Can a knife be too sharp?

I bought some sharpening stones a while ago and after using them for a couple of months, I am able to produce a very sharp edge on my knives, sharper than when the knives were new. In fact, the edge is MUCH sharper than I am accustomed to and the muscle memory I have from using the less sharp edges is not reliable. I am concentrating much more on my knife use, which may be a good thing, and will no doubt adapt over time. There are certainly advantages to sharper knives, but I am wondering about any issues that may arise. For instance, they doesn't seem to hold their edge as well.

Can a knife be too sharp?

Yes. I have the scars to prove it...

Yes, knives can be too sharp.

Common knowledge in the military: you don't want your knife/bayonet to be too sharp, because that makes the edge susceptible to breaking or chipping or scalloping (flaking off in little crescents), and can cause the blade to get stuck, or even to break when it hits a bone the wrong way.

Plus, some people who think they are sharpening a knife further---unless they are very precise in how they do it----are actually making the knife less productive and wearing the blade out quicker.

Of course, a lot depends on the quality of the knife being used too. A lot.

Plus, not all knives are designed to do the same job either. Don't use your finest-edged big knife to pop the hip joint of a pig ! Or to open a can.

It's a funny question. Of course you want to maintain your knife as sharp as is reasonably possible.
However, one can make the mistake of sharpening it at too acute an angle. Not only is the edge susceptible to breakage, but it will lose its edge more quickly and consequently wear more rapidly.

You need to look at a knife edge under a microscope sometime.

So what's the best way to keep your knives sharp? What do the chefs recommend? A steel? A ceramic sharpener? One of those carborundum wheel gadgets you shove the knife into?

I got a good set of knives this year (after struggling away with cheap knives for years) and I want to keep them sharp and in good shape.

Matilda

I think it's not the same answer for all knives or chefs.

I mostly prefer a fine carbon steel (not a stainless) for a kitchen knife, this material being far easier to set edge of various sharpness easily with just a two sided-stone and a strop. I use a simple kitchen steel between sharpenings. I've used the same inexpensive stone for forty years and it will last another 100 at least. (I won't). I wouldn't waste money on a ceramic or diamond model, the main advantage being of only slightly reduced effort.

On the other end of the spectrum, our star chef friend has his knives professionally sharpened only, probably a smart thing since his specialty knives cost several hundred bucks each (ouch, that cut is too deep for me).

I don't know anyone who uses one of those wheels, though I'd love to hear from someone who uses one.

We store our knives upright on a wall-mounted magnetic plate to prevent them from clanking and dulling each other. We wash and dry our knifes frequently, quickly and completely during - between uses. Water left on the blade to dry (or fruit acid or even juices of vegetables and meats) have significant dulling abilities.

When I began in the business carbon steel was the only reasonable choice for a pro. They are a pain in the ass to maintain, though.

I guess it was around 1978 I was introduced to high carbon content stainless steel. No looking back. The best of both worlds. Both soft enough to be able to maintain an edge and non-reactive. My first carbon steel knives were Sabatier, I quickly switched to Wusthof.

The first lecture I always gave my students was the "knife lecture" - what to buy, what not to buy and how to maintain them.

These knives are expensive, but will last for generations.

Definitely. Got a Cutco Santoku for Christmas this past year. Gently brushed against it while washing the dishes and got one of the those lovely not-too-bad-but-bleeds-a-lot cuts. It doesn't go into the sink anymore . . . .

Number 7 in the "Knife Lecture": Never put a knife in the sink.

Chef,

You've touched on a sore point for me. That's a hilarious reason for a recommendation to avoid knives in the sinks - avoid cutting onself. Riiiight. I think rather it's that you wouldn't put these fragile stainless babies in a sink because they can't handle the porcelain truth. They break ! They chip ! Well, they certainly stand up less well to many sorts of kitchen use that I've seen, compared to fine high carbon steel. What bother.

I will be glad to share the history of pain-in-the-ass stainless cutlery as seen from from our home and businesses, if you'd like, offline. Contact me any time.

As a teaser, I can't resist the most recent entertainment I've seen from the ongoing "modern comedy of stainless steel fragility". This occurred to us just last July in Calabasas. We watched in horror as a Wusthof Classic chef's knife got chipped during use on a cutting board, by the chef who was giving demonstration for boning a leg of lamb, in a course in knife technque. I'll guess that you would not say that this is another activity deemed too risky for a modern stainless steel knife. Hope not. But I've seen that happen with expensive stainless knives before.

So, I'm wondering... is this sharpener doing any damage to my knives?



Have an oil stone to hone the knives and did that for years -- fell out of the habit, ended up with dull knives.

A friend got one of these and so did I. Use it once every-other-month or so on the very few knives that matter, Henckels and Wusthof.

Draw the blade through the coarse (carbide) side several times then through the fine (ceramic side) several times.

Finish (probably not necessary) with the sharpening steel that came with my knife block and done.

Seems to me to work well. Any problem?

My first carbon steel knives were Sabatier, I quickly switched to Wusthof.

I still have both in my block (in which they sit sideways or on their spines, of course).

There's a difference between giving a knife a quick touch-up with the steel (which is OK to do frequently) and actually re-grinding the edge (which removes a lot of material so should be done only very infrequently).

As to the original question... I don't think a knife can be too sharp. It can be so sharp as to be easy to dull, and you can become so careless as to hurt yourself with it (...I have one emergency-room visit to attest to that one). But, too sharp? Nope.

While we're telling knife-sharpening stories, anyone got a "omigod, my spouse took my knives to an amateur sharpener" one?

Chef,

You've touched on a sore point for me. That's a hilarious reason for a recommendation to avoid knives in the sinks - avoid cutting onself. Riiiight. I think rather it's that you wouldn't put these fragile stainless babies in a sink because they can't handle the porcelain truth. They break ! They chip ! Well, they certainly stand up less well to many sorts of kitchen use that I've seen, compared to fine high carbon steel. What bother.

I will be glad to share the history of pain-in-the-ass stainless cutlery as seen from from our home and businesses, if you'd like, offline. Contact me any time.

As a teaser, I can't resist the most recent entertainment I've seen from the ongoing "modern comedy of stainless steel fragility". This occurred to us just last July in Calabasas. We watched in horror as a Wusthof Classic chef's knife got chipped during use on a cutting board, by the chef who was giving demonstration for boning a leg of lamb, in a course in knife technque. I'll guess that you would not say that this is another activity deemed too risky for a modern stainless steel knife. Hope not. But I've seen that happen with expensive stainless knives before.

We're not permitted "porcelain" in restaurants - stainless steel only. So I don't know about any glazed veracity involved there.

In 23 years of teaching - and 30-some years of "doing" restaurants (they overlapped!) I never had a Wusthof knife break, chip or perform otherwise than advertised. Don't know what kind of cutting board it was. If not wood, I wouldn't recommend it for any knife.

So, while all my experience is in fact anecdotal, it is based on decades of anecdotes lived by me, my students, sous chefs, line cooks and thousands of home cooks (and inmates) who bought them.

And, sad to report, they ain't never given me a nickel for this.

There ain't no reason we shouldn't have this discussion in public. Everyone is curious about this kind of stuff.

Explain "you're not permitted porcelain in restaurants."

When I began in the business carbon steel was the only reasonable choice for a pro. They are a pain in the ass to maintain, though.

I guess it was around 1978 I was introduced to high carbon content stainless steel. No looking back. The best of both worlds. Both soft enough to be able to maintain an edge and non-reactive. My first carbon steel knives were Sabatier, I quickly switched to Wusthof.

While I agree with all of this, and I own several high carbon stainless knives, I also use another sort as my day to day knives.

A local meat plant uses plastic handled (easier cleaning) high carbon steel knives. They are easily sharpened and normally stay sharp longer that stainless knives, although they will discolour more easily. They are also less expensive, in my case ridicuously so, as I buy them when they are sold off from the meat plant fo a pittance. I'm not sure if they sell after a certain period of use, or when the knives reach a certain dimension, but they are dirt cheap, take a lovely edge and a session wth the stone about once a month and a quick swipe on the steel in between times keeps them ready to slice. I use them for all purpose kinives and get out the specialty knives (e.g boning etc.) only for a particular chore.

Explain "you're not permitted porcelain in restaurants."

I've yet to run across a health department that would allow a porcelain sink in the kitchen.

Explain "you're not permitted porcelain in restaurants."

I've yet to run across a health department that would allow a porcelain sink in the kitchen.

Yeah, I think that some porcelain can be porous and they can't properly check to see if it is a hazard so they ban it.

I had one client that had operated for years with conventional tile backsplash with mortar between. That was suddenly declared unhygeinic and he had to rip it all out and install stainless steel seemless back splashes, at great expense.

Most, if not all of our domestic kitchens, no matter how spotless, would fail a health inspection for a restaurant.

I started using Japanese steel knives about 18 months ago, and it's redefined 'sharp' for me. No steeling, just a few strokes with a stone every few months.

Yes. I have the scars to prove it...

Odd, I have found that sharper knives slip less and require less force, therefore are more safe and less prone to accidental cuts. The few scars I have from knife cuts have all come from knives with less sharp edges; the sharp knife cuts healed without a trace.

We're not permitted "porcelain" in restaurants - stainless steel only. So I don't know about any glazed veracity involved there.

In 23 years of teaching - and 30-some years of "doing" restaurants (they overlapped!) I never had a Wusthof knife break, chip or perform otherwise than advertised. Don't know what kind of cutting board it was. If not wood, I wouldn't recommend it for any knife.

ChefJCarey,

FYI: In California we are not permitted wood for a cutting board in a restaurant. This according to my room mate who had a restaurant up until three years ago.

Yes. I have the scars to prove it...

Odd, I have found that sharper knives slip less and require less force, therefore are more safe and less prone to accidental cuts. The few scars I have from knife cuts have all come from knives with less sharp edges; the sharp knife cuts healed without a trace.

We're not permitted "porcelain" in restaurants - stainless steel only. So I don't know about any glazed veracity involved there.

In 23 years of teaching - and 30-some years of "doing" restaurants (they overlapped!) I never had a Wusthof knife break, chip or perform otherwise than advertised. Don't know what kind of cutting board it was. If not wood, I wouldn't recommend it for any knife.

ChefJCarey,

FYI: In California we are not permitted wood for a cutting board in a restaurant. This according to my room mate who had a restaurant up until three years ago.

I worked as a chef in and around San Francisco for 16 years. Had wooden cutting boards in every restaurant. Most health departments have revised their thinking on this issue. And with those who have not there are ways around this silly law.

I have spent some more time with these sharper knives and have adjusted to them. They glide through food and produce nice clean cuts. I have adapted to the reduced feedback when cutting, caused by the increased sharpness. I am still amazed that when slicing something fairly hard, like a crisp carrot, how the cut feels silky all the way through the slice rather than feeling like there is an abrupt transition in the cut in the final third of the slice.

When cutting through a winter squash, no knife is too sharp or too big. When cutting your index finger, no knife is too dull or too small. I've not had a knife accident that required a bandage for years, and now I've sliced a pinky (mandoline) and index (santoku, opening the wrapping on a package) in the same week! No stitches required, but the being a touch typist it's really irritating.

Walt