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How long do your knives stay sharp?

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Maria Samms

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How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Maria Samms » Thu Dec 04, 2008 1:28 pm

So I recently bought a 7" Sankotu from Pampered Chef through my friend. It was a bit pricey, but hand forged, yada yada, and I like Pampered Chef products. This knife was to replace my everyday knife, which most of you know is a steak knife...LOL. I use a steak knife to peel fruits and veggies, chop them cut sandwiches, meat...pretty much everything.

When I first received the knife (2 weeks ago) the first 5 times I used it it sliced through tomato like I have never seen a knife do...it was great. Now, it's already struggling and seems to be dulling. Is this possible? Am I doing something wrong or is this pretty standard?
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Randy P

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Randy P » Thu Dec 04, 2008 2:16 pm

Maria, if you take care of your knife the edge can last a long time. What you're describing can be taken care of with a steel. Several passes on a steel will straighten the edge and this should be done before each use. Since you have a quality knife, I would also recommend that you take it to a professional when it needs sharpening. -RP
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Karen/NoCA

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Karen/NoCA » Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:35 pm

I agree with Randy....I have a good steel and use it everytime I use one of my knives except the Kryocera. You need to straighten out the edge and your knife will retain it's edge much longer. I have mine professionally done every two years.
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Bob Henrick

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Bob Henrick » Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:20 pm

Maria Samms wrote:So I recently bought a 7" Sankotu from Pampered Chef through my friend. It was a bit pricey, but hand forged, yada yada, and I like Pampered Chef products. This knife was to replace my everyday knife, which most of you know is a steak knife...LOL. I use a steak knife to peel fruits and veggies, chop them cut sandwiches, meat...pretty much everything.

When I first received the knife (2 weeks ago) the first 5 times I used it it sliced through tomato like I have never seen a knife do...it was great. Now, it's already struggling and seems to be dulling. Is this possible? Am I doing something wrong or is this pretty standard?


Maria,

I have some of the knives in the link below, and have had them for a year. I am about ready to send them back to the factory to be sharpened. This link will explain better than I can.

http://www.warthers.com/kitchen_knives/warther_faq.php

The cutting surface you use the knives on is very important, and wood is the best. I have some of the pliable plastic sheets and they are handy I use them often. I also have a 3inch thick bamboo cutting board that I think I will use exclusively from now on. I suspect using this I won't need to resharpen again for 2 or more years.
Bob Henrick
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Randy P

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Randy P » Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:42 pm

If you decide to try sharpening yourself, which I don't recommend, you will need some serious equipment. -RP

Image
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Paul Winalski

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Paul Winalski » Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:40 am

What previous participants said.

Knives go dull with use. It's unavoidable.

There are lots of options for sharpening knives available. The high-tech grinding stone in the previously posted image is one option.

Lower-tech, hand-grinding against a whetstone, in my own experience, does just as well.

It's a matter of personal taste and convenience.

The key, bottom-line, observation is that no knife will stay sharp forever. They all wear out eventually and will need sharpening. You are well advised to consider up front a mechanism to re-sharpen your knives, because sooner or later you will need to do so.

-Paul W.
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Larry Greenly

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Larry Greenly » Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:59 am

Karen/NoCA wrote:I agree with Randy....I have a good steel and use it everytime I use one of my knives except the Kryocera. You need to straighten out the edge and your knife will retain it's edge much longer. I have mine professionally done every two years.


The problem is that many people think that steels are for sharpening blades.
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John Tomasso

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by John Tomasso » Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:10 am

I used to do my own with a stone set but I'm too darned lazy, and then I found this guy:

http://www.advantedgesharpening.com (no affiliation, just a happy customer)

I drop my knives off in town and they're ready for me the next day, sharp as razors. He does a great job.
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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Howie Hart » Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:55 am

I found this very interesting article: http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=26036
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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Greg H » Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:58 am

I also sharpen my own knives using ceramic stones. After a little practice, it has become easy and creates a great edge. I steel in between sharpening to realign the edge as others have mentioned. So, to answer your original question, I steel with each use and sharpen once every couple of months.

G
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Randy P

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Randy P » Fri Dec 05, 2008 2:58 pm

I do like you Greg with the steel on each use, but go 6-8 months in between sharpening. -RP
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Jo Ann Henderson

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Jo Ann Henderson » Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:52 pm

I make it a habit to pass my knives over the wet stone at least once a week. But nothing compares to the edge my knives have once sharpened by my friend Fumiko, when she comes every year. She puts about 30 minutes of dedicated time into each knife. And, it pays off in a way I haven't yet mastered.
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wnissen

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by wnissen » Fri Dec 05, 2008 8:15 pm

Howie Hart wrote:I found this very interesting article: http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=26036

Dear Howie,

Not to promote a site that shows such incredible disdain for its users, but there is some excellent content on eG. I bought the Spyderco Sharpmaker he recommends, though I don't do most of the steps he lists, and it does a good job of getting the edge sharp enough to make a straight 45 degree cut through newsprint. That test alone is very useful because it helped me realize that the professional sharpener I use does a good job getting the blade coarsely shaped but doesn't get it sharp.

So to answer Maria's question, I steel with most uses. I sharpen our knives about once a year, usually around Thanksgiving, for some reason that season makes me want to do kitchen maintenance. My main knife, which is used daily for everything, including cutting through bone, gets sharpened twice as often. Every couple years, the blades start getting nicked and I take it to the pro who can grind it back into shape. But, we are terrible about washing and drying our knives promptly, and even (don't tell Chef Carey) put them all in the sink to wash! Someone more conscientious could probably go longer.

Walt
Walter Nissen
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Maria Samms

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Maria Samms » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:50 am

Thanks everyone for all the advice!
"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance" -Benjamin Franklin
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Gary Barlettano

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by Gary Barlettano » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:55 am

I have a whetstone and one of those bar thingies which came with the knife block. The bar thingie just straightens the edge and I use it often. I sharpen my knives and my scissors when needed ... so everything stays pretty sharp by me ... of course ... there are those who would say differently. The whetstone is also great for getting rid of the furble at the end of plastic spatulas which get a little melty.
And now what?
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tsunami

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Re: How long do your knives stay sharp?

by tsunami » Thu Dec 11, 2008 6:47 pm

things you should know:

- every knife gets faster dull, the harder the surface you cut to!

ceramic and stone is the worsed, hardest plastic is second worse,

prefere soft wood or soft plastic cuttingbords!
Tsunami alias Albino

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