Keeping a Good Edge
July 05, 2010, By Greg Hoard 0 comments
The other night, I’m fixing dinner: meat loaf, baby red potatoes, asparagus and a salad with red onions, cheddar cheese and cucumbers. Got a lot of chopping to do.
I reach into the knife drawer, pull out one of my favorites and go to work. Now, I’m not sure who has used this knife and for what, but I find it has an edge like a baby’s behind. I can’t cut anything clean or without an effort.
This is not good. Maybe it’s completely Freudian, but I want my knives – all my knives – razor sharp. That evening after dinner, I grabbed my whetstone, all my knives and went to work. The more I worked, the more satisfied I became – actually somewhat excited, probably the result of another psychological flaw.
I measured the sharpness against the hair on my knee and jaw. I worked for hours. My wife, tolerant and dear soul that she is, kept turning away from Dancing with The Stars, saying, “Have you ever considered that you are obsessive?”
This did not require an answer since we both know I am obsessive.
Her next question was more important. “Where did you learn to do this, sharpen knives?”
“My grandfather, Cal,” I said, “and my dad, Russ. Their knives would cut air.”
“It’s a lost art,” she said. “I’ve never seen anyone go to so much effort.”
Maybe she’s right, maybe she’s wrong, but here is what I learned from the fathers.
- If you have fine knives, and I hope you do, never ever turn to a machine to sharpen your knives. True, it’s fast and effective for a short period of time, but you will ruin your knives.
- Use, instead, a whetstone and prepare the stone.
- To prepare the stone for sharpening, put it in a container and cover it with a coating of household or light machine oil. Let it soak overnight. Remove any soil or dust particles with a shop rag.
- Every whetstone will have a coarse side and a fine side. If the knife is very dull, use the coarse side first and then the fine side. If you can see the bevel, work on the bevel as you work moving up and down. If you can’t discern a bevel, and this should not be, work at a 30 degree angle.
- Always push the blade away from you at a diagonal across the stone. Repeat, over and over, using alternating strokes on each side of the blade – the same number of strokes on each side of the blade. After 10 or 20 strokes, wipe the blade clean, and start again.
- Keep after it. The longer you work, the better the result.
Many kitchen sets – carving sets and such – come with a sharpening steel. You’ve seen chefs on TV whisk their knives back and forth over these and go to work. They are okay. Six strokes or so will give you the edge to cut a turkey or a piece of beef.
That’s not enough for me. I want to lay something open. I use Buck Knives in the kitchen, Schrade’s, Smith and Wesson knives, knives from Italy and Greece and Germany. I’ve even got a machete. It’s great for honeysuckle and low-hanging limbs, and another example of my dark side.
In truth, I probably need to spend more time on the couch.
Greg Hoard is the senior writer and former editor of Cincinnati Profile magazine. He is a featured contributor to ManoftheHouse.com.
