I used to use a whetstone to sharpen my knives.
They are so messy- and my stone was small- by the time I finished, I hadn’t sharpened all my knives-
it was too much of a hassle.
My mother had this sharpener- metal circles that you pulled the blade
through the center and it pared the edges finer.
This is old. The circles are rusty and don’t move as freely as they used to.
Pampered Chef sells this knife with a cover that has a built in sharpener-
the idea is that each time you pull it out it sharpens the blade.
Nice idea, but it doesn’t really work that well.
So- I’m going to try to sharpen this knife using a couple of gadgets.
The Rada company has a sharpener that uses the same principle as my mother’s old one
– but there are only two circles and they are not rusted together so they work.
Look at all the metal filings in the center of the paper. Those are from the edge of the
knife. The blade is a little rough, though, since we are pulling it between the circles.
So I use the steel rod that will file down the rough edges on the blade.
And there is the edge- the new edge I was looking for- a sharp knife.
How do you sharpen your knives?
My husband does mine on a steel rod, but not nearly often enough for my liking. They are desparately in need right now. Perhaps I will ask him to do it this evening after work. It is such a joy to cut with a sharp knife.
Frank won’t sharpen the knives regularly and I don’t like dull knives, so it falls to me. I can’t seem to keep the edge with a steel rod, perhaps the ridges on my rod are all worn down. Good for you, Lilly, it is nice to have someone willing to do them.
I use a water one! Let me find you the sort – ah ha! here we go http://www.richmondcookshop.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=859
They don’t work for serrated knives, but I like this a lot and I am very bad at using a steel to do it the traditional way.
They come in different sizes. Next time I have my camera down in the kitchen I will take a pic of mine for you. B doesn’t do sharpening, he ends up cutting his fingers 🙁
ooh what happened there to that comment? Anyway, there are different versions for different sorts of knives, some are only suitable for Global knives, and other companies make similar ones on the same principle. Google water knife sharpeners or something like that xxx
Joanna- You use ceramic knives- I have one and haven’t sharpened it since I don’t have a water sharpener.
Thanks for the link- I’m going to have to get one of those!
I’d love to see a picture of yours.
I haven’t cut my fingers, but sometimes I find I have knicked myself afterward. 🙁
Dear Heidi,
I use the Furi knife sharpener that comes with my favourite Furi knife and I find it’s really the best, one of the better products coming out of Australia 🙂
I saw that in one of your posts, Chopinand, and was totally impressed!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
I’m with Chopinand on this, Heidi, the Furi sharpener is an absolute winner! We have a full set of their knives – very reasonably priced here, and a great locally designed product!
I’m glad you found such great knives. Mine have been passed down to me, except for the few that I have gotten over the years- my French knife I just got recently. I’m going to ask my niece to take a look at the Furi knives while she’s there- perhaps I can get a couple!
Nothings better than a sharp knife when working in the kitchen. I need to work on some of mine, they are very dull. I didn’t notice the filings before. Thanks for sharing.
Be careful of those filings- they can get under your skin.(and into your food,) 🙁
I use a steel rod, but I don’t use it well. Unfortunately, Fred doesn’t sharpen knives (not sure that he has ever even tried), so I fumble my way through. Sometimes I surprise myself and get a good, sharp blade out of my experiments! 🙂 I also have two Pampered Chef knives that react like yours … not well. How I would LOVE a nice, sharp knife!!
You should get the rada sharpener. I’ll pick one up for you if I can find one. It really works very well and my knives are VERY sharp. 🙂