What happened to my Edge Pro Professional ?

     Hi folks, I've been down with the flu so getting to write on my Blog has been a struggle. I can remember thinking years ago when I started my Blog how difficult it would be to find things to talk about.  I don't think there is end to the different topics, now that doesn't mean they are all riveting and life changing words of wisdom but so far I'm not having a problem rambling.

     Knifeplanet has been very kind to me and they come up with some ideas as well and there is an article in the works now where I talk about freehand sharpening vs the Edge Pro. I am not allowed to recite here what I have already submitted but I can talk about the subject in general. And I will provide a link to the "life changing" article that has been submitted of course.

     When I first started sharpening knives professionally I was sharpening by hand, so everything was done with a few water stones and my ability to achieve sharp knives with the stones and experience I had with my passion for the process pushing me along.

     There was a time when ANGLES petrified me and I am guessing that it subconsciously impacts some peoples ability to sharpen a knife, i.e. the fear of not being able to sharpen a knife at the correct angle.

      If you are one of those folks, I can tell you that it is absolutely not something you need to be worried about.

     So a heavy hitter in the culinary industry gives me his knives to sharpen and I think: What if he notices I didn't sharpen it at the right angle?   I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders when I realized: How the hell is he going to know if I sharpened the knife at 20 deg per side or 19 deg.?

     Do not worry about the actual angle, the digit (17, 20, 19), that is not your challenge.  The challenge is holding the angle YOU choose and maintaining that angle as you sharpen on both sides. NOBODY has ever said to me " I was hoping you would have sharpened this at 19 deg not 21 deg" for example.  You will achieve incredible results when you have the gained the ability to utilize your muscle memory in sharpening a knife and you only get that from a lot of sharpening, at least twenty or more knives.

     Now I have had a chef come up to me her bunch of ridiculously dull Global knives and ask me what angle I was going to sharpen them at and I told her "16 deg per side". She looked me like I was an idiot and walked away with her knives. I can guarantee that they are still dull. ( Global recommends 10-15 deg) and in hindsight I should have said 15 deg but hey,  I screwed up by a deg. It goes back to the "How would she know anyway)


    You need to find a technique that enables you to sharpen you knives well, on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being just a tiny bit sharper, that should be your immediate goal, muscle memory will enable you to climb that scale.


     Of course it is important to realize that not all knives should be sharpened at 20 deg per side, but until you develop muscle memory you can work on that ONE angle.  You don't sharpen a Fujiwara or Masakage for example at 20 deg, those are down at the 11 or 12 deg angle. You can still make it sharp at 20 deg but you are robbing yourself of the performance potential of those knives.


     Now where is my Edge Pro?

     Still here and I use it every now and then. The beauty of the Edge Pro is that it removes that human inability of maintaining a precise angle while sharpening, the system forces you to do that. You'll find out in my article for Knifeplanet however that it isn't as cut and dry as that. Once you have achieved the ability to hold and angle freehand, watch out, you won't believe what we humans are capable of.


    Now the EP is absolutely perfect for certain blades and also for creating mirror finishes. That precision and versatility have saved me many times.

Look at the edge profile of this knife, difficult to sharpen freehand but a breeze with the EP, in fact it was much sharper than new when I was finished.

I used the EP on the smaller Ulu here to create the polished bevel and I freehanded the larger one on the right.

Fujiwara with Jewel of the Nile handle

The stunning knife directly above is brand new I just included it because it is so beautiful. (I hope I didn't put it in and earlier post )

That's all I have at the moment, the flu still has me.

Thank you very much for looking and reading my Blog.

Remember, don't let your fear of not being able to hold an angle stop you, you'll get it eventually. 

Peter Nowlan

Published on Lifehacker

http://lifehacker.com/a-complete-video-guide-to-sharpening-your-knives-with-a-1758844612


Lifehacker is one of the largest websites in the world and through Knifeplanet they published my latest video and article.

So what does this mean?

Well, just bragging rights I suppose, it is nice to see so many folks interested in the topic.

I'm working on a new post for the Blog, I'll be back.

New Video and Article

Hi Folks,

Here is the latest sharpening video I did for Knifeplanet and accompanying article.

I hope you find it useful, I really wanted to feature coarse stones and make it easy to follow. I know that there is a ton of videos out there, seriously. Some are really good some not so good but perhaps this one will at least help you and maybe even motivate you.


Sharp with Coarse Stones Video and Article


If you watched it, thank you and thanks for even coming here to my little Blog.

Peter

What drives us to sharpen knives?

             Through the years I have tried to take on some hobbies, I got started on them but I lost interest. Wood working, leather working, things like that but they didn't grab me as I had hoped they would.  I often think why knife sharpening is so different, what makes it so special. Of course it is not special to everyone, but I cannot tell you how many times someone has told me that they tried sharpening a knife or "always wanted to try it". It seems to be one of those skills in life that want to pull us in at least once in our lifetime.

          I wrote an article about this subject for Knifeplanet which is linked here but I come back this thought every now and then.
My Passion

         Besides the obvious benefit of having sharp knives, which are fantastic, what is the so joyful about the process that makes this and why do so many people think about it at some point? Knives, in one form or another have been in use for thousands and thousands of years. Early man used these tools and as rough as they may have been at that time, they were just as much a part of their everyday life as they are now to our normal routine.  Yes I know obsidian was spectacularly sharp in it's natural form so even back then, the thirst for sharpness was present.

          For me, and I am sure many can relate to this and I also know that this is applicable to so many other things we do, but for me, the entire process is extremely satisfying and just so rewarding. I know that I am providing a useful service and every time I get a knife to sharpen I know in my heart that the person who owns that knife is going to be absolutely thrilled with it.  I have said this many times but for the vast majority of people who use knives, even professionals in the culinary industry, the vast majority have never experienced a truly sharp knife.  This is not their fault of course, but it is just a fact. To be able to provide a new experience to people on a daily basis is pretty cool.

         The process itself is relaxing and therapeutic of course but you need to let the process take hold and get as much out of it as you can. There is whole slew of emotions that become unleashed each and every time you sharpen a knife. Anxiety (can I do this?), fear (What if I screw this up?),  courage,  joy, pride, satisfaction, happiness, sadness even. (Had a widow bring me her husbands favourite knife to sharpen out of respect for the recently passed man)

        Of course there is the part about becoming a good sharpener but you grow, your skills are layered and even if all you are doing is making a slight improvement all the collateral joys are attached to that if you let it happen.


         Passion about a skill is yours to own, with it the skill becomes a skill you will truly be proud of.


Now if you read this you're probably thinking that Peter has been smoking something he shouldn't be smoking. That is not the case at all, I'm very proud of what I can do and just trying to let you know that you can do it as well. The sharp edge is just one part of it.

Peter

New Video Inbound

         For those who visit my blog every now and then I thought I would let you know that I will soon have a link to another sharpening video that I made. It is complete but with Knifeplanet for final editing so when they post it, I will send the link here.

          There are hundreds of sharpening videos out there I know and I take that into account when I make mine, and I only make a few.  I really enjoy watching other people sharpen but some of them I shut off pretty fast. I try to make mine keeping in mind folks who may just be starting out, at least I TRY to make it beneficial. I am no videographer so the production value will not be perfect but I'm not too concerned about that.

          This video is all about coarse water stones and the crucial role that they play in knife sharpening.  I have mentioned already that I have changed my approach to using coarse stones, even when starting out.  The video will demonstrate, at least I hope it does that if you can make your knife sharp on a 400 grit stone and if you remain patient and on that first stone, your knife will be very sharp when you are done, I mean really nice and sharp and efficient in the kitchen,

     Making your knife efficient at work is after all what it's all about.  We want to use a knife that brings joy to cooking, it changes food preparation from a chore to something you look forward to. You don't need a Fujiwara to experience this, you can achieve this with just about any knife.  Make it sharp and keep it sharp.

      Mirror finishes on bevels and showing a knife slicing a tomato horizontally without holding the tomato is all nice, those are things I did long ago, a logical stepping stone for someone obsessed with sharpening, a rite of passage so to speak. Creating a fantastic edge and enjoying process and throwing  your favourite coarse water stone into the picture is what is really important.  Establishing a technique that works for you, a motion that is easy to repeat and deliver results.  Thats what you want to strive for.

Peter

Edge Retention Article Updated

Hi there,

        I received a lot of nice comments about the Blog article I did recently on Edge Retention.

        That made me think that Knifeplanet may wish to post it so I re-wrote it and added quite a bit of thoughts on the topic. So if you liked the last one this one should be interesting as well.




Since I wrote it for Knifeplanet I can only provide you with a Link..


Riddle of Steel - More on Edge Retention

When he can snatch the stone from my hand...........