Hi and Help, please. Cannot keep knives sharp.

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SSKCutlery

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Jul 10, 2019
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Hello All. I am hoping to find some help with hollow grinding kitchen knives, we currently have a need to sharpen around 800 knives a week for a catering/banquet company with multiple locations. We are using Tru Hones, a grinder with a 120 grit wheel. Previously we were using an F Dick SM-110. We cannot seem to keep the blade sharp for more then 2-3 days of work (we need it to stay sharp for about 7 days). I am hoping to either purchase the right equipment to accomplish this, or find a partner who has a hollow grinder and the capacity to sharpen 800 a week. Thanks in advance for any and all help.
 
Sometimes it's the knife (steel, geometry, and heat treatment), or the type of use, that dictates how long the edge remains sharp... in other words, it might be what you are sharpening; rather than with what you are sharpening
 
Thank you very much. Would you be willing to consult for fee of course to help us get this system dialed in?
 
Hi, Professional sharpener chiming in, There are MANY different variables involved in getting a knife sharp and KEEPING it sharp, some of which hhmoore mentioned. I would be more than happy to chat with you about it.

First, can you tell me which knives you guys use?

5 years doing professional sharpening for knives and tools has really taught me alot
 
Probably a significant amount of mystery "stainless steel" being used in these knives. If they are not capable of holding an edge for long enough, nothing you do will fix that issue.

I'm guessing that the fact that the chefs and line prep, kitchen folk are not capable of sharpening their own cutlery means they are probably also using cheap steel.

It's not you, its them.....

I am not a chef, nor a pro sharpener. I'd never send my knives to some one else to grind on.

I sharpen my self. And have a few pro sharpeners I would trust to sharpen my knives and not screw them up (but I don't really need anyone to do this service for me).
 
Bigfattyt said:
Probably a significant amount of mystery "stainless steel" being used in these knives. If they are not capable of holding an edge for long enough, nothing you do will fix that issue.

I'm guessing that the fact that the chefs and line prep, kitchen folk are not capable of sharpening their own cutlery means they are probably also using cheap steel.

It's not you, its them.....

I am not a chef, nor a pro sharpener. I'd never send my knives to some one else to grind on.

I sharpen my self. And have a few pro sharpeners I would trust to sharpen my knives and not screw them up (but I don't really need anyone to do this service for me).
Click to expand...

You are correct on the mystery steel. It's a real shame. But I disagree that there's nothing you can do about edge retention. I can make an 8cr13mov blade hold an edge as long as an s30v blade. But the 8cr will have a much steeper sharpening angle and will probably be convexed. sure, it isn't quite as sharp, but these knives are already only sharpened to 180 grit, most of the cutting will be from the slicing action, not the edge's sharpness.
 
Lotmom said:
Hi, Professional sharpener chiming in, There are MANY different variables involved in getting a knife sharp and KEEPING it sharp, some of which hhmoore mentioned. I would be more than happy to chat with you about it.

First, can you tell me which knives you guys use?

5 years doing professional sharpening for knives and tools has really taught me alot
Click to expand...


Hi yes I would def like to chat if possible. Please message me where to call you. Thanks.
 
Where are you guys located at?
Who are the blades made by? If you don't know post a picture. My guess is Greban or Nella based on the hollow grind.

I'm a sharpener myself and as said too many factors to list at play. What are the cutting surfaces used?
 
Cozzini out of Chicago are where we are buying the knives. Using a TruHone Heavy Duty Sharpener and a bench grinder @ 3450 RPM with a 120 grit wheel.
 
Look the same as Greban and Nella. Typical exchange knives with awful grinds.

120 grit may be leaving a real toothy edge that falls apart. If anything look into Norton grinding wheels that are supposed to minimize overheating
 
It may be more the type of steel in the knife than how it's sharpened ... and if you are doing catering it may have to do with the types of cutting boards also ...

Most kitchen knives aren't real high edge retention steels and using them for that much work they will need touched up now and then whether it's using a steel to realign the edge or something like a strop or ceramic hone to keep it sharp ...

And most cutting boards will quickly dull a knife ... you can search and see for yourself which types are easier on a knives edge ...
 
Good chef knives taper from spine to edge getting thinner and thinner until the edge is put on. These exchange jobbies, ones I have seen, are about 1/16" wide, no taper of any kind and they depend on the hollow to be the thinning.

They wedge horribly compared to a tapered chef.
 
I'm a hobbyist sharpener for 20 plus years and currently use whetstones. Just some thoughts:
At 3450 rpm and 120 grit (very toothy) I'm wondering if you haven't compromised what heat treat the knives had to begin with?
Also I'm willing to bet the cutting boards in use aren't helping one bit. They're probably nylon or similar. That's very rough on a knife. I use American black walnut, not something a catering operation can do.
Do an experiment with a randomly sampled knife, putting a proper edge on it and using it on a softer cutting board like walnut, maple, or even cheap Acacia or composite.

That's a crap ton of knives to sharpen.

As for consultants, I highly recommend you reach out to Razor Edge Systems. They literally wrote the book on sharpening, and in fact specialize in this type of problem for entities exactly as you describe. They supply systems to most of the top meat processors in the country.

Best of luck!

Razor Edge Systems, Inc.
Phone: 218-365-6419
Toll Free: 800-541-1458

https://www.razoredgesystems.com/industrialsystems/industrial/industrial-heavy-duty-system.html
 
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