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I’ve just had my knives sharpened, and I definitely can tell they are sharper than before. I have used a pull through knife sharpener for years. I hone more times than I sharpen though.
So, yeah, I’d do both things.
The knife guy has also restored my old pruner to usefulness. I am thinking of also taking in my kitchen shears. He has a sharpening kiosk at the local farmers’ market.
A cheap knife will only mean a frustrating waste of time to try to keep sharp.
Agree, though I'd caution that the words "cheap" and "inexpensive" mean different things. You can get an inexpensive carbon steel knife ($20 or so) that will sharpen easier and be that same scary sharp, so long as you're okay with the other effects of carbon steel (will rust if abused, gets a dark patina with age). Doesn't cost a lot, but not "cheap" (though they Can be complete junk too). I'd argue that a simple carbon steel knife is actually Better for someone who's making the step from "buy knives, use them till they don't cut, toss ~ rinse and repeat" cycle up into the "I want a knife that cuts well and I'm willing to put forth a little effort to care and sharpen" realm.
OP, I was making a disparaging comment about cheap "easy knife sharpeners".... they're VERY aggressive and create a rough (relative) abrasion on the edge. Doesn't really matter if it's powered or manual... maybe I'd give an exception to the Lansky/Spyderco ceramic "V" style, but those are more on the honing side of things and less on the sharpening side IMHO.
I'll just add that in my experience the cheaper German made/style knives are of a softer temper.
Which means, yeah sure - you can get them sharp, but it will need resharpening sooner as in "GD it, I just sharpened these yesterday and now they ain't no sharper than a butter knife for slicing tomatoes!!"
This is just me, but the Japanese knives have a harder edge and can hold that edge longer w/o maintenance and for me that means more time prepping and less time resharpening. And my time has a premium.
Buck up and buy a good set of knives; take them to a pro for setting the edge, then use a good ceramic rod for honing.
I have thought about just buying new knives. But I'd hate to buy new when I have knives with blades that can be sharpened ("improved?")
As for honing vs sharpening....I confess they're the same to me. Either one makes the blade sharper for cutting and use. (which I state from ignorance, clearly.)
The pull through sharpeners have two slots. The far right slot is for honing. Somewhere I have read that you should hone frequently. The slot to the left of the far right slot is for sharpening, and should be used less often.
I do not know how to put an edge on a knife. So I use the pull through sharpeners. The electric ones are apparently bad for knives, and really, why would you need an electric sharpener any more than you would an electric can opener?
I will ask the knife guy for more info when I pick my sharpened pruners.
But if you have decent quality knives, I’d get them sharpened. You can ask your knife guy about their quality, and how to keep them sharp. Then you would have more knowledge about this. And you can repost and let us know what you learned!
I have had the Chefs Choice electric sharpener that you can view on the Amazon site.
I have a lot of knives, do a lot of cooking and have found this to be my best resource for maintaining sharp knives. You only need to use this once a year, or perhaps every 6 months for heavily used knives.
In between using the electric sharpener, I often use the hand honing rod in our kitchen drawer to give the knife a quick edge while knowing the electric sharpener will ensure the knife remains equally shaped on both sides of the blade.
ditto above..
I had used a knife service in the past. But I have been using a Chef's Choice 110 for about 10 years now. Once a year for some, 6 months for others. I am happy with it. It does not take off as much as the professional service did. I was beginning to think my professional service was setting me up to buy new knifes.
I'll just add that in my experience the cheaper German made/style knives are of a softer temper.
Which means, yeah sure - you can get them sharp, but it will need resharpening sooner as in "GD it, I just sharpened these yesterday and now they ain't no sharper than a butter knife for slicing tomatoes!!"
This is just me, but the Japanese knives have a harder edge and can hold that edge longer w/o maintenance and for me that means more time prepping and less time resharpening. And my time has a premium.
There's a trade-off. "Soft" steels (like a full carbon steel) are far more durable/resilient to being treated badly, and sharpen MUCH easier. But yes, they do need more frequent attention (and more care put into use.. they need to be cleaned of acids quickly, and dried quickly). "Hard" steels hold an edge better, but when you do sometihng foolish, like hit a bone or try to cut through something frozen, you end up chipping the blade instead of just bending it. They also are harder to sharpen, taking lots more time and more specialized equipment. The higher the rockwell/hardness, the worse it gets.
Then you get into interesting creations, that have a carbon steel core (for the best/easier sharpening) and a SS cladding (for the easier care). Some of these creations use an ultra-hard center metal with carbon on either side and that's then clad in some form of stainless... big bucks though, beyond my price range.
The fun part is that German vs Japanese is more about the production and design than the material used. Generally speaking, when you compare 2 brands of different origin at the same price level, you're getting similar steel. I tend to prefer Japanese knives because of the knife style (gyuto belly vs a "French chefs" knife belly), thinner build and thus less weight/more comfort. You can easily buy a carbon steel Japanese knife ("soft" steel).
OP, sharpening is removing material to create an edge. During use, that edge kinda bends over and makes the knife feel "dull"... a Hone will stand that edge back up again but doesn't (shouldn't) remove material ~ or only a very, Very minimal amount of material.
Spend some time on YouTube watching knife sharpening videos. Not all edges are equal. You have to judge the edge to the task, which is why a stone is by far the best tool for sharpening a blade. Most, but not all, kitchen knives are sharpened at between 14 degrees and 20 degrees. Avoid "hollow ground" knives. They are worthless and you have to re-work the whole edge to sharpen them.
A narrow edge is sharp but fragile. It might be fine for slicing a fish fillet, but will quickly dull if it contacts a beef bone. A chef's knife, slicing knife, and cleaver are all sharpened differently. Once you have them sharpened correctly, a steel will keep them sharp unless the edge gets damaged.
I judge knives by performance, and you can't judge performance by price tag. I have two sets of good knives, one set of Carvel Hall molybdenum steel, available used on eBay for $20/set, and one set of Tramontina that is an inexpensive Brazilian import. Both sets will hold an edge seemingly forever, and haven't been touched with anything but a steel in years. The Carvel Hall came with a 14" chef knife that is a wonderful tool. For a cleaver, I have a 1 kg. Solingen that I inherited from my grandfather. The edge on that is convex, but not dull. You can chop through bone without denting it. I inherited the edge too, shaped by someone who really knew what he was doing. All I needed was not to screw it up.
I've tried ceramic sticks, Arkansas stones, other composite sharpening stones, and other types of manual sharpening devices, and have never been able to get a good edge with them. I'm good with tools and mechanical things, so I imagine that if I have difficulty sharpening knives, it must be really impossible for non-mechanical folks.
I finally tried a Chef's Choice electric sharpener that I picked up at a flea market. With it, I was able to get a very sharp edge on my knives. Those who are able to use stones may be able to get a better edge, but for those of us who were unsuccessful with manual methods, I find the Chef's Choice to do a very good job of sharpening.
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