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Knives!

I went with old faithful today - Spiderco Tenacious. Huge fan of full flat grind blades! I might actually have two of these with me today as one always rides in my GHB in the truck.

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Kitchen Knife Sharpening Day

I went through the knife block this morning and pulled out the 7" Santoku (Miyabi Artisan's MC63 steel), an Enso paring knife (SG2), and three steak knives (Berkel X50CrMoV15, a mid-line German stainless). These knives would no longer cut paper smoothly enough for my taste, even after regular honing with a Messermeister 12" ceramic hone.

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I broke out a well-used but flat and sharp hard Arkansas stone, 8x2x1", and sprayed it with spring water with a couple of drops of lanolin. The steak knives were up first. They got hair-popping sharp at about 20 dps very quickly, and they got very smooth with light pressure on the last few strokes.

I noticed a few tiny chips on all three edges, but I decided not to grind them away. They are steak knives and they have a hard life, cutting on glass and ceramic surfaces. Steak or any fibrous materials will not mind the tiny chips. I might have tried a soft Ark if I were going to remove much more steel.

I resisted the urge to finish any further. They will cut paper smoothly and pop hair without going any finer, and they will cut steak like a machete or chainsaw, ruthlessly and without mercy. I pity the fool who shows up at my house with his own steak knife! I'm going to embarass that boy!

Time to move on to the Japanese blades, of more upscale steel. I was not sure what to expect from the hard Ark, but I like the idea of using natural stones if the steel will cooperate. I find using natural stones to be romantic and spiritually fulfilling, as opposed to the industrial feeling I get from sharpening with industrial diamonds. Others may have a less colorful reaction to the tool used, and maybe I am taking it too seriously! Or not seriously enough!

I used about 15-17 dps, as a concession to my wife. She is careful with the knives, but she is an enthusiastic cook and I expect things to get banged around a little. It gives me an excuse to sharpen!

Both the MC63 and SG2 blades responded to the hard Ark very well for a touch-up of a still fairly sharp edge. They cut like beavers after ten or twelve strokes per side, with the pressure decreasing to "as light as made sense." Food sharp, very quickly. I don't know how well this stone would handle removing more metal, but for this task it was clearly capable, I wasn't pushing it too far and getting any glazing or excess wear, and I got sharp with the minimum number of strokes.

I stropped about four or five strokes per side on the Herald Solingen red on leather. That big red strop just kills, the little HS crayons leave a beautiful finish, and they last a long time. No problem with the price after charging several strops and observing the performance, how long they go between charges, and how much is still left. I stopped here, even though the black HS strop was within my lunging distance. I think I have gotten way out of control with polishing edges that probably perform better if left less polished. I might be learning!

Those thin Asian style blades glide through food. They are champs at paper and hair, but a lot of blades can do that. Cutting up both hard and soft things with the same blade, using no effort, the blade always going exactly where you want it, those things are super for food preparation! And the food has to taste better, and it has to be more healthy, more nutricious. Food prepared with a very sharp knife is going to be better in every way, period.

Here are the tools I used. An ebay used hard Arkansas 8x2x1 stone on the common stone holder, and a piece of broken hard Ark to keep the surface clean and sharp. A leather strop lathered up with Herald Solingen red crayon. A 10 or 15X loupe, I can't remember which, a roll of receipt paper, a spray bottle loaded with bottled water (because the tap water here has about 125 tds) and a few drops of lanolin, and a bristle brush to clean up.

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Not pictured is the comfortable chair, a bucket of water, and an old bathtowel I keep draped over a shoulder to dry things off. I didn't think a picture of the chair and/or towel would be helpful to forum members. A bold decision, but I've seen the towel, I know what it looks like, who else would care?

This gear was very reasonably priced, only about $125, although I probably got lucky with the used stone. It was flat enough and not saturated with oil, so I flattened one side on an Atoma 140 and now I use it all the time on quick and dirty jobs like this. It produces a beautiful edge on the right steel. I've put D2 and some of the more modern steels on it and all it will do is shine the surface a little! "Great on most of the old classics!!! No no no with super steel!"
 
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Anyone here see the new Shirogorov Stellar?

Shirogorov Custom Division Stellar | FABLADES |

So far only the Custom Division sprint run has been shown at the Atlanta show. Collectors we’re picking them up for $3500 a piece. A production run is expected soon. Expected AD price is $1150.

I have both a Shirogorov NeOn and an F3. The Stellar fits between in size.
Geez, there are some very expensive things on that site. $99 for a coil bead? $329 for ONE chess piece? Just slightly out of my price range! :D
 
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This Ganzo Firebird is such an inexpensive knife, but is so well made and came razor sharp. It has a 440c blade. It is funny how knife lovers look down on 440c these days. Twenty-five years ago, it was a well-respected stainless steel. It has a fairly high carbon content with decent edge retention and it is very rust resistant. I think it is a great choice for inexpensive knives.
 
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Carothers Performance Knife 4” DEK1 in AEB-L

These things are harder to find than hen’s teeth. Any CPK for that matter. Small batch releases always sell in milliseconds.

Next one I want is a CPK Basic 5” Field Knife in CPM 3V. The heat treat on these steels are a benchmark in the industry. One in 3V will literally shear through a 1/4” bolt without edge damage.
 
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This Ganzo Firebird is such an inexpensive knife, but is so well made and came razor sharp. It has a 440c blade. It is funny how knife lovers look down on 440c these days. Twenty-five years ago, it was a well-respected stainless steel. It has a fairly high carbon content with decent edge retention and it is very rust resistant. I think it is a great choice for inexpensive knives.
And Lots and lots... more options
kind of getting silly
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I have picked up a few that have caught my eye. A couple of old Maher & Grosh from my hometown. The dark one has etching on the blade. The little one has a magnificent pearl that is just not possible to accurately capture the depth of with a camera… I keep these in a 1940s wood Craftsman machinist tool chest I restored along with other old tools. The metal handle hawk bill is another Maher & Grosh that is a joy to use. I recommend getting one of this style if you haven’t already. The bone Case knife I use at work, and has excellent thin sharp blades.
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I joined Bespoke and for like $50 a month I'll be getting some sort of knife option each month, it looks like. It's a "box subscription" type deal, but each month there's a swap option. I looked around a bit on their site and I'm pretty sure I can pick out a knife each time. I'm a chef by profession, so it's not a problem at all what kind of knife they want to send.

There are other cool options too. I'll play for a few months and see if I'm going to keep it. At the very least, I'll have some gifts on-hand before the holidays roll around.
 
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I see good old D-2 tool steel is in there. Way back in 1985 I was specifying that for cutting blades used in notching aluminum heat exchanger parts, as recommended by Machinery's Handbook. Amazing how the more things change the more they stay the same.
 
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Received this Kershaw Leek in Copper today. I really like the lines of this design. There are some significant differences from the other Leek I have. Liner lock vs. frame lock, the location of logos and other markings, the copper version is thicker and heavier, and the milling work on the copper is less refined. Should look pretty cool when the copper starts to get a patina on it. Here it is next to my other Leek.
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