Something Old - Something New

Hello,

    It's not all about sharpening knives, yes that is the most important thing in my life but what about making knives and making handles?

     At this stage of my life, I don't think I have the time or energy to learn to make a knife and besides, there are so many incredible knives out there, if I can't make one like that, i.e. something incredible, I don't want to make one. I truly admire the skills of folks who do though and you don't have to be certified Bladesmith to make nice knives. People who make knives have a passion for it and a certain skill that I don't have but I have some really cool knives out there that folks just made.
    I met an nice man recently that not only makes the knife but the handle and the sheath too and all very nicely done.

    When I got the knife that blade was black including the bevels/edge, there was no real edge to it but the knife is so thin that I knew it would take a very sharp edge. The handle is made from old cutlery and the steel is from the 1800's. I was lucky enough to be able to sharpen Chris's knife and I hope he is pleased.



     I get to see all sorts of knives in all sorts of condition and I hear the same comment over and over: "I don't know if this knife is worth sharpening" and in each and every case I have sharpened it. I can understand people who have spent $12.00 on a knife and hesitate about spending $10.00 to get it sharp. However, what is the option? They can continue to use it dull, or they can throw it away and get another $12.00 knife that really wasn't that sharp to begin with and it is quite wasteful.
OR they can have it sharpened and see what a really sharp knife feels like and enjoy it again.  I admire anyone who brings me a knife to sharpen because for every single person that does that, I am sure that there are one hundred who don't, who never use sharp knives.

    Some people have been bringing me the same knife for a years and they will never know how much I appreciate that.  I had a young cook from a local restaurant, a really nice one too that told me recently he had the opportunity to get his knives done for free by the friend or father ( I can't recall) of one of the cooks and most of his peers took him up on that. However, this fella did not, instead he stayed loyal to me and brought me his knives for the 3rd or 4th time.  (Naturally I didn't charge him) but that stuff means a lot to me.

    So if you have brought me knives to sharpen, please know that I don't take that for granted.

Just some random before and after shots. I get this type of stuff do deal with very often. It is very satisfying work.

   Some of you may know that I have written some articles for Knifeplanet. I have just submitted a new article about the biggest change to my sharpening technique, something small that has had a huge impact on the sharpness of my edges. If it is published I will share the link to the article and if it is not published soon I will just place the article here.
    It is mostly about pressure and my timing for switching from one stone to another.


Thanks so much for being here and reading my Blog articles. Every now and then I get a nice email from someone telling me they enjoy it and that really motivates me to keep at it.

Take Care
Peter Nowlan