Advice Needed for Sharpening Global Knives

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Photopro123

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Hello fellow BF members,

I am seeking some advice for the knife and culinary experts here. I recently purchased a couple Global knives for kitchen duty. My questions are as follows:

1. When sharpening the Globals, should I sharpen them at a slight more acute angle? I heard they are factor sharpened at 15 degrees. I currently have a set of Wusthoff knives which are much thicker in steel and sharpen them at prob 20-25 degrees.

2. How often should I sharpen them if I use it everyday. I have the spyderco ceramic medium, fine, And xfine stones. I read here that globals do not sharpen very easily? Don’t know if it’s true or not, but if so, maintaining them regularly should make them easier. With My other set, I sharpen about once every two months—though they do get pretty dull.

Anyway, thanks for your advice—much apprecaited.

Joe
 
TL;DR - it's about personal taste and judgement.

1 - use your knives and see how you feel about the angle. Really, some people set new bevels based on taste. It's edge durability vs performance. An acute edge bends or chips more easily, but feels a lot better when cutting.
At 58 HRC I personally wouldn't get more acute though.

2 - How often you sharpen has entire to do with the wear you put on the blade and how you feel about the edge.
For instance, if you are hitting bone, noisy when the edge hits the cutting board, or cutting a lot of fibrous things you will be dulling the edge faster. What and how you do things in the kitchen is unique to you.
Your choice of cutting board will also affect edge life.
Also everybody has a different tolerance for bluntness. I touch up an edge relatively soon because I love the fresh off the stones feel. I also know how to sharpen and have sets of stones. I doubt most people would find my knives to be dull when I touch them up, but that's me.
 
Really depends on what you prep with it, I tend to have a few knives around for different jobs. Herbs, veggies I use a much sharper/acute edge. For cutting down whole chicken? I have a less acute and thicker blade. Just keep in mind the more acute, the more often you need to touch it up. I pass mine over ceramic before every use anyways. Global can handle it.
 
Thank you so much for your replies everybody. It’s good to know that global are not too hard to sharpen. It seems like The best thing is for regular maintenance
 
A thinner edge will be more susceptible to damage. Being that kitchen knives are quite thin by design, I use a relatively obtuse grind and hone frequently.

For re-sharpening, I use a DMT plate with a medium grit in the 600 range.
 
Don't know for sure about the forged models, but their stamped knives are made from quite well hardened AUS6 steel.
As i do feedback-based sharpening, so far the pro-chefs here seem to like them best with a convex edge at ~20 degrees inclusive and an 800 to 1000 grit finish, done on wet & dry SiC paper.
Finer finishes blunt too soon in their use.
When the edges wear they get touched up as long as possible on a fine ceramic rod (thereby creating a microbevel), and when that no longer works to their satisfaction i get to resharpen them again.
 
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They are not hard to sharpen, I keep my edge at 15 degrees.
Be careful what you cut as they can micro chip pretty easily
 
The best way to figure out the optimal angle is to sharpen the knife and use it. Then you'll find the balance between sharpness, durability and maintenance intervals.
 
Danno4017 said:
They are not hard to sharpen, I keep my edge at 15 degrees.
Be careful what you cut as they can micro chip pretty easily
Click to expand...

if you have access to a buffer and a cut and color compound, you can eliminate the chipping to a great extent just by buffing the apex lightly, and removing it - without changing any of the other geometry. This is a feel thing - if perceived cutting resistance goes up in actual work, then that's too much buffing.

A stitched wheel and something like a 5 micron compound (which will leave scratches more like a 15k synthetic) will do. the last stitch should be within 3/4ths of an inch of the wheel edge, but also not so tight of stitching that the last stitch is right on the edge. Cotton wheels - white or yellow that are claimed shellac wheels - I think the cheap ones are just yellow. No denim, sisal or felt - the last two at high speed will beat or heat an edge.
 
I don't put a really sharp edge on cooking knives, because they don't need it, and the sharper the edge, the faster it dulls. I make a few strokes on a steel prior to each use, to draw the edge back. Ceramic takes off too much material. And sharpening exclusively vs using a steel will wear out the blade.

I don't normally wash kitchen knives, except if something really ugly happens. I just wipe them off with a paper towel, so they don't dull much. Cutting does the least dulling, washing does the majority.

I use excellent kitchen knives, one small Japanese multipurpose, and four Wustof! If you know how to buy, they aren't 'that' expensive. Kitchen knives are quite a bit different than outdoor knives. For one thing you can always take a short sharpening break and swipe a steel in the kitchen.

Not as easy in the wilderness, where you might not even have water to whet a sharpener. Shapening supplies are heavy, so it's a pain to bring them everywhere.

I just get kitchen knives to where they can keep up with the cook. No sense going shaper than that. Also, cutting surfaces made of end grain are much easier on a knife edge. Bamboo is good too.

If you sharpen a kitchen knife to a razor edge, it's actually more difficult to use than a saner edge, because it digs without provocation. Of course, avoid making contact with the edge to glass, dishes, metal, ice, ceramic, or anything else besides food.

I keep a kitchen shear for cutting open food packaging. It's one that comes apart for thorough cleaning. Otherwise, you never know what might be growing in the pivot joint! It keeps the other cutlery sharper to use a shear also.

I don't really cook. I just know how to care for the cutlery. And, if I bitch out the cook for dulling an edge on a metal pan, it creates the perfect opportunity to some time later say, "I'm sorry I yelled. You are so much more important than even the finest piece of cutlery!"

You have to take those opportunities when presented, or everyone misses out.
 
I prefer sharper angles. I have different knives for different foods/prep.

For finer slicing, I like 15°
For more chopping and hard veggies, maybe 17°. I don't go any higher than that.

One of my yanagi is about 15° total, but that's very specific for cutting fish/meats very thinly.
 
awesome14 said:
I don't put a really sharp edge on cooking knives, because they don't need it, and the sharper the edge, the faster it dulls. I make a few strokes on a steel prior to each use, to draw the edge back. Ceramic takes off too much material. And sharpening exclusively vs using a steel will wear out the blade.

I don't normally wash kitchen knives, except if something really ugly happens. I just wipe them off with a paper towel, so they don't dull much. Cutting does the least dulling, washing does the majority.

I use excellent kitchen knives, one small Japanese multipurpose, and four Wustof! If you know how to buy, they aren't 'that' expensive. Kitchen knives are quite a bit different than outdoor knives. For one thing you can always take a short sharpening break and swipe a steel in the kitchen.

Not as easy in the wilderness, where you might not even have water to whet a sharpener. Shapening supplies are heavy, so it's a pain to bring them everywhere.

I just get kitchen knives to where they can keep up with the cook. No sense going shaper than that. Also, cutting surfaces made of end grain are much easier on a knife edge. Bamboo is good too.

If you sharpen a kitchen knife to a razor edge, it's actually more difficult to use than a saner edge, because it digs without provocation. Of course, avoid making contact with the edge to glass, dishes, metal, ice, ceramic, or anything else besides food.

I keep a kitchen shear for cutting open food packaging. It's one that comes apart for thorough cleaning. Otherwise, you never know what might be growing in the pivot joint! It keeps the other cutlery sharper to use a shear also.

I don't really cook. I just know how to care for the cutlery. And, if I bitch out the cook for dulling an edge on a metal pan, it creates the perfect opportunity to some time later say, "I'm sorry I yelled. You are so much more important than even the finest piece of cutlery!"

You have to take those opportunities when presented, or everyone misses out.
Click to expand...
Hmm....
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but ...

1) If a well sharpened knife dulls quickly, a not-well sharpened knife will dull even quicker.
2) Sharpening a kitchen knife will indeed wear out the blade...... In about 25-30 years.
3) In the wilderness all you need is one stone, such as a Fallkniven DC4 diamond/ceramic stone ...weight 65 grams.
4) Bamboo is a terrible as a cutting board. It is a grass, not a tree and can not be made out of one piece. Consequently adhesives are often used which can become even harder than the bamboo itself. Bamboo also contains 3-4% Silica which is pretty hard on a knife edge. Additionally bamboo will splinter without oiling, creating spots for bacterial growth. With the thousands of years of cooking knife use throughout Asia, no country uses Bamboo as a cutting board. Even in countries were Bamboo is widely used for many purposes. In fact the Bamboo Cutting Board was invented on West Coast in 1999.
5) Any kitchen knife should always be washed with detergent and dried for- hygenic/safety reasons- after each use
6) Steel rods will only realign a rolled edge of a lower HRC knife, as in German Krupp 4116 variant steels. Whereas Ceramic will actually remove material.

I do cook a reasonable amount, and sharpen many kitchen knives both German and Japanese, as well as Outdoor knives.
As I said, everyone is enttled to their own opinion so I'm not going to debate anything. But please feel free to look up each topic for yourself.
Best Regards
 
Global says they use Cromova 18 steel, which is very close to 440B, and they run it at 56-59 HRC hardness, depending on which product line you get. Should be pretty straightforward to sharpen. Factory edge is 15 degrees per side, so the Sharpmaker 30 degrees slots are fine for that.

If you use a decent cutting surface, have reasonable knife technique, and are cutting typical produce, I don't see why you would need to sharpen really often. That type and hardness of blade steel should respond fairly well to a smooth honing steel.

I have a Sharpmaker but prefer to freehand on bench stones after learning the knack for it over time. It is a lot easier to keep a sharp knife sharp than it is to bring a dull knife back to sharp, so I am more for the occasional quick touch up versus long intervals between long sharpening sessions.

For me I'd use a Norton IB8 coarse/fine India stone if I needed to get an initial edge bevel set, and then an Arkansas stone for refinement and touchups, with a leather strop with some green polishing compound for a final refinement.

If I really, really wanted to get it all mirror edge sharp, then I'd get out the Shapton Pro water stones and take it up to about 2000, inspecting with a loupe as I went a long, and strop on balsa with some 1 micron diamond compound on it to finish. But I rarely care to go that far even for my nicer knives, unless I just feel like getting my money's worth out of those Shaptons. I think I have up to 5000 JIS but I rarely see any difference going up that high. Yes, I see it in the loupe, but the onions and tomatoes can't tell.

Note: This is how I would do it because I accumulated all of that stuff over several years while learning how to sharpen using it, so I already have the tools and know how to use it.

You should be able to do fine with just a Sharpmaker on that steel.
 
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KenHash said:
Hmm....
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but ...

1) If a well sharpened knife dulls quickly, a not-well sharpened knife will dull even quicker.
2) Sharpening a kitchen knife will indeed wear out the blade...... In about 25-30 years.
3) In the wilderness all you need is one stone, such as a Fallkniven DC4 diamond/ceramic stone ...weight 65 grams.
4) Bamboo is a terrible as a cutting board. It is a grass, not a tree and can not be made out of one piece. Consequently adhesives are often used which can become even harder than the bamboo itself. Bamboo also contains 3-4% Silica which is pretty hard on a knife edge. Additionally bamboo will splinter without oiling, creating spots for bacterial growth. With the thousands of years of cooking knife use throughout Asia, no country uses Bamboo as a cutting board. Even in countries were Bamboo is widely used for many purposes. In fact the Bamboo Cutting Board was invented on West Coast in 1999.
5) Any kitchen knife should always be washed with detergent and dried for- hygenic/safety reasons- after each use
6) Steel rods will only realign a rolled edge of a lower HRC knife, as in German Krupp 4116 variant steels. Whereas Ceramic will actually remove material.

I do cook a reasonable amount, and sharpen many kitchen knives both German and Japanese, as well as Outdoor knives.
As I said, everyone is enttled to their own opinion so I'm not going to debate anything. But please feel free to look up each topic for yourself.
Best Regards
Click to expand...
Just a few clarifications. Bamboo is bacteriostatic, as are certain other cutting board materials, and bamboo cannot be made in one piece. I was not aware of the silica in bamboo, but it really depends on silica 'what'. Some imagine silica to be silicon dioxide, or 'sand'. But silicon is part of many other compounds. Bamboo makes a fantastic cutting board, and some of the finest cutlery manufacturers sell them under their own
brand.

The whole point of a steele is to trim up the edge, which is a pretty standard practice by any professional chef. Ceramic are sharpeners. They're nothing like a steele. Ask a chef if he uses a steele or ceramic. Actually, some Japanese chefs sharpen their own knives, so they would probably use ceramic from time to time.
I see no call for razor-sharp kitchen knives. And, duller knives don't dull faster, because the edge is wider, so more contact surface.

Sharpening in the field is a pain in the ass, because I want razor-sharp in the field. Tiny stones make you go sideways too much.

I am not going to wash a knife after slicing bread. And wiping off everything besides meat is probably safe. I've never had a problem. And my present kitchen set is going on 15 years. I see what other peoples knives look like, sharpened way past the life of the knife, 1/4" back from the when it was new, making for impossible cutting angles.

But, I suppose anyone on this forum probably knows how to sharpen kitchen knives, so I accept the criticism as coming from a knowledgable knife user. Thanks, I learned more than a bit.
 
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awesome14 said:
Just a few clarifications. Bamboo is bacteriostatic, as are certain other cutting board materials, and bamboo cannot be made in one piece. I was not aware of the silica in bamboo, but it really depends on silica 'what'. Some imagine silica to be silicon dioxide, or 'sand'. But silicon is part of many other compounds. Bamboo makes a fantastic cutting board, and some of the finest cutlery manufacturers sell them under their own
brand.

The whole point of a steele is to trim up the edge, which is a pretty standard practice by any professional chef. Ceramic are sharpeners. They're nothing like a steele. Ask a chef if he uses a steele or ceramic. Actually, some Japanese chefs sharpen their own knives, so they would probably use ceramic from time to time.
I see no call for razor-sharp kitchen knives. And, duller knives don't dull faster, because the edge is wider, so more contact surface.

Sharpening in the field is a pain in the ass, because I want razor-sharp in the field. Tiny stones make you go sideways too much.

I am not going to wash a knife after slicing bread. And wiping off everything besides meat is probably safe. I've never had a problem. And my present kitchen set is going on 15 years. I see what other peoples knives look like, sharpened way past the life of the knife, 1/4" back from the when it was new, making for impossible cutting angles.

But, I suppose anyone on this forum probably knows how to sharpen kitchen knives, so I accept the criticism as coming from a knowledgable knife user. Thanks, I learned more than a bit.
Click to expand...

- Bamboo boards were invented in the US in 1999. Centuries of using Bamboo as a material throughout East and Southeast Asia has not produced a Bamboo cutting board. The main reason being that because Bamboo no matter how big is always hollow inside. This is why a one-piece Bamboo board can not be made, and requires attaching strips with adhesives. Which in some cases can reach a hardness exceeding the Bamboo itself.
Many companies sell Bamboo boards because they have become popular and they sell. Almost all to home kitchen users. They may be better than plastic or epicurean boards, but they are not as good as one-piece wood boards. Even Japanese companies today sell Bamboo boards aimed at the housewife crowd. Professionals all use Hinoki (Cypress) one-piece boards in Japan and Professional chefs in Western cooking all use hardwood one-pice preferably end grain boards.
But I will leave this issue to whatever you may uncover eventually on your own by talking to professional chefs.

- Most Japanese chefs (in Japan) have knives sharpened by a professional knife sharpener (Togishi). Others sharpen their knives themselves. And they all use water stones only. No honing rods are used. Often they will let a trainee do some sharpening, because it's the first thing you are "allowed" to do after strictly washing dishes and cleaning.
I know because I did this as a teenager.
Ceramic rods are sold in Japan and again, aimed at the home kitchen user. No professional chef uses them. Steel rods however are used in some Western Cuisine Restaurants, where German knives are often seen.

- How, When and even If you wash your cooking knives after use in your own home is indeed entirely up to you.

Regards
 
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