Peter Nowlan and Sharpening

Where and when did I learn to sharpen knives, another question I love to get asked:

I have memories of my father first teaching me on an oilstone about forty years ago, and while that instruction may not have been the best, it was the best at the time.  Those moments with my father were enough to ignite a flame inside of me, a passion for knife sharpening. So my journey began over 40 years ago.

Keep in mind that there were not You Tube videos, no computers, all I had were dull knives and some pretty crappy stones.  That flame never died and now I have had the pleasure of lessons from a Japanese gentleman, and I've met, on line, some exceptional people and knife sharpeners.

The leap to Japanese Water Stones changed my life and some amazing mentoring by a few folks in person and via Skype and just by emails.

However, there is one individual that has taught me more than anyone else, I consider his videos and on line mentoring through emails to be second to none.

Jon Broida of Japanese Knife Imports:
Jon Broida and Japanese Knife Imports

Jon has created what is undoubtedly the best knife sharpening videos on the Internet, they are very professionally made, they often include a theory and practical. So not only does he give us a demonstration of the many different facets of free hand sharpening but he explains everything first.  Very cool and extremely easy to follow. Although Jon sells Japanese Water Stones and exquisite Japanese hand made knives, there is never a sense of him "pushing" his products. In fact, you almost have to pull the information out of him regarding his line of stones.

One of things Jon taught me was about sharpness, I was able to get a kitchen knife extremely sharp a long time ago, that just came with practice and patience and passion. However, I have learned that it's not good enough for the knife to just be sharp, in fact,I  found out that in some cases, my knives were too sharp.

A chef needs to be able to feel the blade slicing through a tomato, it isn't good enough just to have it "run" through whatever he/she is cutting, there needs to be a sense, a tactile feel from the chef when using the knife. So I had to cut back a little and stop sharpening every single knife to such a high level that it left the chef not getting that certain touch that should accompany a well sharpened blade.

Having said that, I have not had any complaints but it is certainly a confidence booster to know that, through Jon, I now know that.

I hope to meet him some day in person, I need to thank him for what he has taught me.

I have already linked his videos, just go to is site, drool over the incredible knives he has and learn from him as I did.

Now do I look like a person who would lie to you?

I just put this picture of myself here because some folks probably are curious about the guy that sharpens their knives.

Take care friends.