# How often do you sharpen/polish your go to chef knife?



## brian barker (Sep 23, 2015)

This is my knife: http://www.chuboknives.com/products...-super-sasanoha-gyutou-210mm-8-2#.VgMDJLxViko

I am a cook in a professional kitchen. Use my knife everyday. I have a 800/6000 grit king stone. I generally do not hone my knife. How often would you guys suggest I sharpen it. Since I don't hone it often would it be a good idea to simply run it across the 6000 side every other day or so? Wanting to keep it razor sharp every day so as not to bruise any of the herbs I cut. The kitchen I work in does not tolerate bruised herbs or inconsistent cuts. What would you guys recommend? What do you guys do? Anyways thanks for any replies! When I shave chives and I see a chive that has only been half sliced through my stomach cringes


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

I sharpen when stropping fails to produce the edge I like. Here's a very neat idea from Salty -


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Half cut or accordion chives is a problem with technique more than sharpness IMO. Make sure to push down and forward both. Also some knives oversharpened at the heel could cause this. Hold your knife to the cutting board and look for gaps in board contact.

If your knife isnt as sharp as you like, strop on the 6k side. If that stops helping, you need to sharpen for real: raise and remove a burr to reveal a fresh edge.

What angle are you sharpening at approx? Are you using any microbevel? Microbeveling one side or fatter angles can help the edge last longer.


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## brian barker (Sep 23, 2015)

I don't know much about knives or sharpening them. I was told by someone that it definitely had a micro bevel when I first got the knife. Not sure that I have maintained that or not. Probably not. I would say I sharpen at a 20 degree angle. Its a very thin knife. After sharpening it I can generally cut a grape in half, stand it up on my board and then cut through it without using my left hand to hold it in place. Does that make sense? I just moved to a city where all the kitchens seem to use these cutting boards that are super heavy like wood but have a weird plastic like finish on them, my knife digs into these boards really bad, sometimes this stops me from making one fluid slicing motion when doing chives. Maybe I should not press down so hard and let my knifes edge do the work?


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## brian barker (Sep 23, 2015)

MillionsKnives said:


> Half cut or accordion chives is a problem with technique more than sharpness IMO. Make sure to push down and forward both. Also some knives oversharpened at the heel could cause this. Hold your knife to the cutting board and look for gaps in board contact.
> 
> If your knife isnt as sharp as you like, strop on the 6k side. If that stops helping, you need to sharpen for real: raise and remove a burr to reveal a fresh edge.
> 
> What angle are you sharpening at approx? Are you using any microbevel? Microbeveling one side or fatter angles can help the edge last longer.


I dont currently own a strop. Can I just hit my knife on the 6000 grit when I notice the edge wearing down instead of honing? Is that kosher?


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

That's what I meant.  Stropping stroke = away from the edge.  Very light pressure, on your 6k stone.


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## brian barker (Sep 23, 2015)

MillionsKnives said:


> That's what I meant. Stropping stroke = away from the edge. Very light pressure, on your 6k stone.


Agh I understand. And should the stone be wet for the stropping?

PS: Have you ever had an issue with your knife digging into a board so hard it kept you from making fluid strokes when rocking your knife? Should I just try using less pressure when my blade is that sharp? If I had a similar board here at home I would just test this out myself but I don't.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

I don't recommend rocking often, but for herbs, it's okay sometimes. You CAN do it with a gyuto, if you're careful. The key is very light pressure:






Personally, all my herb chopping is done with a chinese cleaver.

About your knife digging into the board, yes definitely pressure matters. Also somewhat depends on the board. Plastic boards will dig in easier than quality rubber boards like these http://korin.com/Kitchenware_2/Cutting-Boards_2

IMO it's the second best option to end grain for your knives. They don't cut or scratch too easily, and you can sand them down if they do. They're easy on your knife edge, lighter than wood blocks, and easy to clean. End grain not the best option for a pro kitchen because of cleaning and sterilizing.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

btw for chives or scallions, I really like this trick leaving the rubber band on


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

And yes for stropping, it should be wet too.  King 6k is splash and go I think.  Or that's how I've been using mine


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## brian barker (Sep 23, 2015)

MillionsKnives said:


> btw for chives or scallions, I really like this trick leaving the rubber band on


Yeah the board that he is using in the second video is what we use here in Chicago. Very soft, my knife digs into these way worse than the plastic boards I'm used to. Weird. I have been told by a few chefs that rocking allows you to use the whole length of your knife to slice the herbs, keeping you from bruising the membranes. Chopping like that is frowned upon in my experience. Maybe these people are just assuming that my knife is not sharp enough to keep me from damaging the herb when I'm say.. shaving chives?


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## brian barker (Sep 23, 2015)

MillionsKnives said:


> And yes for stropping, it should be wet too. King 6k is splash and go I think. Or that's how I've been using mine


Yeah so here in Chicago we have the type of cutting board that the Asian guy is using in the second video. These boards seem to cause my knife to dig in way more than the high quality plastic ones I'm used to. Strange, I've been told by chefs that it is much better to use the entire length of your knife to shave herbs so that you are not damaging the membranes of the herb. Slicing (rocking) the herbs makes for a cleaner cut. P.S I'm in a professional kitchen right now where everything is very particular (i.e you get a dirty look if you close a low boy door too loud much less slap chop parsley).


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Sounds strict!  Maybe the chefs telling you to rock have knives with more belly?  The takeda is quite flat.  The virtue of the Takeda is that it's thin, tall with lots of knuckle clearance, and has a big flat spot.  If I was cutting chives with that, I'd be push cutting with the back half where the flat spot is. Chives are not tall so you don't even have to lift it much.


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## brian barker (Sep 23, 2015)

MillionsKnives said:


> And yes for stropping, it should be wet too. King 6k is splash and go I think. Or that's how I've been using mine


Ive been told that ah


MillionsKnives said:


> Sounds strict! Maybe the chefs telling you to rock have knives with more belly? The takeda is quite flat. The virtue of the Takeda is that it's thin, tall with lots of knuckle clearance, and has a big flat spot. If I was cutting chives with that, I'd be push cutting with the back half where the flat spot is. Chives are not tall so you don't even have to lift it much.


This makes sense, will try a few different things tomorrow. Yeah it is haha, I've found that the higher up I go in the restaurant seen the more strict it gets. I enjoy diligence and attention to detail though! Thanks for all the good advice, I need to get more knowledge on taking care of my tools.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

I keep Shapton Glass 1k & 5k in the kitchen.  They are thin and don't take up much space.  They are true splash and go and dry quickly.  Never force dry a wet stone like leaving it in the sun, or an overly warm place.


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