I have a few kitchen knives that have prevented me from cooking to my potential because they are all way too dull. I have a large Chicago Cutlery chefs knife, a smaller Chicago Cutlery chefs knife, and a large Henckels chefs knife. I actually prefer the feel of the CC knives but bought the Henckels because it should obviously be better quality. I use the smallest CC most often because I have small hands. I just got the Smiths tri hone stone and have been trying to use it but it is slow progress. I did read some former posts about this and how it might take a long time to get a dull knife sharp with this stone. I'm actually wondering if my coarse stone is loaded with steel, as it feels much smoother than when I first used it. Tried to clean it with soap and a scrub brush but it didn't seem to help. Maybe the eraser trick would work? I have been using water to begin, although it did come with oil so maybe I should use that instead. I'm also probably still not that great at getting the angle right. I guess I need some practice. Any suggestions?
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Help A newbie with sharpening kitchen knives: Smiths tri hone question
- Thread starter Rachel D
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I just picked up an inexpensive Faberware 7" knife (chinese made) this evening as I need a second in this size range in the kichen. Checked the edge and it wasn't real sharp. Used my EZE-LAP diamond stone in fine (600 grit) and super fine (1200 grit). Sharpened right up.
As to your situation, I believe you need to use oil (gun oil or something like that) or a lubricate (such as WD-40) with those stones. The lubricant helps to dislodge the metal paricles from the stone and certainly helps smooth the sharpening process. The Comet mentioned above should clean your Smith right up.
The electric sharpeners work pretty well on the inexpensive kitchen knives such as Chicago Cutlery which are made by Ontario I believe.
As to your situation, I believe you need to use oil (gun oil or something like that) or a lubricate (such as WD-40) with those stones. The lubricant helps to dislodge the metal paricles from the stone and certainly helps smooth the sharpening process. The Comet mentioned above should clean your Smith right up.
The electric sharpeners work pretty well on the inexpensive kitchen knives such as Chicago Cutlery which are made by Ontario I believe.
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Clean up the stones, oil them until they just have a thin layer on top, and practice, practice, practice. Just do your best with the angle, it will come with time, and don't use too much pressure, especially as you get farther along. Check out the stickies in Maintenance, Tinkering, and Embellishment. That should get you started. Freehanding is addictive, the first time you scare yourself with your edge, you'll never go back.
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Do yourself a favor and get yourself one of these http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/NO...on-Sharpening-Stone-8-inch-x-2-inch-x-12-inch and use the "sharpie marker trick". The Smiths Tri-hone was the first set of stones I bought when I was first learning how to freehand sharpen about 10 years ago and what I found was that the medium and fine Arkansas stones were decent but they cut extremely slow and the coarse aluminum oxide stone was almost useless. Luckily my coworker loaned me his Norton stone and gave me a few pointers like the "sharpie trick" and I was finally able to get my knives sharp after a few weeks of practice. Just keep on practicing and don't get discouraged even the best knife sharpeners didn't succeed on their first try. Good luck
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Rachel, consider getting the Norton India Stone. It's an oil stone and get the one that is about 8" long and 2" wide in fine and coarse grits (each side different). Cost is about $20. Spray on some WD-40 and sharpen your knife and wipe off stone and blade. The fine will put a nice edge on your kitchen knives. You generally want a slightly toothy edge on kitchen knives and the steel is generally not very hard. That means they sharpen quickly with the right technique. There is a thread over in the Becker forum specifically about sharpening knives that I think you might find useful. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1139061-Sharpen-a-knife
I have said this before. On basic technique for freehand sharpening on a stone... start with the edge sitting on the stone (that's 90 degrees); half that visually and that's 45 degrees; halve it again and that is about 22.5 degrees (angle). I just slightly make the angle more acute to about 20 degrees and start sharpening like you might be trying to cut a thin slice from the stone. Make a couple passes on one side and flip the knife over and make a couple passes on the other side. Pay attention to the angle.
I have said this before. On basic technique for freehand sharpening on a stone... start with the edge sitting on the stone (that's 90 degrees); half that visually and that's 45 degrees; halve it again and that is about 22.5 degrees (angle). I just slightly make the angle more acute to about 20 degrees and start sharpening like you might be trying to cut a thin slice from the stone. Make a couple passes on one side and flip the knife over and make a couple passes on the other side. Pay attention to the angle.
Last edited:
David Martin
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Good ^. DM