A real beauty

This is a beautiful knife that I was going to sell but I will keep this one.

This is a 9" Henckels Miyabi 600s Morimoto Edition.

You can pick up some really beautiful knives at Paderno in Bayer's Lake and I'll even sharpen for you.
(By the way, I don't get anything from Paderno if you buy their knives,  I place a lot of trust in the Manager there and I don't hesitate to recommend the store if you interested in some fine knives or just have questions about them.

Gladiator

A Gladiator dropped off this knife for me to sharpen. It is a brute, and it made me think of the Colliseum in Rome.  Now that would have been a good place to get a sharping job, during the games there with all those Gladiators. I realize the blades are a lot bigger than I am used to but I could of probably cut some corners on the work, I mean a lot of those guys wouldn't be back to complain right.
(FYI, they shut that stuff down a while ago, they don't seem to interested in getting it started up again either.)

I applied a compound bevel to this one, 18 degrees for the Relief Angle and 23 for the micro edge.

You can Sharpen knives too

Folks, besides the thrill of taking a knife that is so dull, a child could play with it to a point where a child shouldn't even look at it, is the joy of teaching people how to sharpen knives.

It is really amazing how many gadgets are available to sharpen knives, how many people who really don't know or care about knife sharpening have created devices designed to lure you in.  What this tells us is that we all need sharp knives and there is a market for a magical device but the gadgets just don't cut it......(note the way I used "cut it" there)

Now there are a couple of very precison guided systems out there that work, the best ones (2 that I know of) use stones to shape and sharpen the edge, these are not gadgets,they are instruments and they work. You won't find them hanging in the same spot where you can get keys cut or anything.

You don't need them, if you want to sharpen a knife to a point where you you can use it in a professional setting and have the knife as sharp as you want it to be,  you can do that for less than $100.00 and some of your time and patience and desire to learn.

You need a few things, some Japanese Water Stones, (I prefer these  much more than oil stones), you need a coarse/medium and fine stone, some water, a knife and a mentor would be a nice add on to that but there is a lot of video out there on YouTube that will steer you in the right direction.

One of the most persistent issues I encounter with sharpening is that people, many people, not all, think that all they need is a Steel sharpening rod. I have met people who have used a steel on their knives for 10 years and nothing else and some of them even tell me that their knives are fine. "I don't need you to sharpen my knives because I can do it with my steel rod". I then thank them for telling me that and wonder why I wasted so much time and money on my Japanese Water Stones and Edge Pro Professional and diamond sprays when I could have just got a 40 dollar steel at Walmart.

Quite simply,  a Steel is a vital piece of equipment in your kitchen, if you have no knives at all and you have $150.00 to spend, get a good knife and a good steel, instead of 2 or 3 knives. Folks there are 2 important things in my life, family and sharpening, so believe me when I tell you this:
The Steel will keep your sharp knife sharp for a while but it WILL NOT sharpen a dull knife.  Once the edge starts to remain dull after a good maintenance period with the steel, over a few months or even up to a year for those who really maintain their edges. Eventually, you need to remove metal to get it sharp again, the steel or ceramic is not going to do the job.  Stop looking for the easy way out and get it sharpened or sharpen it yourself.

Ok here we go:
Purchase a 500-1000 grit stone and 3,000-6,000 grit stone. You can purchase many more grits than that but you need 2 or 3 (better) stones to reach your goal. The Japanese term for the 3 stones in progression that should be used is: Ara-to (rough stone), Naka-to (medium stone) and Shiage-to (Finishing Stone)

You can get an 800 grit and a 4,000 grit King stone at Lee Valley for $60.00. King stones, while not the best in comparison to Naniwa or Shapton stones will do the job just fine.

You just need to remember a few things, I will just talk about one in this post and I'll carry on a little later.

The Burr, sometimes called a wire edge. The burr is formed when one edge meets the other, basically side A of the knife meets side B, you sharpen side A until it meets Side B.This will form a burr, when you have achieved a burr you have just eliminated the need for any of those gadgets. You will do this quickly on the first stone, forming the burr is the ONLY way to be sure that you have gound that side of the knife ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE EDGE.
This is the key, you create the burr and all your dull knives will start trembling in fear because you have unlocked the door to sharp knife heaven.

(I know that as I type these words that many of you know this already of course, however, let's assume that not everyone does know)

Soon, I will show you how to actually form the Burr, you just have to get those stones first.

Remember that I am always available to show you in person how to sharpen knives for anyone in my area.

More to follow

Thank you again for being here.

Edge Pro Stones - My cut

Folks, I've successfully cut some stones for the EP as I previously mentioned. I do not plan on selling them, they are for personal use. If however you do want one arrangements can probably be made.
The Bester 700 is the only quality stone that I have cut and tried. This stone is ok for European knives but likely no better than the stock stones that come with the EP. As I said, they are just alternatives and I will continue to experiment with higher quality stones such as Sigma Power Select II, Naniwa Chosera and Shapton.

Edge Pro Stones - Alternatives and I have them

Folks, for those of you fortunate enough to own an Edge Pro Apex or Professional, you are already aware of what is capable of. The fact that you have one proves that you are interested in sharpening, very interested likely and you appreciate a nice edge.

You know by now if you have visited my Blog before (thanks), that I am absolutely obsessed with sharpening and I love my Edge Pro Professional. I also thoroughly enjoy free hand sharpening with full size stones.

I sharpen  many knives and I'm  finding that I am wearing out the lower grit stones for the EP, anything from 2,000 grit down is not lasting me very long and the average price for me to buy the stones I use is 60 bucks a pop. You may know by now that there are many different stones available for the Edge Pro. The stones that come with the system are just great, they are not expensive to replace and dealing with Ben Dale, the inventor of the system is an absolute dream in terms of follow on service.

For me however, I love to try different products and there are some great ones out there but again, not cheap to get, you need to order them online as well.

I got to thinking maybe I can make my own stones for the EP, and low and behold, I did.

I purchased an excellent stone called Bester, a very high quality Japanese Water Stone and the one I have is 700 grit. I intend to start my sharpening process with this stone, I have heard nothing but good things about it.

I will be selling them as well at $35.00 and they will be mounted on EP Blanks so they will be ready go.

I will be testing the stones and I will let you know what I think of them. I also have some Norton 220 stones, these will go for 15 dollars unmounted. You don't buy these stones already mounted.

I don't have many right now and my intention is just to use them for myself. I will also be picking up the amazing Sigma Power Select II Japanese Water Stones and these will go up to 10,000 grit.
The Sigma is very well known for the speed in which they cut and some prefer them over any other stone, including the amazing Shaptons,  which are my current favourite.

Here are the two stones that I cut for the EP. The Bester is the brown coloured stone and the 220 Norton is the grey one. Both are considered Coarse stones but the Bester is the premium brand. I cannot wait to try it out.  If you want one, give me an email or call.