Sharpening knives for left/right-handed chefs

M

myrmecia

Joined
Jan 18, 2007
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I saw a professional mail-order knife sharpening service advertise its service for chefs and asked its customers:

"(Specify if you are right or left handed, and the type of food cutting being done.)"

Can you suggest what the difference might be between sharpening for left handed and right handed chefs?
 
I may be wrong but in my experience many cooking knives are chisel ground. If they are ground on the right side of the blade, I as a lefty can make a nice straight line. If they are ground on the left, my cuts tend to be curved to the left. I always check the grind before buying knives because of this.
Victorinox for some reason tends to grind their knives perfectly for me. SWMBO and I prefer them for this reason, we are both lefties.
 
Thanks. I have seen biased blades on Japanese knives, but not on regular kitchen knives. Are the Victorinox knives you mention specifically chisel-ground? And are they the knives you can buy at a knife shop in a regular mall? Or are they specialist knives available only from firms that specialize in catering/professional gear?
 
if a blade is ground on both sides with a v edge it wont matter. if it is a chisel grind then the only thing that would make any difference is the side the main bevel is ground on which could be left or right. all of my chisel ground blades i make are only ground and sharpened on the left side unless someone wants one ground on the right side.
 
myrmecia said:
Thanks. I have seen biased blades on Japanese knives, but not on regular kitchen knives. Are the Victorinox knives you mention specifically chisel-ground? And are they the knives you can buy at a knife shop in a regular mall? Or are they specialist knives available only from firms that specialize in catering/professional gear?
Click to expand...

The ones that we have are chisel ground and are the standard Victorinox kitchen knives. You should be able to get them anywhere.
 
I've only heard of this applying to asymmetrically-ground blades, such as traditional Japanese knives. I don't know of any kitchen knives that are v-ground but have a chisel edge.

In any case, you shouldn't have to specify whether the knife is left or right handed. It should be obvious based on the grind. Same should be said for the type of cutting you do. The design of the blade should make it obvious how you'll use it. A thick meat cleaver will need a more obtuse edge than a delicate slicer.

Seems a little strange to me.

Phillip
 
I make knives which have the handle biased for lefties on request, folders for lefties and sushi knives with left or right hand bevels but none of these affect the sharpening technique.

Once the blade is ground the bevel of the blade determines how the blade must be sharpened.

George
 
Perhaps this is a different reason: On single bevel edges, you don't want the flat side resting on the work surface when laid down. Look at the attached jpg to see what I mean. If the flat side where pushed against the surface when laid down, it could dull the edge. Therefore, as a righty, I always place the knife with the left side of the blade down.

just my 2¢
 

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    single bevel.jpg
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Or.....
The company makes the device in left and right configurations so that the part you hold is in your off hand and the knife being sharpened is in you strong hand. Think of how hard it would be to use a draw type sharpener holding it in the wrong hand or turned backwards. On a rotary type sharpener, like a Chef's Choice, the stones would be turning the wrong way if you turned it backwards so a lefty could get a grip on the machine.
 
i have had orders call for a V grind then a edge ground in a 90/10 not the std. 50/50 grind

tho for the most part if the buyer wants a ofset edge they will hone it that way them selves
 
They sharpening service must be referring to converting the edge from a symetrical to asymetrical and possibly changing the edge angle based upon usage. I have a Masahiro MV-H that was factory ground at a 80/20 asymetrical edge and I maintain it the same and it is a real cutter.

Every Victorinox/Forschner I have owned came with a V grind. I'm also curious which models have a chisel grind.
 
Sorry, I misread the OP and thought the company was selling sharpening equipment. My bad.
 
When you say..."looking at the left side of the blade..." it reminds me when someone asks which tire? Are you determining the side by looking at it from the handle end or the tip end?
 
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