Spoils of a Knife Hunt

Went out on a knife hunt and brought back some goodies!

Kitchen Knives

Here are the knives that I found.

The top two are vintage J.A. Henckel, next is a Wusthof Classic forged chef's knife, then four paring knives.

J. A. Henckel Slicing knives 219-8 1/2" and 232-8

Here are the top two. Vintage Henckel slicing knives. The top one is the 219-8 1/2" knife, the other is the 232-8. Both are stainless steel stamped knives, not full tang, and wood handles.

They were made in Solingen, Germany and are marked 'Friodur' which is their heat treating trademark.

Both of these Henckels are in remarkable condition for their age. I will clean and oil the wood handles and probably put them up for sale on eBay.

Wusthof Classic Forged Chef's Knife Model 4522/20

Next up is this Wusthof. It's a Classic model, which is their best forged model. This knife is in good condition with one little exception.

Wusthof Chef's Knife with Bent Point

Here is the one exception. I think the previous owner used this knife to pry an abalone off of a rock as the point of the knife is now heading left. It's a pretty big bend and I'm not sure if it will be able to be straightened — I may have to grind it down and reshape the knife.

I will probably have this knife with me and for sale at my mobile knife sharpening booth.

R. H. Forschner, Case XX and Chicago Cutlery Paring Knives

Found four paring knives. R. H. Forschner, Case XX and Chicago Cutlery. My knife sharpening customers are always on the prowl for paring knives so these will be cleaned up, sharpened and offered for sale at the mobile knife sharpening booth.

Yes, I Sharpen...

I always get asked if I sharpen this or that, do I sharpen brand A or brand B.

Often I get asked if I sharpen Henckel knives or Wusthof knives. The answer is "Of course I do!" I would say at least half of the knives that I sharpen are Henckel.

I get asked if I sharpen Shun knives. Same answer.

Shun Kitchen Knives in the Knife Sharpening 'In Box'

The picture above is a Shun knife. Now I understand people asking if I sharpen Shun knives as all the  marketing people beat into the shopper's heads "now Shun knives are sharpened to a different angle so don't take them to a knife sharpener!"

My — not entire proper response — is "a knife is a knife." 

Yes, a Shun knife is sharpened to a different bevel angle than, let's say, a Henckel chef's knife. But so is a Henckel paring sharpened to a different angle than a chef's. We have different bevel angles for all types of knives: chef's, slicers, paring, cleavers. No biggie.

Cutco No. 25 Chef's Knife

I get "do you sharpen Cutco knives?" a lot. Again, a knife is a knife — don't buy too deeply into marketing hype!

Granton Blade Santoku Knife 

I get asked about granton knives all the time, can I sharpen a knife with these things along the blade face. The answer is again yes. I explain that the granton scallops are on the face of the knife, and that just the bottom edge is sharpened. As the knife is used and repeatedly sharpened the granton scallops do touch the edge of the knife to no ill effect.

Serrated Knives — Showing Worn Teeth

Yes, I sharpen serrated knives. I sharpen all types of serrated knives: the common toothed serrations, the micro-tooth type, and the scalloped type.

The picture above shows two common toothed serrated knives. The reason I chose this picture is that it shows two knives with their serrated teeth pretty much worn off. With a knife like this I usually suggest just finish what has started — make the knife a plain edge by regular sharpening — and buy a  new serrated knife.

Sharpening Cutco Serrated Knife

Here is a serrated Cutco knife that I sharpened. Yes, I sharpen Cutco knives, both Cutco serrated and Cutco plain edged knives.

Painted Steel Chef's Knife

I sharpen knives like the one pictured above. This knife is just a regular steel knife with a color coating on the steel — it sharpens the same as any knife, no difference.

Boker Ceramic Kitchen Knives

I sharpen ceramic knives.

MAC Knives with Chip

Damaged knives can be sharpened.

A knife with a small chip in the edge can be ground down so that the blade is back to where it should be. Sometimes the chip might be too big to allow the blade to be restored, but an option is to sharpen the blade and use as is. These MAC knives have a giant chip — something that would not be cost effective to grind out.

Gingher Pinking Shears

I sharpen pinking shears. I do understand me being asked this as pinking shears are one crazy mechanical design, but are rather easily sharpened!

Scissor Sharpening

I sharpen pretty much all types of scissors — sewing scissors, pinking shears, household scissors and manicure scissors fall into the 'pretty much' category.

Scissors to be Sharpened

A very large pair of scissors are usually called shears, but are just large scissors.

Our Tactical Christmas Stocking are about to Hit our Door!

Our seasonal supply of Tactical Christmas Stockings are about to be delivered!

Black Tactical Christmas Christmas Stocking

Here is the black version.

These Tactical Christmas stockings are designed with a military theme; there are MOLLE straps, carabiners, zippers, velcro, D-rings and all! Just under 18" tall.

Tactical Christmas Stocking, Desert Camo

I have these stockings in four colors. The first picture is the Black Tactical, the picture above is the desert camp, also have olive green and desert tan.

Olive Green Tactical Christmas Stocking

The olive green.

Desert Tan Tactical Christmas Stocking

Finally the desert tan version of the Tactical Christmas stocking.

I will have all of these with me at my mobile sharpening booth, and also as they are easily packed I can ship if desired. Contact me for information.

My Mobile Knife Sharpening Business's 'IN' Box

My mobile knife sharpening business uses plastic trays to hold knives for sharpening. This system works well as the trays keeps a customers knives together, and also reduces any 'stabbing' as I encourage the customer to place any unwrapped knives directly into the tray.

I took pictures of a few of the customer's knives in the 'In Box' for this blog post, all during my stop last Monday at Lunardi's San Bruno.

A Very Large Bundle of Knives to be Sharpened!

This tray is overflowing with knives. A customer has carrying a brown paper shopping bag and said she had a lot of knives. She wasn't kidding, I would this is a big bag of knives!

Old and New Style Knives

These knives also came in at Lunardi's San Bruno. The guy that brought them in said that they were his grandfather's knives. I pointed out the small pink chef's knife, kind of with a raised eyebrow — and he said "Well except that one." I took picture of these knives as I liked the new little painted pinkie chef's knife associated with the giant vintage carbon steel cleaver of his grandfather's.

Shun Knives to be Sharpened

This tray of Shun knives to be sharpened came in the same day, same place. I have to say that I wish these Shun knives were packed a bit better for travel. Actually all these knives in this blog post were pretty much dumped into a bag or box and brought in. That is not the best way to transport the knives — but is a bit forgivable when the knives are brought in for sharpening. Once I sharpen the knives I wrap them up nice and tight!

Kitchen Knives Sharpened and Wrapped

Here is a bundle of knives that I sharpened and wrapped for the customer. I use multiple layers of newspaper and rubber bands, always with the handles exposed so that it is easier to unwrap.

Japanese Garden Trimmer to be Sharpened

I don't offen see these Japanese garden trimmers brought in for sharpening so that's why I took this picture.

Giant Handmade Carbon Steel Knife

And there is this guy. This must be a homemade knife, it has a giant blade that is maybe made from a car leaf spring or such.

Vintage Carbon Steel Knife Handle

The wooden handle is held together by threaded brass.

Handmade Carbon Steel Knife

Here is another view of the knife.

I think the knife was made pretty well. In this picture you can see the shape of the blade drifts more towards the freeform than is is desired — but overall I say good job!

Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel Knives

I get asked about the steel in knives all the time. Today I want to talk about stainless steel and carbon steel knives.

The market is almost entirely stainless steel now — stainless steel having replaced carbon steel.

Carbon Steel Knife,  Stainless Steel Knives, Garden Tools

Here is a picture of some knives. The two chef's knives are stainless steel, the small knife is a cannery knife made of carbon steel.

Vintage Carbon Steel Slicing Knife, New Carbon Steel Slicing Knife

Here is a vintage Old Hickory carbon steel slicing knife pictured above a brand spanking new Old Hickory slicer. I struggled to get a picture that accurately captures the finish — this picture is the best I could get. A carbon steel knife when new has a shiny even finish, with use a carbon steel knife gets a gray mottled finish — we call it a patina.

We want a patina — and it is not practical to prevent it — on a carbon steel knife. The gray color is the patina, rust is red and we want to prevent rust. 

Vintage Butcher Knives

Here is a picture of two large carbon steel butcher knives. If you enlarge the picture (by clicking on it) you will notice rust spots on the bottom knife.

Stainless Steel F. Dick Utility Knife

Here is a forged stainless steel F. Dick utility knife. Stainless steel will start out nice and shiny and pretty much stay that way. That is the main reason that almost all knives made today are stainless steel. Sometimes you might get a few rust spots on a stainless knife — these can be polished off with steel wool.

Quality stainless steel knives sold today have carbon in the steel — which makes stainless easier to sharpen and allows the knife to hold a edge.

Large Vintage Carbon Steel Dexter Chef's Knife

Here is a large carbon steel chef's knife. I guess that using carbon steel knives is maybe just a hobby — perhaps like listening to vinyl records or driving a classic car — it's just kind of fun to use a tool that takes a bit more care than more modern knives.

The differences in using carbon steel knives is that it must be kept dry by being wiped dry between uses, the knife gets a patina which some might not like, and a carbon steel can leave a metallic taste when cutting acidic foods. An advantage of carbon steel knives is that they are easier to sharpen, also they are usually less expensive.

I sell Mundial forged high carbon stainless steel kitchen, I sell stamped carbon steel Old Hickory knives, and I usually have a selection of vintage forged and stamped carbon steel knives on my tables.

Do You Want Your Knife Bevel Angle More Obtuse? More Acute?

All knives have a sharpened edge — that's what makes a knife sharp. When a knife is put on a stone and ground — that is called a bevel angle. The knife is usually ground equally on both sides, and this is called the bevel angle.

Looking at a cross section of the knife the bevel angle will look like the letter V, and how wide the V is is what I am trying to describe.

The bevel angle can be more 'acute' or more 'obtuse,' with a more acute angle cutting better, and a more obtuse angle lasting longer. Knives all have a bevel angle selected that gives the best compromise between good cutting and long life.

All of this has pretty much been standardized with a bevel angle decided depending on how the knife is expected to be used.

Kitchen Knives Sharpened with Acute Bevel Angles

A customer brought me these knives — a chef's knife and a santoku — and asked for special bevels ground on each knife.

He asked for a 17° angle on the chef's knife and a 14° on the santoku.

That's what we did! They are now quite sharp — with edges that need to be used and stored with care so as to preserve the sharpness.

Using the Kitchen Knife Steel (Some Call it a Sharpening Steel)

Everybody asks about the kitchen knife steel. The steel is the steel rod that you most likely got with the set of knives that you bought.

Vintage Knife Steel Displayed with Kitchen Knives

This picture shows a vintage knife steel that I bought at an estate sale. A steel can vary in length, and it can have a smooth or ribbed rod. A steel that is ribbed increases the pressure on the edge of the knife as the knife is being honed. Don't press too hard while using the steel!

Large Dexter Knife Steel Displayed with Knives

This Dexter knife steel is a large one designed for the professional market. A larger steel is easier to use it gives you more room as you slide the knife down the rod — ensuring that you contact the entire edge of the knife.

For ease of use I recommend that the knife steel is at least a  few inches longer than the knife that you will be honing on the steel.

A steel aligns or hones the edge of the knife. It does not sharpen the knife. The edge of a knife can roll over during use, using the steel will realign the edge of the knife. A knife with a rolled edge will seem dull, after the edge has been properly reconditioned with the steel it will cut like it's sharp.

It's important to understand that the steel just returns the knife to as sharp as it just was — not to as sharp as it was when it was last sharpened! As unbelievable as it seems, each time a knife is used a tiny portion of the steel is worn off. The steel keeps the knife edge properly aligned so the knife cuts as well as possible as the blade wears, but at a certain point the edge is so worn that sharpening is again needed.

My opinion is that a knife does not need to be steeled before each use, every day or as often as you see a professional cook do in the media. I say once a week or so for the average kitchen knife that sees light to moderate use.

Properly done a knife can't be harmed by frequent steeling so feel free to steel when and as much as you want. Also I think it would be a good idea to remember to steel a knife anytime it suffers abuse — such as if you hit a bone, drop the knife, or let the knife rattle around in the sink.

To properly steel a knife, hold the knife at a 20° angle to the steel, and using moderate pressure rub the cutting edge along the steel, starting with the heel of the knife, and finishing off at the point. Alternate each side in turn, and do maybe four or five passes on each side.

I like to explain using the steel as pretending that the steel is coated with chocolate, and holding the knife as I described above, pretend you are scraping the chocolate off.

I have embedded a link below — produced by knife maker Mundial — on how to use the steel.

I always have a steel or two at my mobile knife sharpening setup, and I gladly demonstrate how to use the steel — just come by and ask!

I Hit Another Estate Sale

Picked up some mrs knives at an estate sale in Campbell today.

Fish Filet Knives

The estate sale was at a boat repair business so I picked up a handful of fish filet knives. The top one is Nor Mark made in Sweden, next is a white handled Dexter Russell filet knife with a 9" blade, then a very vintage looking Fiskars. This Fiskars is made in Finland, a stainless steel blade, copper bolster and copper end cap. It is in a leather sheath. The yellow handled knife is rather new, made in USA, but no brand markings.

Estate Sale Knives

Here are the other knives I bought, bought these these just to round up the purchase, to allow me to haggle the purchase price better.

Another Box of Knives at the Door

An order of  knives was received today.

Boker Ceramic Paring Knife Boker Ceramic Santoku Knives

I received these three Boker ceramic knives. One the little guy is a paring knife, and there are two santoku knives, all with a sheath.

Ceramic knives are great for staying sharp, the main fault with a ceramic knife is that it is brittle — you need to use a ceramic knife carefully!

I sharpen ceramic knives.

Old Hickory 7" Butcher Knives

Received two sets of Old Hickory knives and these two butcher knives. A set includes two paring knives, a utility knife, a butcher knife, a slicing knife. I sell them singly so I usually need more butcher knives.

Boker Bushcraft Knife and Leather Sheath

Boker Bushcraft knife. A very nicely finished stocky knife. Complete with a leather sheath.

Boker Bushcraft Knife

The handle is black micarta, the blade is a thick 440c blade 3 3/4" long.

Not Just a Knife Sharpener!

My mobile sharpening business sharpens knives mostly — but definitely not limited to just knives!

Just Sharpened Paper Cutter

I sharpen paper cutters, garden tools, scissors, shovels and hoes — pretty much anything with a straight edge — and a few non straight edged items, I sharpen serrated knives and chain saws.

Just Sharpened Hand Pruners

Hand pruners are taken apart, cleaned, sharpened, reassembled, adjusted and oiled. Bring in your hand pruners, loppers, and hedge clippers.

I Do Knife Repair — Broken or Bent Points or Tips

When people bring me knives to be sharpened I am often brought knives that need repair. The most common reason that a knife is brought to me for repair is because of a broken point.

The very end  of a knife is called the point — though most people call it the tip.

Henckel Knife with Broken Point

Here is a 'before' picture of a Henckel knife with a broken point. The usual cause of a broken point is using the knife as a pry bar, and trying to break apart frozen food.

Henckel Knife with Reground Point

Here is the after, after the knife was reshaped to restore the point. I see in this picture that the tip of the blade does not look as smooth as the repair looked in real life.

Kitchen Knife with Bent Tip

Here is a knife with a bent tip. This can be repaired. Sometimes the tip can be straightened, sometimes it can't be straightened and the tip has to be removed and then reshaped.

Other common problems that I see and repair are chips in the blade, loose handles and rust spots. I usually clean up rust spots that are on the knife as part of the sharpening, along with most chips in the blade. Loose handles can be repaired — glued usually — right during the sharpening, though in some cases I would want to take home and return to the customer the next week.

Pitted Blade on Shun Chef's Knife

I can remove pits, nicks and chips on the blades. This picture is a Shun knife with a pitted cutting edge. The pits are bad news because — while the blade can be sharpened back to as new condition — to do so means grinding off a fair amount of steel... I see a lot of pitted blades on Shun knives.

Broken Point on Kitchen Knife

A GIANT portion of the tip was broken off of this knife. The decision was made to simply reshape to a blunt tip — as the condition did not warrant a complete reshaping.

Kitchen Knife with Reshaped Tip

Here is the finished knife. The tip was reshaped, the bolster was trimmed back, and the knife was sharpened — all ready to go back to work!

Serrated knives can be sharpened — I sharpen them all the time. What can't be done is to replace or restore worn serrations, or teeth. After a certain time a serrated knife can be worn smooth — and can no longer be sharpened as a serrated knife.

Very Worn Serrated Knives

The picture above shows two serrated bread knives brought to me for sharpening. I explained to the customer that the serrations were too worn to sharpen as a serrated knife. 

We decided to sharpen them as a plain edged knife.

Serrated Knives Sharpened as Plain Edged Knives

Here are the knives after sharpening. These knives were serrated bladed knives that were sharpened as a plain edged knives.

The knives are sharp and have a nice, proper cutting edge. There are visible remnants of the serrations — the decision was made to sharpen to just where the cutting edge is restored and then stop. The remnants are cosmetic only — and will gradually disappear after repeated sharpening.