Sharpening knives

I just bought a shun 6" chefs knife and wanted to get some sharpening stones and wanted to know if there are any brands that are better then other, what grit should I get and would you recommend getting one of those knife guard things that keeps the proper angle?

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tshewman

HI Matt, I responded but for some reason it's under review. I suspect because I pasted a link for the knife sets and stones on chefsteps. Do a search here on chefsteps for knives and when on that page, go to the bottom. They have a link to a complete set and there are videos available on chefteps (online) as well which I highly recommend. After reading some responses and discussions, I opted against getting the guard. I just took it slow. For what it is worth, my bias is this is an under-rated item in our arsenal. I am just as guilty as others I suspect as it took me a long time to justify buying the stones because I'm just a home cook. I wish I had done it sooner. good luck and feel free to reach out to anyone here. This is a fantastic resource.

christopher_12897

is it used? the out of box sharpness is pretty good on standard shuns. it takes a while to roll the edge. I would suggest a ceramic steel (probably a coarser variety for the stainless probably vg10 or whatever)

after a while then you could get a combi stone

like a 600/1000 or 1000/6000

im finding a full compliment of stones only useful for a large assortment of cutlery and steels

for instance you wont need a 220 grit stone for much except serious blade rehab or reprofiling.

also high polish stone might not be necessary for a brand new knife but can be awesome to gradually refine an edge to better than best.

especially for carbon steel

http://japanesechefsknife.com/WhetStonesForSale.html#Whetstone

jck combi 1000 6000 is 60 bucks on this site

chefknivestogo.com has king combi stones and a shun also

med/fine combination is sufficient to keep an edge on that shun

also i find that steel is harder to work an edge back up with finer stones first

usually something that is coarser and cuts better will refresh the edge and it can be honed

Kings are good stones. Most japanese whetstones are good as well. I would suggest learning the angles by hand without a guide. You can develop a preference on your angle and there is a primary and secondary edge to think about also

Murray Carter has a ton of videos on knife sharpening as well as Bob Kramer. The internet is a pretty good resource

Matt_DiComo_23867

Thanks guys for the advise. @randybobandy its a new one I was just thinking ahead. So the steal would probably hold me over for awhile then get the stones after I really put some use on it. I'll go and check out those Murray Carter videos.

mike.minasian

I have a set of Globals that I use. On my first attempt with a stone, I managed to get a bunch of scraps on the side of the knife from too much dragging, and not enough water on the stone.

Any advice for polishing / removing the scuffs?

See image below, look on bottom back edge of the knife, and please ignore my fingertip in the middle of the knife, it grew back completely

. I guess they got sharp at least... The scuff doesn't look that bad here, but it's worse on some of the others.

tshewman

@Matt, here's some food for thought. I thought the same way, until I got the stones and sharpened some of our OLD knives as well. Yes I use my Chef's knife more than others, but I was able to sharpen our older knives which helped me create knives that were much better to use. So if I were to do over again, I would get the stones now (earlier) which would allow me to sharpen the older knives AND give me practice at sharpening so I'm not such a rookie sharpening my best knife. FWIW

Matt_DiComo_23867

@Todd, thats a good idea then I could practice on the old one before I use it on the new one

christopher_12897

Agreed. Definitely practice your angle and your technique on stuff thats less important. You should develop a good feel and be more confident on nicer/newer stuff. Keep in mind different blades have different feels and angles even when sharpening. A petty takes a different approach than a 10 inch gyuto or something. I have a rather straight edged paring knife that i sharpen more like a straight razor

Cheryl_71360

I received the Edge Pro Apex system as a graduation gift from culinary school. It's really awesome, but I doubt I would have spent the money on it myself.