lot of steel in order to be able to start sharpening proper. Which is why I pretty much always start on very coarse stones. Just a hunch, I've never looked too closely at it.
> 
> ...


All perfectly true. But even a well-maintained, thinned Global may cause serious problems due to its steel. Large carbides, clusters of them, in a soft matrix. Hard to raise a burr, often hard to get rid of it. Burrs popping up after half an hour. Chipping — never seen with such a soft steel. Spontaneous chipping, you can't relate to any event. There is a reason this steel has been chosen. It's highly stain resistant and offers a kind of bite normal people will perceive as sharpness. 
Old man speaking here: 
Globals have been introduced half way the eighties. In these days the general public only knew the big German names, thick, heavy and dull.
The Globals were a revelation. Thin, light, sharp out of the box, with a to some appealing, modern design. Easily available. Great marketing. Soft enough to allow common abuse. Users could go on with their poor habits.
Since they are frankly outdated. Much better stainless knives have become available through distance selling, even to the general public.
But for many, Globals have been a first introduction to better knives.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 8, 2020)

Can someone explain carbides please? 

Whilst one of my knives has some damage at the tip (no idea how that happened) the rest have not been mistreated and are not chipped and have never been in a dishwasher. I guess unless you are knowledgeable in the beginning when looking for knives global are an attractive option, they look(ed) good, felt good and were marketed well so you think you are buying into quality (as I had until I made this post lol)


----------



## M1k3 (Aug 8, 2020)

Knifesteelnerds has lots of steel information. Good pictures of carbides. Also did a pretty big edge retention test, among other ones.


----------



## Benuser (Aug 8, 2020)

steevjp said:


> Can someone explain carbides please?
> 
> Whilst one of my knives has some damage at the tip (no idea how that happened) the rest have not been mistreated and are not chipped and have never been in a dishwasher. I guess unless you are knowledgeable in the beginning when looking for knives global are an attractive option, they look(ed) good, felt good and were marketed well so you think you are buying into quality (as I had until I made this post lol)


Carbides are cristalline structures within steel. In the case of stainless steel chromium carbides catch our interest. They are much harder than their environment. During Heat Treatment the maker can influence their formation, especially their size and distribution. Big carbides will make the blade more abrasion resistant but harder to sharpen. If they're both large and unevenly distributed the steel won't hold a fine edge. To a certain degree it's a choice made by the maker which quality he wants to prevail.


----------



## Benuser (Aug 8, 2020)

You've landed on a very strange island, where people have a slightly different way of looking at knives. Globals are decent knives and better than 95% of mankind will ever handle. To me, ease of sharpening and taking and holding a crazy fine edge are very important. Even most professional cooks hardly know what we are speaking about.


----------



## juice (Aug 8, 2020)

Benuser said:


> You've landed on a very strange island, where people have a slightly different way of looking at knives.


"slightly"?


----------



## steevjp (Aug 8, 2020)

haha, it would seem I have, i must admit I was compeltely unprepared for all the detail, i was thinking ive these knives, im struggling with getting them sharp, ahhh a knife form, that'll do, how hard can it be... famous last words


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 8, 2020)

It sure didn’t take long for you to wonder about carbides... slightly different is getting to you already.


----------



## cotedupy (Aug 8, 2020)

As above! Globals are pretty good in the grand scheme of things. (Just no one wang them in the dishwasher then ask me to sharpen them yh?)


----------



## Kawa (Aug 8, 2020)

Benuser said:


> *You've landed on a very strange island, where people have a slightly different way of looking at knives. Globals are decent knives and better than 95% of mankind will ever handle*. To me, ease of sharpening and taking and holding a crazy fine edge are very important. Even most professional cooks hardly know what we are speaking about.



Was about to say something like this.

@OP don't forget the die hard members around here are very 'spoiled' with knowledge. Some tend to debate till the last few percentages about what steel is better and why (part of the strength of this forum, i like it) and with that a general opinion throughout this forum gets established. People search for topics and read this opinion, and with or without own experience to confirm this, they take the side of the forum. Thats how a forum and/or community works, unless there are two sides which are about 50% devided... not the case with globals 

We somethimes forget to put al this 'autistic nitpicking' into perspective.
You can see this in practise when you got overwhelmed with all the information about knives and sharpening. It was way out of your league (no offense) and therefore of little help to you (at this point!), although it is all 100% correct.

In my opinion for now you just have to know: yes, you can get a Global knife very very sharp. That it's harder to achieve then most other steels doesnt really matter for now, it's hard enough to get a good angle on a knife at this point! That is where your gain is: making hours and hours and hours to be able to make a good edge. You will be able to make your knife sharpen then before sharpening and at that point you succeeded. They get sharper every time you sharpen a new knife. Just like anything, you will get better by doing it.
After a while we see a topic which goes something like this: 'I know I have hit the apex, I can feel a burr, but I cant get rid of it.. How come?'
And at that point we might want to point out that Global is kinda harder (unpleasent) to sharpen. For now: abbrade, grind, sharpen, hone, strop, cut, polish and repeat

Till then, Global, Kai Shun are all good quality knives in the hands of 95% of all kitchenknife users.


----------



## inferno (Aug 8, 2020)

The way i see it:

with most steels its more or less a zero sum game this whole thing with sharpening and edgeholding ability.

so for low abrasion resistant steels you spend less time to sharpen, and they need sharpening more often.
1095/blue/white/blue super and so on.

with the high abrasion resistant steels they keep an "acceptable" edge for a lot longer, but when its time to sharpen it also takes a lot longer.
examples are true hss and stainless/powder hss/ss like srs15, r2, s30v and similar

but when you get to the ends of the spectrum its not a zero sum game any more.

i feel that when stainless goes below 57-58-59hrc or so then it will simply not hold an edge for a very long time, *usually, *but it *usually* still takes just as long to sharpen as the higher hrc, more abrasion resistant steels. like vg10 or other high qual stainless at 60+hrc.

with my macs that i've had (aus8) at 57 and 60ish hrc i feel the 57 dont hold an edge for very long but its very fast to get it back to speed. the cryoed ones at 60 is also very fast to sharpen.

but with globals i think they they take at least 50% longer to sharpen than the macs. the steel is softer so you have to be more careful.
and basically in the end you are not getting that time spent sharpening back in edge holding time. you have crossed the tipping point.
so for me personally they are not worth owning.


----------



## Kawa (Aug 8, 2020)

We are getting generously treated with this info 
(Im serious. I sharpen one Global of my dads, which I don't find particulairly more difficult then some other knives, mostly comparing cheap SS. So I have lots to learn to feel the difference between multiple steels, instead of me succeeding or failing the sharpening process)

TS is getting overwhelmed I guess


----------



## inferno (Aug 8, 2020)

i did a test a few years back kawa. i basically ran a cryoed mac (60hrc aus8) and a kurosaki r2 at 63ish hrc to the ground, by cutting cardboard. both were sharpened on the glass 4k as finish stone.

basically i had 2 cardboard boxes, quite big and beefy ones. that i cut into slivers. it was a highly unscientific test. but still a test.

after box 1 both knives would cut paper well and felt sharp.

after box 2, none of the knives cut paper, it would tear. but the kurosaki felt a bit sharp on my fingers.

basically the mac was rounded off and the kurosaki had hundreds of microchips in the edge. but between these it was still sharp.

so i decieded to resharpen them on the 4k only (or was it the 3k i dont remember). and the mac sharpened up in a few minutes, maybe 2-3 minutes.
the kurosaki though, it took at least 20-25 minutes. at least.
---------------

but then again i tried to dull another kurosaki r2 with cardboard. and after maybe 1,5h of constant cutting it was still cutting paper cleanly. and i basically ran out of cardboard. and it had no microchips either. i basically found out that it keeps an edge so long that it doesn't really matter any more.

so it is what it is kinda..


----------



## Kawa (Aug 8, 2020)

I like those kind of tests. Comparing things, making as much variables the same. And then making one variable (there are always more that change...i know) change to see the results.

Do i understand you well that you had 2 different kurosaki knives of R2 steel (but different knives, so knife #1 and knife #2?) that had a very different result while making as much variables the same as possible?
Interessting...


----------



## inferno (Aug 8, 2020)

i think i didn't grind enough out of the new edge on the one that microchipped before starting to us it.
you basically need to grind off metal on new knives since most are sharpened on powertools.
and that means either the very edge was overheated (re-tempered) to decrease the hardness, and then the steel has no strength.
or it was overheated more and then it was simply rehardened (since its air-hardening) at the edge with no temper afterwards (ultra brittle).
or somewhere inbetween.

but its a known phenomenon. it all goes away after a few sharpenings usually.


----------



## Kawa (Aug 8, 2020)

inferno said:


> i think i didn't grind enough out of the new edge on the one that microchipped before starting to us it.
> you basically need to grind off metal on new knives since most are sharpened on powertools.
> and that means either the very edge was overheated (re-tempered) to decrease the hardness, and then the steel has no strength.
> or it was overheated more and then it was simply rehardened (since its air-hardening) at the edge with no temper afterwards (ultra brittle).
> ...



 thats completely new to me. Makes sense though... Thanks for this.

Is that overheathing -or even more- always locally only? Meaning you will always get different edge retention after a few sharpenings (*if* the knife was overheated i mean..)?


----------



## inferno (Aug 8, 2020)

its at the first 0,5-1mm of the edge i would guess. could be less though. but its very common. 
this is why most cheap ss knives in like vg10 get a bad reputation as "chippy". since they are cheap, they factory sharpen on belt grinders...


----------



## kayman67 (Aug 8, 2020)

In theory. Is a well known problem. Some manufacturers are more careful than others, so you might experience different results.


----------



## inferno (Aug 8, 2020)

yeah some makers sharpen on the watercooled spinning stones. and kurosaki is one of them...


----------



## Kawa (Aug 8, 2020)

thanks for this. Something to take into consideration when concluding about how well i did on a job...


----------



## ModRQC (Aug 8, 2020)

Just curioso, but should then those powertool edges be stropped with a mildly aggressive compound, or perhaps touched on like 1-2K stones, early on and with assiduity, if one wants to push back the moment where thinning/sharpening will occur and cause problems? I’m not intending « ideally » but « possibly » with this question? Wouldn’t this slowly get rid of ill-retempered metal while constantly refreshing the matrix? Or be limited or made impossible by which factors?


----------



## kayman67 (Aug 9, 2020)

It does improve the edge, but not to a similar degree.


----------



## TBS19106 (Aug 9, 2020)

I have two Globals--nakiri and petty--and my daughter likes them the best. She says they don't slip in her hand, and aren't too sharp or too dull, but just right (call her Goldilocks). When I sharpen, I start them on a Trizack belt which really resets the bevel and then switch to the #1000 Shapton. I thin there just a bit behind the edge, and then sharpen at the steeper angle that I set with the belt. Works like a charm.


----------



## psfred (Aug 9, 2020)

The difficulty with power sharpening and hard steels is probably impact with the fairly coarse abrasive at high speed. Hard steels are all more likely to crack under those conditions, even with a light touch on the belt, so you have an edge with micro-cracks. Those micro-cracks will grow under stress in use, and result in micro-chips.

Hand sharpen those chips out using fairly fine stones and you have removed the micro-cracks without adding new ones, so the edge is much more stable. 

Coarse abrasives even in hand sharpening can do the same thing -- back 40 years ago I was warned to use only natural stones, preferably Japanese water stones, on high hardness Japanese chisels, and avoid hardwoods with them. Synthetic stones tended to induce stress cracking in the edge, and prying in American hardwoods could pop rather large chunks off the edge. High hardness carbon steel is brittle! Takes an amazing edge for use in softwoods.


----------



## steevjp (Aug 10, 2020)

I am just going to give it another go with the tools that I have here and see how it goes, I am not expecting perfection, just need them to cut meat and veg realtively easily but if it all goes wrong then ill get them sharpened somewhere.


----------



## cotedupy (Aug 10, 2020)

steevjp said:


> I am just going to give it another go with the tools that I have here and see how it goes, I am not expecting perfection, just need them to cut meat and veg realtively easily but if it all goes wrong then ill get them sharpened somewhere.



(Just one word of advice if you do go for getting them sharpened elsewhere- don't go to that place in Pop Brixton. While I'm sure they're great for sharpening certain knives, my wife took a Global to them end of last year and it came back possibly even more blunt than she gave it them.)


----------



## steevjp (Aug 10, 2020)

noted, thanks


----------



## Kawa (Aug 10, 2020)

cotedupy said:


> (Just one word of advice if you do go for getting them sharpened elsewhere- don't go to that place in Pop Brixton. While I'm sure they're great for sharpening certain knives, my wife took a Global to them end of last year and it came back possibly even more blunt than she gave it them.)



Some sharpening services don't even see that a Global is convex at start. 
Some know/see it, but can't handle it, and sharpen it in a V.

I've read stories on other forums where they told that the sharpening service said 'the global knive you sent me was hard to find an angle on'...

I was about to make an account on there to jump in on the discussion, but then I found out they advice eachother to buy Rosenbaum knives or knives of the brand Solingen, and that their knive is still razor sharp after 20 years of use, there is no bennefit between a 5,- euro or 500,- knive, or that they sharpen their knive every month on a honing steel and that it is scary sharp for all their life...
Then i thought, nah I grew out of this (hate to say it). Then again, it was a computerforum with a topic about kitchenknives....makes sense


----------



## Noodle Soup (Aug 10, 2020)

I'm at a loss here. You sharpen Globals like any other knife. They may or may not meet your personal expectations for edge holdings but that doesn't change basic sharpening methods. By the way, I have used a couple of Globals. They were pretty average but not worth a lot of hate.


----------



## D J (Aug 10, 2020)

Hi Steve, I'd just like to say. You are on the right track. Sharpening is a skill, it has to be learned, you have to start, you have to want to learn, I was the same, for me it took a long time, I didn't know anyone to ask for advice, I had no idea of what a burr was or even the basic principles of sharpening. When I decided I wanted to learn this skill. I went to the local hardware store bought a two sided silicon carbide stone, I asked the store attendant for any advice on sharpening, he said...hold the knife at a 45% angle to the stone and rub back and forth... I thought to myself, that sounds like a steep angle but ok. I went home and put 90% edges on a couple of knives, how sad. strangely enough the knives were sharper than before. 
What I'm saying is that we all have to start somewhere. Starting here on this forum is a much better place to start. There is so many knowledgeable people here with some very good advice...my small contribution would be what I had most difficulty learning. Wrist control. If you can watch some good YouTube videos, look at the grip they use to hold the knife. Sometimes the right grip can assist in the "locking of the wrist" this is important for maintaining a consistent angle. Think of your shoulder and elbow as pivot points. When you have the blade on the stone at the angle desired, look at you hand which is holding the knife. Find like a reference spot on your hand such as your knuckle or the highest point of your hand and imagine a line running vertically up from that point. You will improve. It just takes time and patience. Anyway good luck with it.
PS It's very satisfying when you get the results you want


----------

