I've gained a lot of respect for Mr. Murray Carter over the years, and until very recently I never actually got to sharpen one of his knives. Then in came an Executive Chef and proud owner of this amazing knife. I see thousands of knives a year and thus far, it is probably the best one I've seen yet. Meticulously crafted and it just felt fantastic. Sharpening it was easy, I kept it simple, like Murray does, 1k, 6k and I used my new Naniwa Chosera 10k but mostly as a strop.
I went and grabbed a tomato and asked the Chef to see how sharp it was, the knife literally fell through the tomato, it was exceptionally sharp, I think we pretty much sliced up that whole tomato because we were in awe of the knife. Pretty cool experience.
Then I got something completely different, a Benchmade Tanto folder.
I used the EP Pro for this one at 23 degrees.
Since all my stock stones are worn I used a Latte 400 to start the work then onto a 1k Shapton Glass, 1.5K Shapton Pro, 2k Shapton Glass, 3k, 5K, 8K and finally a 10K Chosera.
I sharpen the tanto at the same angle by the way,
Onto a completely different subject, Steeling.
I have long since given up counting the knives I get that have been abused by folks who think a Steel sharpens a knife and when the knife isn't getting any sharper, they just use more pressure, which as you know just compounds the issue and really does a number on the edge.
Now in this picture you can see the damage, although it is only cosmetic damage that slapping the steel against the blade, Gordon Ramsay style does. I just cannot see how that style of steeling is going to be of any benefit. I'm not a big fan of steeling anyway and if I did Steel it would be with a ceramic hone. However, as I have mentioned, I've talked to chefs about it often and they do see a benefit to it. However, there is nothing like a whetstone to keep your knife sharp.
Scratches caused by poor steeling habits. |
More pictures to follow soon.
You folks are the best.
Peter
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