I did a search here and over the net and came across tons of articles on
the subject of "knife" sharpening and equipment but what I would like is
to get just 1 tool and method that will be best for sharpening BOTH knifes
and Choppers, anyone got any ideas/links/referrals please? Thanks.

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
>I did a search here and over the net and came across tons of articles on
> the subject of "knife" sharpening and equipment but what I would like is
> to get just 1 tool and method that will be best for sharpening BOTH knifes
> and Choppers, anyone got any ideas/links/referrals please? Thanks.
>

By chopper do you mean cleaver?

You can sharpen just about anything with just a whetstone. I recommend the
diamond-impregnated ones such as these:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...418&hasJS=true

Another great tool is the EdgePro (http://www.edgeproinc.com/) that holds
the angle for you. It works really well.

Peter

Appreciate the links Peter but I am looking for something that will sharpen
the knife for me, I apologize for not having mentioned that in my original
post. Does anyone know if the "electric" sharpeners like this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/CHEFS-CHOICE-110...QQcmdZViewItem

is effective enough? Or is it worthwhile at all to buy an electric
sharpener?

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
> Appreciate the links Peter but I am looking for something that will
> sharpen
> the knife for me, I apologize for not having mentioned that in my original
> post. Does anyone know if the "electric" sharpeners like this one
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/CHEFS-CHOICE-110...QQcmdZViewItem
>
> is effective enough? Or is it worthwhile at all to buy an electric
> sharpener?
>

The Chefs Choice electric sharpener does a pretty good job. Don't expect the
kind of edge that you can get with hand sharpening, but you'll get quite
sharp knives with little effort.


--
Peter Aitken

I have always used a flat rectangular sort of granite looking tool to
sharpen my knives and cleaver which gets very sharp but takes me 10
minutes or so each time with a lot of effort but the problem is I find
that the blades get dull too quickly so I have to sharpen very often and
especially since I only use the cleaver 2 or 3 times a week I don't think
I should be sharpening that often so I believe that I am not doing a good
enough job with the sharpening which is why I am looking for something to
do the sharpening for me.

I got another sharpening tool with a knife set but don't know how to
use it, this one is a round metal object that looks like a sword only the
tool itself is round not flat like a sword.

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
>I have always used a flat rectangular sort of granite looking tool to
> sharpen my knives and cleaver which gets very sharp but takes me 10
> minutes or so each time with a lot of effort but the problem is I find
> that the blades get dull too quickly so I have to sharpen very often and
> especially since I only use the cleaver 2 or 3 times a week I don't think
> I should be sharpening that often so I believe that I am not doing a good
> enough job with the sharpening which is why I am looking for something to
> do the sharpening for me.
>
> I got another sharpening tool with a knife set but don't know how to
> use it, this one is a round metal object that looks like a sword only the
> tool itself is round not flat like a sword.
>

I think you are right - a properly sharpened knife will stay sharp for a
long time with only regular steeling. You'd like the EdgePro. The first time
you sharpen a knife on it, it's a lot of work because you have to correct
the bevel angle to what it should be. After that things get a lot easier. I
go at least 6 months between sharpenings as long as I use a ceramic "steel"
regularly.


--
Peter Aitken

A properly sharpened knife will stay sharp for a
long time with only regular steeling. You'd like the EdgePro. The first time you sharpen a knife on it, it's a lot of work because you have to correct the bevel angle to what it should be.

mikehende,

I can't answer about cleavers because I never have sharpened mine (I
don't use it that often though), but I do have a similar Chef's Choice
machine to the one in the photo (my invidual slots may be different in
exactly what they do though). I don't know if one is even supposed to
use one of these with a *cleaver.*

As for knives though, the round sword thing you referred to is probably
a "steel"... today they can be made also from ceramic, glass or
diamond-impregnated metal. A steel is used between true sharpenings
(where metal is actually removed from the blade) and it just
straightens the sort of microscopically-bent edge (which has the effect
of making it sharper than it was before steeling).
The steel is held upright in one hand and the knife makes an equal
number of passes over each side of it (at 20 degree angle or something
like that)... picture Daffy Duck or a similar cartoon figure pretending
to be a chef, "sharpening" his huge knife very quickly in front of his
chest in the air, and you'll get the idea.... there are various places
online that describe in more detail the motions for using a steel).

A knife blade shouldn't be getting dull enough to need sharpening
several times a week though, unless you're cutting a lot of stuff or
cutting something really hard or doing it on a hard surface (do you use
a wood or plastic board?, or maybe cut bones, etc.?).
Knives can be steeled with every use, but home cooks don't generally
need to do it that often unless they want.

As for the Chef's Choice machine, they can vary but mine has one slot
for sharpening, one slot for the equivalent of steeling (I think), and
one for polishing off the tiny burrs created from the previous slots.
So I don't use the first slot until using 2+3 together don't work well
any longer.


Hope some of that helps,

Diane B.
http://www.glassattic.com --polymer clay "encyclopedia"

mikehende wrote:
> Appreciate the links Peter but I am looking for something that will sharpen
> the knife for me, I apologize for not having mentioned that in my original
> post. Does anyone know if the "electric" sharpeners like this one
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/CHEFS-CHOICE-110...QQcmdZViewItem
>
> is effective enough? Or is it worthwhile at all to buy an electric
> sharpener?

It's effective, but so is a hand-held "wand" type diamond sharpener.
600 grit is plenty aggressive for the small amount of metal you'll
have to remove 1 or 2 times per year at most, yet leaves a smooth
finish. Get a regular steel and use it every time you use the knife.
The edge will improve as you burnish and pack the knife steel,
at least until some idiot uses a china plate as a cutting board.

"Father Haskell" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> mikehende wrote:
>> Appreciate the links Peter but I am looking for something that will
>> sharpen
>> the knife for me, I apologize for not having mentioned that in my
>> original
>> post. Does anyone know if the "electric" sharpeners like this one
>>
>> http://cgi.ebay.com/CHEFS-CHOICE-110...QQcmdZViewItem
>>
>> is effective enough? Or is it worthwhile at all to buy an electric
>> sharpener?
>
> It's effective, but so is a hand-held "wand" type diamond sharpener.
> 600 grit is plenty aggressive for the small amount of metal you'll
> have to remove 1 or 2 times per year at most, yet leaves a smooth
> finish. Get a regular steel and use it every time you use the knife.
> The edge will improve as you burnish and pack the knife steel,
> at least until some idiot uses a china plate as a cutting board.
>
Pack the knife steel? You are kidding, right? Pack the steel. Now I
have heard everything. And what is this "burnish". A steel re-aligns an
edge that is bent over.

del cecchi

Del Cecchi wrote:
> "Father Haskell" > wrote in message
....
> > It's effective, but so is a hand-held "wand" type diamond sharpener.
> > 600 grit is plenty aggressive for the small amount of metal you'll
> > have to remove 1 or 2 times per year at most, yet leaves a smooth
> > finish. Get a regular steel and use it every time you use the knife.
> > The edge will improve as you burnish and pack the knife steel,
> > at least until some idiot uses a china plate as a cutting board.
> >
> Pack the knife steel? You are kidding, right? Pack the steel.

Does the term "cold working" make more sense?

Cabinetmakers who use scrapers sharpen them by drawing
a harder piece of steel along the tool's edge. This not only
draws out the required hook-shaped edge, but also "packs,"
or consolidates the steel, bumping up its Rc rating several
points, helping the tool cut longer between sharpenings.
Same thing happens when you steel a cook's knife.

> Now I
> have heard everything. And what is this "burnish". A steel re-aligns an
> edge that is bent over.

That, and it polishes the softer knife edge, especially if you use
a smooth steel.

"Father Haskell" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Del Cecchi wrote:
>> "Father Haskell" > wrote in message
> ...
>> > It's effective, but so is a hand-held "wand" type diamond sharpener.
>> > 600 grit is plenty aggressive for the small amount of metal you'll
>> > have to remove 1 or 2 times per year at most, yet leaves a smooth
>> > finish. Get a regular steel and use it every time you use the
>> > knife.
>> > The edge will improve as you burnish and pack the knife steel,
>> > at least until some idiot uses a china plate as a cutting board.
>> >
>> Pack the knife steel? You are kidding, right? Pack the steel.
>
> Does the term "cold working" make more sense?
>
> Cabinetmakers who use scrapers sharpen them by drawing
> a harder piece of steel along the tool's edge. This not only
> draws out the required hook-shaped edge, but also "packs,"
> or consolidates the steel, bumping up its Rc rating several
> points, helping the tool cut longer between sharpenings.
> Same thing happens when you steel a cook's knife.
>
>> Now I
>> have heard everything. And what is this "burnish". A steel re-aligns
>> an
>> edge that is bent over.
>
> That, and it polishes the softer knife edge, especially if you use
> a smooth steel.
>
Consolidates the steel? Work Hardening I would believe. But pray tell,
what is the physical mechanism that you call consolidating? or Packing
for that matter. I understand smoothing and reorienting. I understand
work hardening. Never heard of this other stuff. Doesn't steeling this
work hardened edge tend to break off little flakes due to the high
pressure?

del

On 1 Feb 2006 15:29:38 -0800, "Father Haskell"
> wrote:

>
>mikehende wrote:
>> Appreciate the links Peter but I am looking for something that will sharpen
>> the knife for me, I apologize for not having mentioned that in my original
>> post. Does anyone know if the "electric" sharpeners like this one
>>
>> http://cgi.ebay.com/CHEFS-CHOICE-110...QQcmdZViewItem
>>
>> is effective enough? Or is it worthwhile at all to buy an electric
>> sharpener?
>
>It's effective, but so is a hand-held "wand" type diamond sharpener.
>600 grit is plenty aggressive for the small amount of metal you'll
>have to remove 1 or 2 times per year at most, yet leaves a smooth
>finish. Get a regular steel and use it every time you use the knife.
>The edge will improve as you burnish and pack the knife steel,
>at least until some idiot uses a china plate as a cutting board.
I missed the original post, but it sound like you are trying to
sharpen a "cleaver." The Chef's Choice will sharpen most kitchen
knives, but it may not be suitable for a thick heavy cleaver. If you
are actually trying to sharpen a cleaver-shaped Chinese chef's knife,
it will work fine.

Personally, I use an Edge Pro professional model. It works great for
almost anything, and it will sharpen "real" cleavers with no
difficulty. The less expensive Apex model may not be able to sharpen
something as wide as a cleaver.

See http://edgeproinc.com/information.htm

Edge Pro is a small company, and they are terrific to deal with.

Though I am also a wordworker and a big fan of cabinet scrapers, I am
not a big proponent of using a steel on kitchen knives. A steel will
not sharpen a dull knife, and if used improperly will do more harm
than good.

Whenever I notice that one of my knives is not razor sharp, I give it
a few swipes with a ceramic rod. If that doesn't do the trick, I get
out the Edge Pro and do the job right.

Cheers,

Leonard

I write the PLU item
number on a tie-wrap to secure the plastic bag's contents. I hope this
makes sense