Thread: Knife sharpening for different tasks

Thought I would add my 2 cents for whats it worth in this thread as some may find it interesting.

I have many years experience working in high end restaurant kitchens both here and overseas, and own a number of very flash hand made japanese knives which I sharpened myself by hand on whetstones.

When I first started sharpening myself I would take all my knives to around 6k grit (depending on the finishing stone I had at the time) before stropping. I found this best for general purpose tasks, in particular vegetables which would cut alot smoother and cleaner. In general as mentioned by others, if it would shave hairs off my forearm we were good to go.

Over time I discovered if I had a knife that I primarily used for butchery work, or carving of cooked meats I preferred to only sharpen it to about 1k and leave it there. I definitely found this toothier edge type cut better and importantly lasted longer when used for protein work. But it was not as good for other tasks!

These days I am out of kitchens full time but due to my experience when I sharpen my hunting knives I only go to around the 1k mark, it seems to last longer and cut better in my opinion.