Knife Sharpening How To Sharpen Knives With A Sharpening Steel Part 2

Knife Sharpening

 

Welcome back this is part 2 in my series of posts about knife sharpening  using a sharpening steel or honing rod.  As stated we use the honing steel in order to realign the blade of our knives or to straighten or true the blade back to it's correct geometry before having to do a full on knife sharpening. Many people over the years have asked me what makes a knife edge go dull? There are many reasons why a knife edge will go dull but, when it comes to knife sharpening it is a matter of returning the edge to it's proper angle and this is also so when it comes to using a honing rod. I will say however that you can only "hone" a knife edge for so long with a honing steel before it is time to do a full on knife sharpening from scratch with multiple stones at multiple grits.

So what is it that causes a knife edge to go dull? What you are cutting dictates how long the blade stays sharp or how long it takes for the blade to go dull. The primary cutting edge of your knife is very thin, remember that the thinner the blade the sharper the blade but, the more susceptible the blade is to rolling, bending and chipping. When you cut something you use either a "push cut" or a "pull cut" and these cuts require pressure to be performed properly. Sometimes we as knife users don't realize how much pressure we are putting on our cutting edges and they will go dull sooner rather than later, because if your knife is sharp and depending on the cutting chore you should just let the edge do the work with the least amount of pressure necessary. A person could end up putting hundreds of pounds of pressure on a knife edge and it is just impossible to keep a knife edge straight. When it comes to knife cuts, vertical cuts put the least amount of  pressure on a knife blade. On the other hand, lateral or horizontal cuts are the hardest on knife edges. So let's summarize: What dulls a knife:

1. improper pressure
2. cutting medium
3. steel hardness
4. steel softness
5. blade angle
6. what you are cutting
7. misuse of the knife for the wrong chore which can chip the blade
8. improper honing technique
9. improper sharpening technique
10. Improper stropping technique
Here is something to think about as well. This is a review of your basic kitchen knife grind types. These grind types will dictate how you will hone as well as sharpen your knives and will also lend itself to you for making the best choice possible when looking to buy kitchen knives as well! buy kitchen knives.



As stated in my last post the harder the blade of a knife the the longer it will stay sharp although not straight but, the longer it will take to hone or perform a full on knife sharpening on it but, the softer the steel the shorter the lifespan of the sharp edge will be but, the easier it will be to perform a full on knife sharpening or honing! As a knife goes dull the blade rolls or deforms in some way and creates a shoulder above your primary cutting edge. As this shoulder is formed it will become harder and harder for you to either push cut or pull cut through the medium you are cutting. As the knife dulls this is when you will perform honing tasks to maintain the edge for as long as possible. It will eventually get to the point when "honing" will no longer work and then you will have to use abrasives(stones, ceramics, diamonds, carbides, naturals and synthetics) to do a full knife sharpening on your knives by thinning the secondary bevel with multiple grits in order to thin your primary edge again to cutting capacity.


In order to perform a proper knife honing, knife sharpening or knife re-sharpening you will need to be able to set the correct angle to your knives. I think at this point I am going to leave you guys hanging and, I will discuss knife sharpening and knife edge angles  concerning honing and sharpening in my next blog post so please stayed tuned! (See video above to review standard kitchen knife grind types and the associated.)

Thanks,

Richard