Thread: work sharp knife sharpener

Originally Posted by Nick-D

Suitability for steeling depends on the knife steel. Softer steels are fine, harder modern steels you will just ruin the edge by steeling.

For the modern steels use either a strop or ceramic/diamond hone to upkeep.

The electric jobs as a whole make sharp edges but are usually very aggressive and remove far more material than needed resulting over time in wedgy knives that need thinning.

If you want to go electric somthing like a tormec wheel is the way to go

By far the greatest number of total knife hours would be spent at Meatworks and Butcheries. Knives used in those businesses are tough modern steels that can take a good edge and can be maintained with a few quick strokes on a steel. Most 'Works' have a knife man who hollow grinds all the knives and sets them up. As an example of how good those knives are, with an ex Freezing works boner I recently gutted, skinned, broke down and cut up an entire deer without touching a steel. The knife is still sharp. What more do we want. Perhaps going to over-hard blades that then require specialist sharpening gear is just a fools folly ?