How To Freehand sharpen a scalloped edge?

Just use the edge of the stone. I find them actually easier to sharpen than pointed serrations.
 
I just resharpened 5 a friend's Miracle Blades, and have done a couple Kershaw and zts as well.

I used my Spyderco Pro File set, following Sal's method of slicing the whole blade down the rod as if slicing some cheese.

Same process as regular serrations!

Side note, I personally think that the tapered rod method of matching the rod radius to an individual serration and filing each one at a time is plain WRONG.

The concave between points is not the only part doing the cutting. If you want your serrations to CUT like Spyderco's instead of RIP like a saw (think any Chinese knife), you have to maintain the geometry of the teeth as well.

I also like how quickly you can touch up a full blade doing it this way, as opposed to tediously filing away at each individual serration. Holy crap that takes forever!

Thx.
 
maximus83 said:
How would you freehand sharpen a scalloped edge (note: scalloped, not regular serrated)?

I've seen a couple older threads here but never saw anything conclusive. Obviously something like Sharpmaker works, Sal shows a scalloped edge in one of the standard videos. But I'm interested in how you'd freehand sharpen.

Here's an example:
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/WU45197/Wusthof-Gourmet-10-inch-Super-Slicer
Click to expand...
I don't think you'd ever need to sharpen a bread knife like that. Bread is so much softer than the blade steel you wouldn't ever abrade the material.
 
Danke42 said:
I don't think you'd ever need to sharpen a bread knife like that. Bread is so much softer than the blade steel you wouldn't ever abrade the material.
Click to expand...

Most sharpening done to bread knives is not for blunting from any sort of abrasive wear. It's from accidental impacts with things like pots/pans/plates/drinking glasses or the knife being carelessly tossed into the steel kitchen sink.
 
Danke42 said:
I don't think you'd ever need to sharpen a bread knife like that. Bread is so much softer than the blade steel you wouldn't ever abrade the material.
Click to expand...

This specific knife--which I'm looking at to get for a relative as a gift--is noted as being a good multipurpose knife that is effective as a meat slicer as well. So that--and the fact that I sharpen even my own bread knife occasionally--suggests that it probably will need to get sharpened. It's not a current issue for me, I don't even have knife to give yet. I'm actually trying to decide if I'll get that or something else, partly based on the "is it a big hassle to sharpen" question.
 
I think that if you're buying someone a knife like that you should expect them to take proper care of it and not chuck in the sink etc.

If they can't be trusted to properly take care of a a $100 chef's knife then don't buy them a $100 chef's knife and worry about sharpening it.

Buy them a $5 knife and move on. A good cook will respect and take care of the tools including the washing and storage of them. A careless person will put it in the dishwasher, pop bottle caps with with and do whatever else. They won't be able to tell if they're ruining an expensive or a cheap tool. And telling them from the word go that it's expensive won't change anything. Once again a good cook will know.
 
Accidents happen. Such is reality. So sharpening is something that can be expected to occasionally be required of a bread knife.

Back to the point of the thread, the scallop shapes don't present the same stiff peak to them that pointed serrations have, and so the long, gliding stroke method of sharpening serrations on the edge of a stone skips over less of the edge than it otherwise would. It's not a big challenge.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Back to the point of the thread, the scallop shapes don't present the same stiff peak to them that pointed serrations have, and so the long, gliding stroke method of sharpening serrations on the edge of a stone skips over less of the edge than it otherwise would. It's not a big challenge.
Click to expand...

Yes that is a good point. That different approach to a serrated edge design is partly what got me interested in checking out this type of scalloped edge for this slightly different application: 'multipurpose slicer' that can handle traditional bread knife duty, AND be a great general purpose slicer for meats, fish, and stuff like tomatoes and soft-skinned fruits/veggies. First became aware of this specific knife and its edge design as it was recommended by the chef Chad Ward in his book An Edge in the Kitchen. FWIW, I'd recommend this book to anybody looking to expand your knowledge about all things having to do with kitchen knives. It's an entertaining read, and the guy seems to know his stuff.
 
I have a bread knife from one of those multi-knife infomercials. Picked it up in a thrift shop for $2.00 a few years ago.
Cheap China ss , use it for bread & cake mostly but it does meat loaf & brisket nicely.
When it starts getting a little lazy about 8-10 light strokes on my 30 year old Sharpmaker white stones & it scares
arm hair into jumping off LOL
 
I think there is some natural ability or aptitude or motivation required for sharpening. I think my best analogy is that it's like playing a musical instrument. Anyone can pick one up and get it to make noise but creating music needs something more. And you could spend your whole life reading about how to play a guitar and not manage to play a chord.

I'm one of those people gifted with absolutely no musical gene. I can blow a whistle and that's about where it ends. But I can sharpen knives to I got that going for me.

And agreed for a serrated/scalloped knife running over a stone like any other knife is the "secret", the catch is how much pressure. Too much or too little and you're not happy with the result.
 
I make ALL of my bread from scratch and am very careful to avoid contacting the edge with any surface. I slice catalevered over the sink and catch the bread before falling in.

At a rate of ~22 slices/loaf and 1–2 loafs/week, after 2–3 years (3,000–6000 slices?), the blade seems worn to me based on the way it performs.

Since I’m lazy, and it still slices the bread without noticably compressing it, I procrastinate sharpening it— even though it doesn’t seem to cut as cleanly.
 
The Victorinox blade on my Trekker is pretty much scalloped, more so than serrated.
Being a chisel grind most times I just sharpen the back side but sometimes it needs touching up on the grind side.

For this I use the corners of my Sharpmaker stones and they work very well for this.

This blade is very easy to maintain compared to other types of serrations.
 
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