Knifemen, knifewomen, downvoters, upvoters, it’s time to update you on the salvation of this kitchen knife. Mr. McKay, based knife sharpener, did the best he could do to restore the edge to something like symmetry. I expected a salty comment or two on the topic when I picked it up, however, he did not offer any, only a pitying silence as he gave me a meticulously handwritten receipt. Yet, his silence was full of kindness. Cost: $4.00 USD Many have asked, how did I achieve the ragged edge seen in my previous post? I wish I had a better answer for you, except that I used a shitty Coghlan’s sharpener that was probably full of metal filings and dirt. That one is going in the trash. Any suggestions for buying a beginner’s sharpener for $30.00 or $40.00 ? I don’t know how to use a file or a stone.

  • verity_kindle@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
    2·
    10 days ago

    Thanks for the offer, it’s not so much sending a knife that is really not worth anything, that’s not much trouble, it’s the cost of your time to fix it.

    • godot@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      10 days ago

      District Cutlery did a shockingly good demo of what needs to be done here:

      https://youtu.be/fdB8M7h___E

      Very similar to my own process. Don’t worry about the thinning yet.

      Your knife has a frown, rather than a smile, but the solution is the same. The edge needs to be ground straight into an abrasive until the profile is flat at the heel and sweeps up evenly to the tip. Without a power tool that means sawing the knife into the abrasive, back and forth. Laborious but simple. Then the knife needs to be sharpened.

      With this sort of repair work it helps to mark the desired profile with a sharpie before starting, to avoid overshooting.

      This is a task where a good sharpening stone won’t do, it gouges the stone. Bricks are cheap and surprisingly abrasive. It’ll gouge the brick, too, but that’s fine.

      ——

      I would consider my time very well spent doing this.

      I sharpen around thirty knives a year that aren’t mine and I refuse to commoditize my every breathing moment. I have never asked for a penny for sharpening, it’s pure love of the game.

      How I sharpen is also tbh not a great business model, which makes having a moral stance a lot easier.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldMEnglish
        3·
        7 days ago

        How I sharpen is also tbh not a great business model, which makes having a moral stance a lot easier.

        Indeed, generally my method is to show up somewhere with my Ruixin and all my stones like Timothy Leary and his kit in Fear and Loathing, and start taking knives off of people. “Anybody want some LSD their knife sharpened? I got all the makings right here. All I need is a place to cook somewhere to clamp my jig.”

        • godot@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          3 days ago

          I generally don’t want people’s instruction on how a knife ought to be sharpened. I take reasonable user input based on how something will be used, but if I think it should get a highly polished edge, or a hungry 800 grit edge, or even to leave a chip to save the grind, I’m not inclined to spend a lot of time doing otherwise. I collaborate on a lot of things, when I’m sharpening I like doing things my way.

          I also don’t really want more deadlines. If I’m busy I like being able to tell people I don’t have time, which I could not do as a business.