Sharpening Warther's knives

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wvdavidr

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Mar 21, 2007
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I have kitchen knives made by Warther knives in Dover, Ohio. They have a thin blade and can be made to be pretty sharp. They don't seem to hold the edge well IMHO.. I use the Edge Pro Apex and the Sharpmaker to sharpen (use the marker trick, raise burr, etc.). My questions: Do any of you use or sharpen those? If so, any advice? What type of steel do they use?

Thanks,
Dave
 
I don't have or use any Warther knives, but as to the question of steel type used & hardness, read below.

From the Warther Cutlery site ( http://www.warthercutlery.com/how-a-warther-knife-is-made/ ):
"Steel

From Mooney's humble beginnings of making knives; he sought after the highest quality steel that was available for kitchen use, which at that time he chose M2 tool steel. Then, in the mid 1930s, to keep the highest quality kitchen knife, Mooney and his son, Dave, progressed from M2 tool steel to D2 tool steel. Eventually, the Warther Family went to 440-C in the early 1950s due to its higher quality and higher corrosion resistance.

Recent advances in steel technology have allowed us to continue making the highest quality kitchen knives with the best steels available today. Warther Cutlery now manufactures all of its kitchen knives with CPM® S35VN made by Crucible Industries, LLC in Solvay, NY. CPM® S35VN is a martensitic stainless steel with superior sharpness and toughness of its edge, edge retention, and wear and corrosion resistance. CPM® S35VN is heat treated to 58-60 Rockwell as recommended by Crucible for optimal performance."
Click to expand...

Pretty high-end for kitchen knives. I'd hope they should do pretty well.


David
(... and Happy Thanksgiving to you, and all here. :))
 
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My guess,

Your refining the edge too much. Go coarser, as in, don't go past the medium SM rods or a 2000 grit stone.
 
Jason B. said:
My guess,

Your refining the edge too much. Go coarser, as in, don't go past the medium SM rods or a 2000 grit stone.
Click to expand...

Although I think you are right, I'm not sure why. Is the steel too soft to get a better edge with finer stones or rods?
Thanks,
Dave
 
wvdavidr said:
Although I think you are right, I'm not sure why. Is the steel too soft to get a better edge with finer stones or rods?
Thanks,
Dave
Click to expand...

If you're currently trying to polish the edge with the ceramics of the Sharpmaker, you might try finishing & polishing on diamond instead, at or below 3µ (DMT EEF and/or stropping on hardwood with diamond compound/pastes). With the 3% vanadium content in S35VN, it may not refine (polish) as well at finer grit, on ceramics. Diamond at 3µ and smaller makes a BIG difference on high-wear steels when polishing, leaving the edge much crisper in the process. I noticed this with S30V in particular (w/4% vanadium), which takes a much better polished edge using diamond instead of ceramics.


David
 
I wonder if the diamond pastes for the Wicked Edge balsa and leather strops would do a good job? I also wonder if our Warther knives have the newest steels- ours were bought in 2001.

To answer IM's question, I cut on polypropylene cutting boards, which are pretty soft. I baby the knives. I may also be too particular on what I'm calling 'sharp.'

Thanks,
Dave
 
I have a pair of their paring knives, bought in 2000 or so. I've tried half a dozen different techniques and they will not take a decent edge. So So , but nothing in the shaving department.
I have no idea why. Its the only set of knives in my kitchen that are this way. I'm making a set to replace them.

Fred
 
wvdavidr said:
I wonder if the diamond pastes for the Wicked Edge balsa and leather strops would do a good job? I also wonder if our Warther knives have the newest steels- ours were bought in 2001.

To answer IM's question, I cut on polypropylene cutting boards, which are pretty soft. I baby the knives. I may also be too particular on what I'm calling 'sharp.'

Thanks,
Dave
Click to expand...

Maybe you've got some of the earlier 440C knives, per the maker's description of their use of that steel prior to using the S35VN. You might contact Warther and ask them what yours are (ask if they know the RC hardness too), based on the known vintage. With really good heat treat, 440C can be great (example: Buck's older 440C blades). But I've also seen some disappointing ones in 440C that weren't taken to the same hardness as Buck's old blades. The softer 440C blades I've seen have behaved a lot like Victorinox's SAK blades; they can take great edges, but they're pretty vulnerable to edge damage (rolling, dings & dents) and need frequent touching up.

Might try the diamond paste with the balsa; that's what I'd do, if you have those available. 440C does have a lot of large chromium carbides, and diamond or other more aggressive abrasives (like SiC) handle it well.


David
 
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