Learned a knife sharpening trick from an old pro that blew my mind

I was at a kitchen supply shop last Tuesday and this retired chef, must have been 70 years old, saw me buying a new whetstone. He struck up a conversation and told me I was making a huge mistake with my technique. Apparently I was using too much water and not letting the stone soak long enough before starting. He showed me right there in the store how to feel for the burr on the blade edge, something I never could get right watching YouTube videos. The trick was to run your thumb perpendicular to the edge, not along it, and you can feel that tiny ridge of metal. I tried it on my chef's knife at home and got a sharper edge in 10 minutes than I had in months of trying. Has anyone else gotten good knife sharpening advice from someone who learned before the internet was around?

2 comments

2 Comments

reesel5013d ago

Old timer advice really is hard to beat. I had the same problem with forming a burr until a guy at a farmers market showed me the same trick. Told me to quit wetting the stone like I was trying to grow rice and just let it drink for a good 15 minutes first. The difference was night and day, my knife went from barely cutting a tomato to shaving hair off my arm. Also found out I was pushing way too hard, that old pro said let the weight of the blade do the work. Still use that method every time I sharpen now, no videos needed.

kellys7813d ago

Oh man, yes! That soaking tip is legit. I used to just splash some water on my stones and start grinding away, big mistake. Letting them actually soak for a solid 15 minutes made a world of difference for me too, the stone just feels more consistent the whole time. And yeah, pushing too hard is such an easy trap to fall into, you think you need to muscle through it. It's wild how much better it works when you just trust the stone and the blade's own weight.