Henckels sharpening

[mntbighker]

I decided to take a crack at my Henckels chef knife tonight on the Wicked Edge. As predicted the factory angles were terrible. Anyway I have a few random remarks I thought may spark some discussion. The steel seems crazy hard to sharpen. My S30, S35 and M390 folding knives are butter compared to this stuff. The area of the blade near the bolster is so thick I'm not sure how to go about getting it sharp. There is a good 3/4 inch dull area. I can try going after it with the extra coarse paddles I suppose, but I'm concerned about creating a divot in the blade. I have most of the blade phone book paper sharp/polished, with a couple of micro chips I didn't remove. I wonder if a chefs knife would be better off convex too.

 

[Danketch]

You could sharpie up the entire edge. Attack the dull areas until the sharpie marks on the already sharp portion blend away- should give a good indication of when the different thicknesses are matched up. Good luck.

 

[mntbighker]

You could sharpie up the entire edge. Attack the dull areas until the sharpie marks on the already sharp portion blend away- should give a good indication of when the different thicknesses are matched up. Good luck.

Thanks, I used the sharpie method to get where I am now. The trouble is that the base of the blade seems to have been neglected when ground. I may have to pay a knife guy with a belt grinder to work the base. Or just ignore it. The knife will be plenty usable as is. It just bugs me. I was just watching a YT video where a guy was claiming the ice hardened Henckel should be 20 degree and the carbon steel Japanese chef knives should be 17. I suspect re-grinding will ruin the ice hardening too.

 

[bucketstove]

Thanks, I used the sharpie method to get where I am now. The trouble is that the base of the blade seems to have been neglected when ground. I may have to pay a knife guy with a belt grinder to work the base. Or just ignore it. The knife will be plenty usable as is. It just bugs me. I was just watching a YT video where a guy was claiming the ice hardened Henckel should be 20 degree and the carbon steel Japanese chef knives should be 17. I suspect re-grinding will ruin the ice hardening too.

Hi,
beltsander is not required for regrinds,
its not too hard or time consuming with a stone if you spread it out,

get a dollar tree stone, dunk it in water,
take the light side (seems to break down easier),
and scrape everyinch with a nail
or a sharp rock
or the corner of another dollar tree stone,
rise yourself some slurry


then with two hands
scrub the problem area for a minute
then take a 5-15 minute break

if your arms are in any way sore, use much less force next time
if you didn't even feel it, use more force next time

just make sure you only do one minute at a time and don't overexert your arms
to the point they're sore, the rest of your week will be painful


also grind down the bolster as required

you don't have to do it all in one session , you can spread it out over an entire week or month

I mention dollar tree stone because its a hard stone 1x2x6inch
it can take a lot of force without getting damaged,
and using a lot of force speeds up grinding

also the brick and mortar stores seem to have them in stock again

 

[cbwx34]

I decided to take a crack at my Henckels chef knife tonight on the Wicked Edge. As predicted the factory angles were terrible. Anyway I have a few random remarks I thought may spark some discussion. The steel seems crazy hard to sharpen. My S30, S35 and M390 folding knives are butter compared to this stuff. The area of the blade near the bolster is so thick I'm not sure how to go about getting it sharp. There is a good 3/4 inch dull area. I can try going after it with the extra coarse paddles I suppose, but I'm concerned about creating a divot in the blade. I have most of the blade phone book paper sharp/polished, with a couple of micro chips I didn't remove. I wonder if a chefs knife would be better off convex too.

Your concern about "creating a divot" is probably valid... not necessarily in the "thick" area, but in the area in front of it. The thick area can cause the stone to improperly contact the edge, and over sharpen the area in front, and leave a divot or start a recurve. If you by chance can post a picture of the area, you can probably get more specific help.

But, in general, the area in front of the bolster on these knives is thicker... there are two ways to handle it, IMO. You can sharpen in front of this area, then flat grind the thick area and bolster as needed to keep everything in line (or flat grind it first and get it out of the way). Or you can grind the area in front of the bolster and sharpen it. The tip I use is to make sure the stone only contacts the thick area, until it is thinned... so you want to tip or rotate the stone so that it only contacts that area. As it thins, it will contact more of the blade. If you do this, realize that the bevel in this area will be wider than the rest of the blade... it may not "look right", but it will be sharp. Pretty easy to do on the W.E. actually, since you can easily see where the stone is contacting. I would start with the coarse stone (not extra coarse), so you can check your work as you go, and not over sharpen the wrong areas. (You'll still need to flat grind the bolster as needed).

That's my .02...hope it makes sense.

Edit to add:

I have to beat bgentry here... look at "Secret 5" Selective Grinding

 

[HeavyHanded]

If the bolster runs to the end of the heel, it will have to be ground down as well, or the edge won't contact the entire length when chopping. As with bucketstove's advice I would highly recommend using a bench stone, but in my case I'd go with a combi stone from ace of the Norton econo stone from Home Depot and use it with mineral oil, though water will work with repeated dunking. Oil seems to speed the refresh rate and help prevent clogging of the stone on prolonged grinding sessions. It also floats debris and swarf.

This will be a good primer for other freehand work as well. Cosmetically it will not look so good at the rough finish, but once you get the shape reset, advance to the fine side, then some sandpaper to a satin finish or whatever the factory finish is.

If it doesn't run all the way to the heel, you should be able to grind it to work with more patience. The bevel might also appear much wider if the knife stock is thicker there. Is possible a convex shape will help, but I'd reset the bevels first before making any decisions that will be tough to reverse.

 

[Bazzle]

I expect your Henkels is similar to those of Chroma or the damascus Calpholan knives where the blade gets a little thicker towards the bolster and (not intrigal bolster).
If you have the coarse stones for WE I would take the time using those. It may be difficult to use another stone by hand and going back to WE while mainting the same bevel. You may end up chasing your tail.

 

[mntbighker]

Thanks for all the advise fellas. I'm going to sit with it for a spell and decide what next. I may post some pics. One thing I completely agree with is no matter how I "fix" it, the knife won't look right. I'm not sure I care though ;-)

 

[Jason B.]

Thanks, I used the sharpie method to get where I am now. The trouble is that the base of the blade seems to have been neglected when ground. I may have to pay a knife guy with a belt grinder to work the base. Or just ignore it. The knife will be plenty usable as is. It just bugs me. I was just watching a YT video where a guy was claiming the ice hardened Henckel should be 20 degree and the carbon steel Japanese chef knives should be 17. I suspect re-grinding will ruin the ice hardening too.

Ice hardening, 20 vs 17 degrees, it really don't mean much. Just some marketing to confuse you.

I've sharpened and repaired a few thousand bolstered German knives and yes, it's easier to do with belt grinders and blending wheels but it can be done by hand.

As mentioned, a stone or even some Wet/Dry sandpaper from about 320-1000 will work to regrind the bolster. The bolster and edge need to be ground flat and you can even put some upward angle on the bolster. It's really a lot less difficult than it sounds and will make it easier to sharpen the edge.