http://www.democraticunderground.com/115720379Oh my.
kurtzapril4 (1,033 posts) Fri Jan 25, 2013, 06:33 PM
On Sharpening Knives
I really like cooking. I guess. It’s not the cooking that I don’t like…it’s the prep work. The chopping is tedious. And for me, dangerous. I am a noted clod and slack-ass mofo. These two traits do not go well in the kitchen. The clod part of it results in blood shed, the slack-ass part means sometimes we don’t eat until 9PM.
I enjoy cooking for me and Dan, I really do. And I do it a lot…6 days a week we eat a home-made meal, using organic ingredients if practicable and affordable. Affordable being the ruling ethos….40 years after the organic movement first told us organic foods could be cheap…some items are finally becoming comparatively priced with the normal grocery store brands. It took them long enough.
Now, when my dad died, I came into a little bit of money….I was a thousand-aire of the less than 20K variety. For me, that’s a lot of money. So, I paid off most of my bills, and bought myself a nice opal ring. Then when I sat down and thought about things that would really help me in my everyday life, I thought some good cooking equipment would do the trick.
I looked at reviews, and bought the “economy†Calphalon…a 12†skillet, a 2 quart saucepan, and this smaller pan that weighs 10 lbs. Can I just say I’m in love with the skillet? Eggs just slide out, unbidden. I don’t have to wash it…I just wipe it out. The 2 quart saucepan is the same…the food slides out, and clean up requires a swipe or two with a paper towel. Can I also say that they are delicate flowers that metal utensils must not come near? Can I just say that I live with a man who doesn’t understand delicate flowers? I am so glad he can’t be bothered to put his dirty dishes in the sink……
So now I got the pans….I need a good chef’s knife. I go to America’s Test Kitchen for product reviews. I was looking for a decent chef’s knife. For not too expensive-ish. I mean, I’m sure that $250 Wusthoff is brilliant…or that $500 Japanese Santoku…but I don’t want to spend that much money. I need a decent, serviceable chef’s knife.
I found it in the Victorinox Chef’s Knife. $30. It arrived promptly and sharply.
It was so sharp that after its first use, I got the woozies. You know what they say; a dull knife is dangerous, blah blah blah…well….so are sharp knives. Sharp knives are….sharp. Oh, the cut is prettier, and easier to stitch, but they still make me bleed. Hard.
So, in not too much time at all, my new knife lost its edge. I went from making pretty, easily stitched cuts in my fingers to making these raggedy type things that bled even more profusely, if such a thing is possible. It was time to take the knife to the local sharpener dude.
Sharpener dude works out of the local mom & pop Ace hardware store. She’s in her 40’s, and she and her parents grew up in this town. However, there is a 10 day turnaround time between the time you drop off your knife, until the time you get it back. In my frivolous youth, that was okay. As I have gotten older and more demanding and crotchety…it is not enough.
I started reading up on the local, organic, DIY lifestyle thingy and decided I wanted to grab some o’ that gusto for myself. And I would start….by sharpening my own chef’s knife. I read and read on about.com, and in other places, about how you sharpen your own knife. Quick hint…put a small binder clip over the top of your knife while you’re sharpening it, for the proper angle.
So I went to the local mom & pop Ace Hardware store, and bought a sharpening stone. Not an oilstone…no, this one you soak in water for 5 minutes before you use it. I soaked the stone. I used the prescribed angle when drawing the blade across the stone. One side of the blade, then the other. The rough side of the stone, then the smooth. Then, after that, you have to hone the blade on a honing steel. Which I didn’t have. But because I did further research, I found that one can use the bottom of a ceramic coffee cup as a honing steel!
I didn’t have too much hope, because I’m a clod…but I’ll be damned that knife cut through an onion like nobody’s business! And through potatoes like butter! And through my finger like a flippin’ cloud.
Okay, for some reason this is a really big campfire, and I can't bring over all of it.
So I'll restrict myself to quoting only PoPs (primitives of prominence); otherwise, I strongly suggest one click on the link above and read the whole campfire in its entirety.
cbayer (117,069 posts) Fri Jan 25, 2013, 06:42 PM
2. I am so glad you posted this because I have been meaning to sharpen my knives and always remember at the exact time that I actually need them. Consequently I am always putting it off until tomorrow.
I recently bought knives, something I have needed for a long, long time. I also chose Victorinix and could not be happier.
I got the chef's knife, a carving knife, a paring knife and an angled bread knife (because I make that kind of bread that has the crispy outside and very soft inside). It was a relatively big initial investment that has made cooking much easier and much more fun.
Like you, I can be a real klutz, so I pay close attention when chopping, etc. So far, no injuries (knock on wood).
I got the stone that you put oil on and watched a video on the correct angle and direction for sharpening. It amazes me how well it works and how easy it is. I also keep them in their original sleeves and wash/dry them separately. They are my treasures.
Warpy (66,777 posts) Fri Jan 25, 2013, 06:50 PM
4. I tend to favor super hard MAC knives that are sort of in the middle of the good knife price range. They are not easy to sharpen, but generally last a good 10 years if you just take off surface burrs with a piece of exposed clay on a hand thrown pot, of which I have dozens.
I have resharpened 30 year old MAC knives, but I had to get this to accomplish it:
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-220-Sharpener-Stainless/dp/B0039SLUI6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_2/175-7659293-3282110
I sharpened every knife in the house and it's time to use it again on everything but the MAC knives. Those won't be due for another 10 years or so.
mopinko (39,368 posts) Fri Jan 25, 2013, 07:12 PM
6. i got a wustoff sharpener for xmas and i love it.
just makes it so easy and quick. has a polisher for a quick touch up, or for serrated knifes.
but, yeah, if they aren't wicked sharp, they are far more dangerous. and tedious.
pinto (96,578 posts) Fri Jan 25, 2013, 09:25 PM
16. A "reliable source" told me that really sharp knives are safer than dull ones.
(That would be my niece, she's a professional chef so I appreciate her opinion.)
Keeping in mind that you have to watch what you're doing, she said a fine edge does the work. Let the knife do it...
If it's a struggle to slice up stuff you either have the wrong blade for the job or it's just dull. And that leads to those inadvertent accidents.
She offered this advice, along with the first knuckle down style slice since I've had a few notable cuts.
^^^a PoP, but
not the same pinto primitive who bothers nadin.
