As a few points about the blade thinning question. Carter's perspective comes from caring how the knife works as a cutting tool with no regard at all for how it looks, he recommends it for anyone, not just professionals, not just with high end knives - again, it is just about IF you want your knife to perform at its best as a cutting tool. If you thin the primary grind, it doesn't decrease edge retention, it increases it. If you are a chef for 30 years and the edge on your knife and you have never had the knife thinned out, then it just means : -you don't mind using the knife with a much thicker edge -you use the knife dull -you don't really use that knife that much (maybe you have a LOT of knives) and so on. The reality is that every time you sharpen the edge, the edge will get thicker. This increases subsequent sharpening time, and reduces cutting ability and edge retention. The changes are slow of course, but they build up over time. Carters approach is to do a little thinning each time if necessary vs letting the performance degrade, just accepting the performance loss until it gets so big you have to have a professional regrind.
Going to disagree with this. You're blade thickness will increase for sure, but the loss in cutting quality is going to be so miniscule it won't matter. For example go grab a chisel or plane iron from a professional woodworker. They will be easily shaving sharp, hell I can whittle hairs with mine and they hold their edge plenty well while slicing through much tougher material than you will find in any kitchen. The edge geometry is important, but flattening after every sharpening is just going to kill the lifespan of your knife. If and when you notice it's not performing to your standards, flatten it, if not don't worry about it.
@@inigomontoya4109 A chisel that can whittle hairs is implausible, and impractical. The edge of a commercial razor blade is maybe 8 degrees. A standard woodworking chisel is 25 degrees. For mortising, more like 30 degrees. Maybe 20 degrees for a planing chisel, but much lower than that and the edge becomes too fragile to do much with. Generally, you would sharpen the chisel by grinding the entire primary face. If sharpening by hand, it is obviously *much* faster to sacrifice a degree or two of cutting angle to create a secondary bevel. However, repeated sharpenings will thicken the blade, so before long you need to... create a new primary bevel. And to restore the original geometry, you will need to take off just as much metal as if you had been grinding the primary face the whole time. You deferred that extra work for a while, at the cost of sacrificing a degree or two of sharpness in the interim. Similar argument for thinning kitchen knives as you go.
@@inigomontoya4109 I have known Murray for close to twenty years and I think there may be a misunderstanding here. He does not advocate thinning every time you sharpen but checking to see IF the knife needs to be thinned. The biggest factor to cutting performance is all at the edge and how it transitions to the secondary bevel. I have carried one of his Brute Wharnecliffes for 18 years and even with daily use I have only thinned it three times. The loss of cutting ease as the blade thins is not trivial and you will certainly notice it. I go until the loss of performance becomes problematic and then thin it. Murray thinning the knife a very small amount more often just bypasses the loss of performance. I have sharpened his personal neck knife at Blade and it proportionally was no thinner than my one.
@@Nebulax123for expedience carter may not always follow his own advice, but thinning is a mandatory sharpening step for him according to his new sharpening method with hap stanley. It’s like eating healthy - you cannot go wrong recommending it even if you don’t always do it yourself.
Wasn't sure where to post this, but since you mentioned ruining knives... I ruined my new favorite knife, the Ricky 10" Burrfection knife, while sharpening it on a Cerax 1000 wet stone. No idea how it happened, but I scratched the right face of the knife. 😭 Any way to fix it? I would really like to buy one of your damaged knifes to practice on. BTW, that stone is amazing!!!!
Sandpaper. No joke. Work the grits. Work them dry. Once you get to 3k, it's pretty mirror like. If you want to go full mirror use wet/dry above 3k. I recommend 7k, 10k and for overkill 15k grits. Back n forward...not circles. Dw about how burrfect (perfect 🤣) you're going back n forward, it'll buff out. Don't believe? Try it on a crappy knife n see what you think! 🥰
I got fed up with dull knives in my kitchen so I went to Amazon and bought some sharpening stones - when they arrived I realized I don't know how to use them so off to CZcams. I was lucky enough to find your page. Thank you for being here and for your enthusiasm. I am so looking forward to using sharp knives.
when you sharpen a knife you necessarily move the edge up the vee ( the blades geometry) which gets thicker thicker and thicker until you reach the spine....this is a fact of geometry not an opinion. Now its is up to the knife owner to determine whether they can live will the degradation in cutting performance caused by the edge slowly getting thicker and thicker. some sharpening techniques keep this in check without calling it thinning. in the end it does not matter if you call it thinning or not. to keep a knife at peak performance you can not let the material directly behind edge get thicker over time........... some call it thinning :)
Ryky, have been with you from the beginning. I’m 69 and still use my chef knives for vegetable work when making large buckets of soup from my country garden. Just have to commend you as a great role model for young folks and just a great human being. I’m an old timer with SIC and Arkansas stones, happy with my edges, The high end knives are off my radar. Looking for a site or eBay vendor who sell chipped or decent used knives for repair.
When I was a young man, I worked hard for little pay, and was not often happy or kind. I fought often and held grudges. As an older man now if there was one thing I could change it would be this: to be kind to people. Ryky, you have found this wisdom early in life. Enjoy your channel always.
Every time I watch your videos I get a warm feeling inside that makes me want to look at more and more knives hahahaha love ur vids. And to anyone out there making ur owe knives Imagine it takes a lot of time and practice keep up your good work
Love you Ryky, but there are a few things that are not exactly accurate that I'd like to clarify about. First, you mentioned how handmade japanese knives have a big primary bevel and a micro bevel at the edge, and factory-made knives have just the edge bevel. This is inaccurate, how so? Firstly the straight ground "primary bevel" you mentioned on handmade artisan knives is actually called the grind. That is used to create the TAPER of thickness from spine to edge of the knife. That same grind also exists in Yaxell knives that you mentioned, just that they're not visible because they're rounded, so called a linear grind. Many handmade artisan knives have linear grinds too (with varying degrees of roundedness as well). For example the Makoto Kurosaki SG2 knives & the Konosuke HD2 knives, Shibata Kohetsu's too! These grinds can sometimes be hollow/convex as well to maximize the thinness behind the edge. Secondly, about the micro bevel on Japanese artisan knives. That's inaccurate in the way that it in fact isn't a micro bevel. The reason is because those minuscule bevels at the edge are sharpened at the same angle as how you would sharpen a normal edge bevel, it is in fact a normal bevel. A so called "micro bevel" is sharpened at high angles (ie. 30 degrees) after you've sharpened your primary edge bevel, to reinforce the edge. The reason the bevel is so damn small is because their knives are ground so yummy damn thin behind the edge. Not because it's a "micro bevel" or is treated differently. A well ground knife out of the box, especially artisan knives will give you great cutting performance, not in sharpness, but in smoothness of the grind. With equal sharpness, a well ground knife goes through product significantly easier compared to ones that are not. How smooth can it be? You can have close to no wedging or none at all doing stuff like halfing an onion, halfing potatoes, apples and tall products alike, it doesn't require more effort than ordinary cutting. Knives that are not hand ground often struggle with those things, I've seen a miyabi wedge on every onion lol. As you sharpen those knives over the years, you wear the edge down to the part of the grind that is thicker. That decreases the performance of the knives and makes the knives feel less smooth cutting (largely unrelated to actual sharpness). The thinness behind the edge makes up for a large part of the cutting performance, so that's where many avid Japanese knives fan & chefs alike will think of doing thinning. It is unnecessary to a certain degree, but we people that splurge big money on those knives like to have that silky smooth performance like how it was out of the box for as long as we can. Sometimes we thin a knife (usually lower priced) OOTB if we hate the grind lol. But as you said it does open up a large can of worms, we look into methods of getting back the same finish (or just a good looking finish) like hand sanding/finishing & stuff like fingerstone polishing, and there's more techniques, tools & options to further complicate things up. Also, thinning doesn't reduce your knife's edge holding ability. The knives, even as thin as the Kato example that you showed is able to hold an edge as well IF NOT better than if it were to be thicker behind the edge. How so? Well, a knife's edge is able to hold up from wear as long as there is sufficient material behind it. In most cases it is sufficient. It DOES, however, make the blade more prone to chipping, hence more delicate to work with. That's one of the reason some chefs don't thin out their edge even after years of use, it's cause you can just bang on the knife and roll out prep hard all day without the worry of the knife chipping easily. I'd agree that as you said in that it is highly unnecessary for 99% of the common users to do thinning. However, if you have that one knife that was cutting bliss when it was new and just no longer like what it was anymore, consider sending it in for thinning if not doing it yourself, brings the life back into a knife.
sean, appreciate the thorough comment, but i think you may have missed my point in your arguments. you obviously are an expert, and i'm not trying to say wrong in any of your points, but please consider my points as more general, as opposed to picking exact words, and terminology, and only experts like you understand. regarding "grind", i may not have explicitly said "grind" for the kato, but did mentioned that's what it is, when talking about the yaxell. so yes, i see how you can call that erroneous, but the point was made. and about micr--bevels, you are taking the stance they it MUST be 30 degrees (which is fine), but i was not talking about degrees, and simply explaining the cutting of Kato R2 i was referring to. if you allow light to reflect off the cutting cutting edge, you'll see a "micro-bevel" be it 12, 30, or 45 degrees, which is less than .1mm wide. to me, that classifies as a mirco-bevel. like i said, you are an obvious expert. i'm simply trying to explain a few points for everyday people like me can understand.
@@Burrfection Hi Ryky, what I meant with the micro bevel was that it actually isn't a micro bevel, but just a super tiny normal edge bevel because of how thin the knife was ground. From a viewer's perspective, IMO you kinda made it sound like the Kato has a zero grind all the way down and only has a micro bevel at the edge. The reason it's a normal bevel instead of what's called a micro bevel is cause it's actually sharpened normally, around the 10-15 degrees range. I do get your stance of not talking about angles but I'm just use them as rough references. A micro bevel is actually what they do after they sharpen in a regular edge bevel (like the one on yaxell) and they raise the angle to grind in the micro bevel which is usually thinner than a hair, to reinforce the edge. The reason I wanted to point those out was because you have one of the largest reach in the knife world, as far as educating an audience goes. I think it's good to be accurate and consistent with the terms used so that it's less confusing for beginners. I don't think I've missed the point but to clear things up I figured making a thorough comment can clear things up better. Also gotta point out that I'm not an expert...just an avid enthusiast that was fortunate enough to learn from a kind community of knife people. And to be honest you're the one that got me into sharpening and knife collecting few years ago heheh! Appreciate your videos as ever Ryky!!
I recently found your channel and have been just down right stunned by your decency and humanity. Your reviews and tutorials are always down to earth and conveyed in a manner that newcomers like me can understand and appreciate. Love it! Keep up the excellent work! Subscriber for life.
My dude, you're just the best. I've been watching you for a while and have used your videos, almost exclusively, as reference as I've gotten more and more into knives and cooking. By in large, you have helped me far more than any other content creator in those pursuits and I thank you so much for that. Just a couple of weeks ago I finally decided to take the plunge into knife sharpening using whetstones and was stressed as hell about it; I've been desperately afraid of ruining my knives' edges. But, after hyping myself up and drinking a gallon of coffee (in hindsight I could have done without the caffein jitters), I finally worked up the courage to put blade to stone....and it definitely could have gone better hahaha. However, I've continued to watch your videos -- using them to work on my form/process -- and already I've made huge improvements on the quality of my sharpening. Obviously I'm nowhere near master-level, but it's turning into something that I'm less afraid of and actually enjoy doing. That high you get from cutting through a magazine for the first time after sharpening is top-notch. So thank you so much for that and for just overall being the wholesome person you are. And ffs please stay safe and healthy! :D
There will always be people who don't like what you're doing. You know you're on the right track when there are people who love what you're doing. Selfless, humble, helpful and kind. Trust yourself. Thanks Ryky! ❤️❤️
Wow this man jst delivers raw knwlgde rgt n left without hyping anything huge respect brother I hope this channel grows hugely wishing u a grt success ahead keep it up
Perfect statement on people that post very negative comments. I feel they are just jealous angry people. If you happy with what you post or make your self. If they cant give constructive criticism. Blow them off they dont deserve your energy. Thank for all your videos. Always full of useful info. Keep them coming.
I think there's a couple of nuances to the topic of thinning. If you buy a knife that's already thin behind the edge you don't need to thin the knife as often. Murray's knifes are super thin already and he recommends that the performance of your knife will only improve if it's thinner. If you are scared of learning to thin or thinning yourself, you can always send it somewhere to be thinned.
Just wanted to say thanks! Been watching your videos for a while now and just bought my first stone (cerax 1k) and I was able to finally get two of my cheap kitchen knives sharpened again including fixing some chips out of the length of one of them. Just wanted to swing by and say thanks! Glad I've learned this new skill and looking forward to continue to hone (lol) it and potentially getting a new better knife sometime in the future. Thanks again and keep up the high quality work and vids!
I think Murray Carter pursues the absolutely best sharpness out of a knife. He suggests making the angle smaller and smaller until the edge doesn't hold, then back down a tiny bit. If he can double the work load to improve the sharpness by 5%, he would do it. Whether that's what you are looking for is up to you. But to me, I'm looking for pretty good sharpness without too much work, so I don't thin my knives that much. I think so far I only thinned my knives in one condition: when I got a new knife and its factory profile isn't thin enough. After that, I can sharpen it a lot of times without thinning.
Completely agree! as Ryky said he is a master sharpener.......he is chasing the perfect cutting edge and has the skill and is willing to spend the time for that.
Yet again Ryky your sharing of knowledge has helped me and all the other watchers. You are awesome. If Only SG2 knives were cheaper in Australia, I am sure more would have them. Keep up the good work. Inspiring and informative as always. Be safe and thanks again.
Its kinna dumb how everything HAS to have a definite yes or no answer. For thinning blade, it really depends on what knife it is. A gyuto is mostly gonna be okay without thinning. But sometimes pettys get pretty thick, and the cutting edge just becomes thick asf after a couple years of use. You really cant cut things without forcing the blade through
No matter what, all Knives get thicker the more you sharpen them, so if you want the original performance you have to thin. I like to at least keep my Knives cutting like when they were New
I was just coming here to say exactly this, it all depends on the application, I definitely wouldn't thin a gyuto, but I thin my boning knives regularly - that said, my boning knives get 8-10hrs a day of constant use, and are also used more for slicing as opposed to chopping etc.
Great video, thanks. About the thinning, as a sharpener gets more experienced, he/she will develop a sense of grind, edge bevel, and apex/edge. After understanding these and developing the skills to assess them, and understanding what works better for what purpose, one can decide if they want to thin. If someone is asking whether they should thin etc, it means they don't have required experience yet to understand, assess, and modify characteristics of a blade. It can be a personal preference similar to what grit you finish. Good example in the video, thanks. However technically it is necessary over time but whatever as I said with experience it will be obvious.
It's very easy for the internet trolls to hide behind their computer and make negative comments. They think they're tough guys but they hide like cowards. They would never say anything to your face. So keep doing what you doing, putting a smile on her face and entertaining us. We love it
Thank you for this. It flattening a blade has been a question of mine for a while. I feel much better ad much more competent as a newbie to the sharpening world
Also im pretty sure my wife isnt all that happy with my new addiction of collecting expensive knives. I just got my first (shun classic 8 inch) chefs nife ladt week and because of you i am hooked on these knives something about having a knife made from generations of samurai blacksmiths is so satisfying. So again thank you for the new hobby.
This. We need more of this. Overall wholesomeness and love. God, so happy right now Edit: wow I think you are my first ever heart from a CZcamsr. Right on
It is so true that people will bash things you do or make but can't do it there self. That is in all kinds of creating / making things. Not only with knives :)
I've thinned quite a few. The hardest was a Yanagi. Second hardest was a Chefs knife I used for 30 plus years. It was a Henkles...my primary on the line knife. I only do when necessary
I will only thin if I begin to feel a noticeable decrease in performance. I havent felt that yet, and I have damascus Miyabis, so they are plenty thin already. I might thin later on and might try to reetch the blade to.
Miyabis are terrible. Almost as bad as this guys misinformation filled videos. Every single Miyabi has visible shoulders behind the edge because the grinds are extremely thick. They try to make up for it with acute edge angles but that doesn't cut it. Miyabis are at least twice as thick as even a Shun behind the edge. I have 3 miyabis and I would never suggest anyone buy these overpriced and poorly designed knives.
Carter's thinning philosophy makes a lot of sense to me. I don't buy super knives, neither do the people I know. Everyone just buy those knife block set of whatever brand when it's on sale. Those knives have a thick spine going parallel all the way down to a microbevel cutting edge. Once that dulls you practically have to sharpen at 45 degrees on both side if you don't plan to thin it out.
Thank you for your videos! You are a good person. That is clear to see. You're also correct about the negative people. A lot of people like that can't bring themselves to give compliments or think positively. It consumes you over time and one gets to the point where they can't realize they've grown to be toxic.
I don't know why, but I just ended up binge watching your Knife Sharpening Restoring, damage knife opening... man almost theraputic. Which also reignited my knife interest .. sub +1
Today I sharpened my knives for 3rd time and already feel improvement on the edge. I've had a lot of help and information from your vids. Thanks and stay wholesome! ;)
Well done Ryky It was very heart warming listening to your your guidance to the op that was getting trolled, not many care about others these days, says a whole lot about your caring personality, Regards, Gary ............AU
My opinel is from carbon steel and has heavy patina. The patina actually protects the steel from rusting and it is more beautiful in my opinion. It never bothered me to cut food with patina knife
So jealous of that full magnet knife background lol. I would do my whole house like that as wallpaper if my money and wife would let me Haha. Your channel is the best! God bless you and the fam i hope everyone who follows this channel are safe and healthy.
Great to see you giving more knives away! On the thinning question, I've only tried to thin German knives like Burgvogel, Henckels, Wus... Etc. because of the weight or to correct the over use of powered sharpeners. Most were not hollow ground and we're corrected on a belt sander. Blade thickness/taper at the edge had a definite effect on the amount of drag the knife has through food. Which is why I moved to thinner Japanese knives and started sharpening all my knives at lower angles! That's why I watch your videos!
so basically you realized that his claim that only steels harder than 62 hrc can withstand thin edges was false, like half of the other things he says.
We need GAW winner videos! It would be cool to see who the knives went to and photos of their repairs i.e. the new life that's been breathed into some of those poorly abused knives. Cheers Ryky
Iv never thined any of my zwilling knives but i have thined both my tojiros when i got them and never needed to do it again. Shuns dont tend to need it either from the few that iv used. They knives i did thin where for plate garnishing and very specific and delicate cuts not a chef knife or hard use knife.
As I said before, my knifes are mostly butchers knifes that have been used by my great-grandmother. She founded a dynasty of butchers with shops all over my hometown, ending in 1980, when there was no male heir, and the females had no interest in running a company. So everything was sold. Some of my knifes are said to be used by my great-grandmother back in 1870. They never have been thinned out, and with my humble abilitys of sharpening knifes I am at least able to keep them razor sharp. Not hair popping, but sharp. Before I came into sharpening my knifes by myself, I gave them away for sharpening. This happened last time 15 or more years ago, as this became quite expensive. Most work I have to do, especially with the old blades, is using a honing steel, I have one of those used in the butchery. Maybe the steel of the rod and the steel of the knifes match perfect, both are from the same period. My more modern or new knifes, kitchen and EDC, are maintained with a leather strap with green compound. I use stones only when I chip a knife, or if it needs a nee bevel, just because I am not that good at it.
Only channel I have ever subscribed to. Really enjoy the impartial content. Used the info to purchase sharpening stone. Thanks. I have about 10 knives mostly geared toward hunting and fishing. No Japanese knife. I will purchase possibly two matching knives as gifts for my son and daughter.
Murray Carter is an amazing blade Smith. And definitely knows his stuff, as do you. I've taken things from both of you as well as many others and developed my own sharpening style. I've thinned a couple knives the way Murray does it. I think maybe one turned out the way I pictured in my head. Your channel is one of my favorites on my watch list. I've since taken up making blades, but still frequent your channel. Thanks for doing what you do.
Update Hi Ryky Question : Just noticed my Chefs knife has lost its curve, wasn't much, but have noticed chopping with rocking non affective now Did not realise my knife had a slight curve, you were right........again! Bad sharpening can take that curve out :) lack of skill here, knife now slicer, should I just take this as a learning curve and buy a new chefs knife as I now miss the curve Regards, Gary ..........AU
Franscisco, the hardest part is to not treat them like a drunk heckler on stage. But the fast way to shut that stuff down is to straight up ask them to show you what THEY produce. (it tends to shut them up) I get that stuff when selling the custom brass knuckles, and the occasional knife I make. Don't let them grind you down (no pun intended) and keep on going, every knife made, every blade sharpened, is a new learning experience and you WILL improve every time you make a new one.
Or the comments of "Oh I can make that in my shop." I look them square in the eye and tell them to do it, bring it to the next show because I want to see what you make. (I'm actually genuine at that point, because I want to see new makers out there, and I buy more than what I sell.) And also, if you ever get the chance (You as in anybody doing custom making/sharpening or are generally curious about getting into the industry.) Go to a custom knife show, meet the makers, show off what you are doing, and you can get some really great advice on setting handles/scales (the thing that I really suck at) grinding equipment ect. Sure there are Divas in the industry, but 99 percent of the people I met are down to earth and will encourage you to keep going.
I really loved this video! You inspire so many people, and are a down to earth person. I’m happy to hear you didn’t let any of those negative people stop what you are doing. I’ve learned a lot from the people’s questions in this video. Very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
No matter being a CZcamsr or other... we will facing negative people anyway. I totally agree with what you said but still so hard to face those situations. I got to hand it to you!
Love the videos man! I fell in love with cooking a few years back got a decent set of Calphalon knives. I had always paid for sharpening but from your videos I have gained the confidence to start sharpening my self. Just had my first run yesterday. Turned out ok. Muscle memory and form need some work before I venture into getting better knives. Anyway, thank for the great videos and keep it up man!
Josh Mooney I learned from Ryky a few years back too. The most important thing to learn at the beginning, speaking from my own experience, is to lock your wrist and don’t rotate the blade. What stones did you end up going with?
I bought a couple of custom knives and a whetstone in Osaka a couple of years ago, and thanks to your channel I can sharpen them properly! The shop I bought them at did show me how to sharpen them, but by the time I needed to do it, I had forgotten lol. btw, bought a buffalo leather strop off your site and found it to be much higher quality over less expensive options on Amazon
Murry suggests that if you have a western style knife it probably could be thinned. And the a little bit of matainance thinning is required everything you reestablish a primary edge else that secondary bevel will grow more a more obtouse ie. less sharp. He dose not go as far as to say you should re-face the knife rather just let that happen over time as you sharpen your knives. My procedure is to use 1000 to 6000 to 8000 grit and finish of leather and 8000 surface polish on my secondary edge looks better then the original face. But id feel differently if it was Demarcus or etched these are working knifes that I use all the time.
Good answers, glad the channel's doing great. Thinning knives with whetstones is a huge pain in the butt, but the result if you do it right is awesome -- nothing like effortlessly sliding through your veggie prep. If you want the best possible cutting experience for the least money, getting a cheap Shirogami #1 knife and manually grinding the primary bevel until it's nice and uniform, and reaches the edge, followed by a very thin micro-bevel will produce a pretty awesome cutting-experience. But if you do that, the edge will be more brittle and vulnerable to chipping if you cut hard things with it or just cut in general with bad technique. I personally think it's worth spending a little extra to buy a knife that comes with a nice thin profile, although I think over time I have ended up refining the primary bevel on almost all of my knives -- it's something I do very rarely.
appreciate the input. thinning has its place and purpose. i was only addressing the question of it being required at every sharpening session, which is a bit overkill for most people.
Hi, Ryky this is my very first comment on any youtube channel and i want to tell you that you are a great teacher. I've learned a lot from you till i can sharpen my knives properly. So, Thank you!
When you say at 2:18 that thinning removes support from the cutting edge, you misunderstand Carter's point. Yes, he often thins blades to his preference (a different issue), but once that is done his aim in removing material from the primary bevel at every sharpening is to restore the secondary bevel (cutting edge) to its original geometry. If you never remove any material from your primary bevel, *every sharpening increases the width of your secondary bevel.* Yes, by only a tiny amount, but you would remove a correspondingly tiny amount from the primary bevel to correct this. To the extent that this "removes support from the cutting edge", it is support that was not originally there, i.e. it returns the secondary bevel to its original width. This issue becomes more pronounced with the overall thickness of the blade (which is one of the reasons that Carter often starts by thinning the entire blade to his preference) and with the frequency and aggressiveness of sharpening. If your blade is very thin, and you do not remove much material from the secondary bevel, you might not feel the need to adjust the primary bevel for long time, or ever. If you sharpen aggressively and/or frequently, and/or the primary bevel is relatively steep, you will need to deal with changes in your blade's geometry. In terms of angles, Carter's approach is equivalent to keeping the "lower half" (cutting side) the same but moving it upward toward the spine (as if material was deleted from the spine and the blade was "scrolled upward" toward the spine, which becomes marginally thinner). Your approach also "scrolls" the cutting edge upward toward the spine (as all sharpening does) but the "deletion" occurs at the secondary bevel, keeping the width of the spine but widening the secondary bevel. This will affect cutting performance, but whether it is noticeable depends on the circumstances.
Hi Ryky, I have been following you for a couple of years. I remember the early days and some of the flak you have taken. There are still people out there making snide comments about your line of knives. In spite of the negative comments by certain individuals, I bought one of your knives for my daughter and it is her favorite. You give sound advice and the purpose of my purchase was to also support what you do. I believe in your morals and ethics. You try to do better for your fellow man, I remember you did charity work back in your college days. I don't typically comment on videos, but I tend to be more vocal during your giveaways and when I see people trying to tear down someone that is a decent person. Keep up the good work, you can't please everyone. I recommend you to all my friends and family. I can't afford to be a patreon, but I try to support you in other ways. Keep being you.
Hey man! I recently found your channel and it helped me a lot! I purchased 2 Yaxxel Ran 69 knives a few years ago and they lost their edge, as well as I could notice some smaller chips all along the edge. While I DID try the Yaxxel "wheel" knife sharpener it didn't really do anything except to scracth my knives. At least it didn't fix the chip. I purchased a King wetstone now (double sided with 200 and 1000 grit) and working my technique! Keep up the good work!
Whoever is using the same knife as a chef for 30 years without thinning it, obviously doesn’t know what they are talking about. Thinning is a basic part of knife care, also it’s very subjective that the knife should be thin enough after repairing a chip, yea sure if it’s a new laser, but if it’s a convexed workhorse you will HAVE to thin it. Don’t try to educate people on a subject you don’t know man, you shouldn’t avoid thinning because it ruins your finish, at that point the knife is a toy, not a tool. Plus you can repair the finish if you are fanatical. Not meaning to sound hateful at all, you have every right to your opinion.
Wise words Ryky. Haters gonna hate, and feel ever more validated in this day and age. Only with perseverance will things right themselves in the future. Thanks for addressing this.
First of all, great video. Second, that advice at 9:30ish is so true. I listen to podcasts from people in all kinds of youtube and other media and they frequently talk about how they deal with the haters and what not and this is by far and away the best advice I've heard about it. Different people react in interesting ways. Some people outright fight back, others make the hater look like an idiot, and others just ignore them. I dont do youtube so I haven't actually been in this exact situation with haters hating on a knife I made, but one time I was really upset because someone basically yelled at me and a person helping me on a forum for posting in the wrong spot. They didn't attack ME for posting in the wrong spot or whatever, they just said that "you posted on the wrong spot" then attacked the lady helping me with "you should know better than to start another conversation than what the thread section is supposed to be about!" I didn't see till a few posts later what had been going on and that the helpful lady was being attacked, but I got upset when I did. I said "this lady is helping me, and I'm so sorry if you're offended because this is not the right thread and whatever. I will start another thread so you dont get your feelers in knots anymore, but you need to STOP attacking the person helping me because you're upset." I dont know if that was the right call, but it sure stopped the bullying! I probably could have done the same thing with less satire than I used in the actual post, but at least they quit bullying that lady
Ending = Burrfection. That Nobu is just unf. Time for me to start saving for an upgrade, my gf finally wore me down and I've pretty much given her my 'best' knife, the things we do to keep the significant other happy.
Best College student affordable all round chefs knife? I do a lot of Vegetable and meat cutting with the same serrated parring knife because it stays "sharp" better than other crap at Walmart for a similar price.
hello mate, hope you are fine, i'm from Algeria and you can't find fancy knives here, due to low income generally, but we've got some marks on sale as "Fischer, Bargoin, Arcos, Icel, Laika, Opinel and the best of them around are Victorinox" i've got a bunch of all of those but i really have some difficulties to sharpen my knives, i can repair the edge but never make it through the paper test, skinning sheep is the worst thing for my knives, so my Q is can you made a review on Victorinox knives and any suggestions how to deal with sheep skins.
As far as thinning a blade, I've seen a video where Murray Carter himself said he thins his knives, personally made knives, because of his laminate construction. If he didn't thin the secondary bevel, the harder carbon steel core will have to obtuse of an angle where it is forge welded to the softer stainless steel.
I am new to the Knife world and am learning a lot from you. I am looking at spending a good bit of $$$ to get a fantastic set of knives I can enjoy using when I need to. Tired of crappy cheap and want to get a set for life. This is where I found your channel and am starting to learn. So far Enzo SG2 or Kramer SG2 knives are at the top of my list right now. Keep it up I am learning and enjoying what you are putting out. You have a fantastic personality and a great way about you. Thanks Brian
Brian Supermag I would absolutely recommend going to a local culinary store and trying out different knives if you can - this will ultimately help you decide what knife you want, that suits your technique and hand best. I did this a few years ago and discovered that I much preferred Japanese knives not only because of the superior edge, but how much better my hand conformed to the handle and the pinch grip was so much more comfortable. Timing was finally right and I’ve now got my first 2 Japanese knives on the way.
Brian Supermag what are you primarily looking for in a knife? Ease of sharpening? Edge retention? Corrosion resistance? Hardness? I’m not trying to talk you out of your current choices by any means. Just trying to help if I can.
You should listen to negative comments as well, maybe they are trying to give some advise, negative doesn't mean rude or disrespectful., if something negative is said in a constructive amnner should be take into account
I posted some knives I had reprofiled and rehandled on a Facebook group. Enough people love it that I am keen to do more. I'm not out there to please anyone. I'm out there to extend myself and learn. If people want to be constructive I'm listening If people are out to slam me, my selective hearing comes in handy.
I loved this insightful video 👍 keep up the good work. If anyone could comment about the negative aspects of blue steel or super steel relative to white steel? I prefer blue because of higher RC. THANK YOU
Kamal, thank you for all your great input on the channel. white2, will top out around 62, and that's pushing it. most of the time, you'll see 60-61 rockwell, but blue2 regularly is 62+ and blue super get to 62-63 almost without trying, with 65 being the highest i have seen.
I've been aware of your channel for quite a long time now. But just recently subscribed so I can keep up with your content better. So first of all, thank you for all the awesome content. I've been using whetstones for 10-15 years now. But primarily coarser stones in combination with files on larger tools and equipment, things like axes and such. Which don't require a super fine edge. As well as touching up pocket knives occasionally. Due to the many people in my household that aren't really interested in properly maintaining a knife. I've never invested in good cutlery due to the fear of someone ruining it. So all of my kitchen knives are really cheap softer steel Chinese knives. But I just recently decided to try to put a good edge on my kitchen knives. Partly for practice, and partly because I would just like to have sharper knives in the kitchen. My question has to do with burr development when sharpening. I've noticed with these knives that as the burr develops, it's very rough and jagged. Almost like it's tearing as it develops on the edge. Have you had any experience with abnormal burr development on soft/cheap steels? Or is this 100% my technique? Thanks in advance if you find the time to answer this question. But if anyone else has any insight into this, I'd appreciate your input as well. :)
Good Video. I really don't understand why people would comment like that about your patreon guy, Francisco. If the quality is there in his knives who cares what they look like. If he likes how they look and if they do the job. I've always thought Victorinox with the fibrox handles looked like cheap bad knives, but it's my daily driver. If he is selling them he should market them as sleeper knives, lol. Negative people should get over themselves. The world would be a better place.
Victorinox fibrox has worked for me for over 30 years. After getting it really sharp for the first time in years using Ryky's videos (I was tired of having to jiggle it to get it through tomatoes and was envious of those paper thin tomatoes videos), I was so excited I bought one of Ryky's B store Launch gyoto's. So far all I do is strop lightly oh so lightly on 2k grit wet sand paper and surprise myself with every cut. So happy to be able to pick up that AUS8 on a discount! The fibrox practice has me ready when I do need to sharpen the Ryky.🙂😉
As a professional: I do thin my knifes(even when recently purchased). It's just way better for the long run of usage and cutting performance. As a homecook: I don't even think about thinning my knifes, it's a waste of time.
I really enjoyed watching your videos. Very informative, and a little zen like. Can't wait for your next one. I use Norton oil stones and Arkansas stones that were given to me many years ago. Looking forward to trying new stones that you have suggested.
Sorry if this is the wrong location to post my question and the fact it is too long: I'm getting into bbq and want to step up my knife game after watching $9 vs $900 Knife Sharpener? On the project farm’s channel I discovered wet stone to be a great choice so started googling and wound up here. I have Zwilling J A Henckels. and victorinox knives (because america test kitchen) both not very hard knives. I am looking to get started with wet stone sharpening (i would rather buy quality once and cry once) after watching your video (How To Choose Best Japanese Sharpening Whetstone) I’m looking to get Naniwa Chosera 800 Grit Stone 1st 2nd i was going to get Chosera 3,000 Grit Stone Question is a 3000 grit stone worth it on soft steel european knives I can't find the video but you said soft steel can only hold and edge up to a 3000grit stone (might of been How To Choose Best Japanese Sharpening Whetstone) Video (Knife Sharpening w/ National Champion BBQ Pitmaster Harry Soo) said only go to 1000grit with soft steels and said will be follow up proving it that i can't find Video to watch is just fine as a response
I enjoy your videos. I was watching one on stropping today. Everything I've ever seen on stropping uses compound on the rough side of the leather. Some people follow that up with polishing on smooth leather without compound. But I see that you use compound on the smooth side. Now I'm confused. Can you explain?
Suggestions Please include the spell of the products you are talking about in the video description I’m terrible at spelling and these brands are quite challenging to spell (understatement). I am new to this stuff so I don't know if you are talking about the brand, the model or the series or what. This makes it quite frustrating to look up. I don't need a hyperlink (preferably to your store or affiliate) although that would be great but a spelling would be enough to get me started if i want to buy/research more.
I agree that you don't need to thin your knives every single sharpening, but to say that you never need to thin unless you have like a 3-4mm chip in your life is just... not true. That's just how you end up with lousy cutting knives. The apex of the bevel is what initiates the cut, but it's the thinness and overall geometry of the knife that determines if the knife cuts well. Knives that are thick behind the edge wedge on tall, hard foods.
appreciate the feedback, but i never said you should never thin your knife. the statement about the chef using the same knife for 30 years ( a real chef i know) was to point out that a chef who earns a living using THAT knife, could use it for that long without thinning. the point about still not needing flattening after 3-4mm chip (actually, i said after 2-3mm did not need thinning) was from experience of a specific knife, not a golden rule, that unless you remove at least 3-4mm, you shouldn't flatten. to each their own. nothing wrong with thinning as frequently as some experts suggests - i'm just saying it's not absolutely necessary for most people.
@@Burrfection But I guess that knife wouldn't cut particularly well, having not been thinned in 30 years. I guess your audience may be a bit different to the knife nerds, e.g. don't need maximum performance. Thanks for your opinion anyways. p.s. would you consider trying this? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekonoshoben#Overview_and_Theory
@@Burrfection Hmm... I think anecdotally, yes you're talking about one specific chef and one specific chef knife. But I'm sure you may also understand why that sounds very misleading, no? It's very easy for someone to think "burrfection told me a chef of 30 years used the same knife without thinning, I should do the same". I sharpen regularly as a side gig and many people who've only used their knives for 5 years, but very regularly cook at home, need their knives thinned. Cutting edge sharpness is one thing, but if the knife behind the edge isn't thin, the knife just feels awful to use. If you were to tell people that they shouldn't be the ones to thin the knives themselves, but to send it to someone who knows how to take care of the aesthetics, that's a reasonable suggestion I think. But to infer that it's not necessary for most people I think is wrong. You're certainly entitled your opinion too. But people are going to end up with really lousy knives at the 5 to 10 year mark if all they do is edge sharpen. I've seen plenty of knives that could cut through newsprint without any fibre tearing, but couldn't cut through a potato worth a damn without having to slam it against the board. And that issue comes down to lack of thinning. Murray Carter's "thin every single time" is a bit much, I agree. Certainly not suggesting that. But every 3-5 years is a good time to get it thinned at least a little bit if you're cooking regularly.
i'm sure his knife was not as sharp as some knife nerds would like it, but he earned an honest living with his knife. i don't think he cared whether of not, a knife nerd thought his knife was not sharp enough
think you are missing my point. i never said thinning is something you should never do. i was addressing the question of whether or not, one should be thinning EVERY sharpening session, which appears to be the recommendation by m.carter. i simply said, if one is in pursuit of pursuit of absolute sharpness, and wants to thin at every sharpening, that is fine, and for those of us who don't want to deal with thinning that often - it's also fine.
Hi hope your keeping well and you and your family are safe just a quick question is there a good way of keeping a good edge on a serrated knife such as a bread knife many thanks and keep up the good work
Boy, you guys have your own Jargon, just like us Nihonto Guys. Hope all is well with you and the Family Riki! An Acquaintance of mine is Green Beetle (does Blade Smithing). He once tried to thin an edge to super thinness. It became steel foil, and bent etc. Video on his channel.
My 8 inch Shun kitchen knife(actual name unknown) had some visible chips in the edge. Not obvious, but there on close inspection. I used a stone to take out the chips while keeping the angle steady at around 15 to 20 degrees both sides. My edge slices through paper with a pleasant whistle. But that proves nothing. Because the knife goes into the tomato easily, and then "jams". I assume the edge is to big. I need to take away material behind the edge. That's thinning isn't it?
As a few points about the blade thinning question.
Carter's perspective comes from caring how the knife works as a cutting tool with no regard at all for how it looks, he recommends it for anyone, not just professionals, not just with high end knives - again, it is just about IF you want your knife to perform at its best as a cutting tool.
If you thin the primary grind, it doesn't decrease edge retention, it increases it.
If you are a chef for 30 years and the edge on your knife and you have never had the knife thinned out, then it just means :
-you don't mind using the knife with a much thicker edge
-you use the knife dull
-you don't really use that knife that much (maybe you have a LOT of knives)
and so on.
The reality is that every time you sharpen the edge, the edge will get thicker. This increases subsequent sharpening time, and reduces cutting ability and edge retention. The changes are slow of course, but they build up over time. Carters approach is to do a little thinning each time if necessary vs letting the performance degrade, just accepting the performance loss until it gets so big you have to have a professional regrind.
Or the chef has someone sharpen his or her knives and does not realize that they have been thinned...
Going to disagree with this. You're blade thickness will increase for sure, but the loss in cutting quality is going to be so miniscule it won't matter.
For example go grab a chisel or plane iron from a professional woodworker. They will be easily shaving sharp, hell I can whittle hairs with mine and they hold their edge plenty well while slicing through much tougher material than you will find in any kitchen.
The edge geometry is important, but flattening after every sharpening is just going to kill the lifespan of your knife. If and when you notice it's not performing to your standards, flatten it, if not don't worry about it.
@@inigomontoya4109 A chisel that can whittle hairs is implausible, and impractical. The edge of a commercial razor blade is maybe 8 degrees. A standard woodworking chisel is 25 degrees. For mortising, more like 30 degrees. Maybe 20 degrees for a planing chisel, but much lower than that and the edge becomes too fragile to do much with.
Generally, you would sharpen the chisel by grinding the entire primary face. If sharpening by hand, it is obviously *much* faster to sacrifice a degree or two of cutting angle to create a secondary bevel. However, repeated sharpenings will thicken the blade, so before long you need to... create a new primary bevel. And to restore the original geometry, you will need to take off just as much metal as if you had been grinding the primary face the whole time. You deferred that extra work for a while, at the cost of sacrificing a degree or two of sharpness in the interim.
Similar argument for thinning kitchen knives as you go.
@@inigomontoya4109 I have known Murray for close to twenty years and I think there may be a misunderstanding here. He does not advocate thinning every time you sharpen but checking to see IF the knife needs to be thinned. The biggest factor to cutting performance is all at the edge and how it transitions to the secondary bevel. I have carried one of his Brute Wharnecliffes for 18 years and even with daily use I have only thinned it three times. The loss of cutting ease as the blade thins is not trivial and you will certainly notice it. I go until the loss of performance becomes problematic and then thin it. Murray thinning the knife a very small amount more often just bypasses the loss of performance. I have sharpened his personal neck knife at Blade and it proportionally was no thinner than my one.
@@Nebulax123for expedience carter may not always follow his own advice, but thinning is a mandatory sharpening step for him according to his new sharpening method with hap stanley.
It’s like eating healthy - you cannot go wrong recommending it even if you don’t always do it yourself.
Wow that ending was so wholesome :')
Wasn't sure where to post this, but since you mentioned ruining knives... I ruined my new favorite knife, the Ricky 10" Burrfection knife, while sharpening it on a Cerax 1000 wet stone. No idea how it happened, but I scratched the right face of the knife. 😭 Any way to fix it? I would really like to buy one of your damaged knifes to practice on. BTW, that stone is amazing!!!!
Sandpaper. No joke. Work the grits. Work them dry. Once you get to 3k, it's pretty mirror like. If you want to go full mirror use wet/dry above 3k. I recommend 7k, 10k and for overkill 15k grits.
Back n forward...not circles. Dw about how burrfect (perfect 🤣) you're going back n forward, it'll buff out.
Don't believe? Try it on a crappy knife n see what you think! 🥰
I got fed up with dull knives in my kitchen so I went to Amazon and bought some sharpening stones - when they arrived I realized I don't know how to use them so off to CZcams. I was lucky enough to find your page. Thank you for being here and for your enthusiasm. I am so looking forward to using sharp knives.
when you sharpen a knife you necessarily move the edge up the vee ( the blades geometry) which gets thicker thicker and thicker until you reach the spine....this is a fact of geometry not an opinion. Now its is up to the knife owner to determine whether they can live will the degradation in cutting performance caused by the edge slowly getting thicker and thicker. some sharpening techniques keep this in check without calling it thinning. in the end it does not matter if you call it thinning or not. to keep a knife at peak performance you can not let the material directly behind edge get thicker over time........... some call it thinning :)
Ryky, have been with you from the beginning. I’m 69 and still use my chef knives for vegetable work when making large buckets of soup from my country garden. Just have to commend you as a great role model for young folks and just a great human being. I’m an old timer with SIC and Arkansas stones, happy with my edges, The high end knives are off my radar. Looking for a site or eBay vendor who sell chipped or decent
used knives for repair.
That is awesome. keep doing what you are doing and learning. you are an inspiration to me
When I was a young man, I worked hard for little pay, and was not often happy or kind. I fought often and held grudges. As an older man now if there was one thing I could change it would be this: to be kind to people. Ryky, you have found this wisdom early in life. Enjoy your channel always.
Willie, thank you for sharing some wisdom and your very kind words. They mean a lot
Every time I watch your videos I get a warm feeling inside that makes me want to look at more and more knives hahahaha love ur vids. And to anyone out there making ur owe knives Imagine it takes a lot of time and practice keep up your good work
Awesome! Thank you!
Love you Ryky, but there are a few things that are not exactly accurate that I'd like to clarify about.
First, you mentioned how handmade japanese knives have a big primary bevel and a micro bevel at the edge, and factory-made knives have just the edge bevel.
This is inaccurate, how so? Firstly the straight ground "primary bevel" you mentioned on handmade artisan knives is actually called the grind. That is used to create the TAPER of thickness from spine to edge of the knife. That same grind also exists in Yaxell knives that you mentioned, just that they're not visible because they're rounded, so called a linear grind.
Many handmade artisan knives have linear grinds too (with varying degrees of roundedness as well). For example the Makoto Kurosaki SG2 knives & the Konosuke HD2 knives, Shibata Kohetsu's too! These grinds can sometimes be hollow/convex as well to maximize the thinness behind the edge.
Secondly, about the micro bevel on Japanese artisan knives. That's inaccurate in the way that it in fact isn't a micro bevel.
The reason is because those minuscule bevels at the edge are sharpened at the same angle as how you would sharpen a normal edge bevel, it is in fact a normal bevel. A so called "micro bevel" is sharpened at high angles (ie. 30 degrees) after you've sharpened your primary edge bevel, to reinforce the edge.
The reason the bevel is so damn small is because their knives are ground so yummy damn thin behind the edge. Not because it's a "micro bevel" or is treated differently.
A well ground knife out of the box, especially artisan knives will give you great cutting performance, not in sharpness, but in smoothness of the grind. With equal sharpness, a well ground knife goes through product significantly easier compared to ones that are not. How smooth can it be? You can have close to no wedging or none at all doing stuff like halfing an onion, halfing potatoes, apples and tall products alike, it doesn't require more effort than ordinary cutting. Knives that are not hand ground often struggle with those things, I've seen a miyabi wedge on every onion lol.
As you sharpen those knives over the years, you wear the edge down to the part of the grind that is thicker. That decreases the performance of the knives and makes the knives feel less smooth cutting (largely unrelated to actual sharpness).
The thinness behind the edge makes up for a large part of the cutting performance, so that's where many avid Japanese knives fan & chefs alike will think of doing thinning. It is unnecessary to a certain degree, but we people that splurge big money on those knives like to have that silky smooth performance like how it was out of the box for as long as we can. Sometimes we thin a knife (usually lower priced) OOTB if we hate the grind lol.
But as you said it does open up a large can of worms, we look into methods of getting back the same finish (or just a good looking finish) like hand sanding/finishing & stuff like fingerstone polishing, and there's more techniques, tools & options to further complicate things up.
Also, thinning doesn't reduce your knife's edge holding ability. The knives, even as thin as the Kato example that you showed is able to hold an edge as well IF NOT better than if it were to be thicker behind the edge.
How so? Well, a knife's edge is able to hold up from wear as long as there is sufficient material behind it. In most cases it is sufficient. It DOES, however, make the blade more prone to chipping, hence more delicate to work with. That's one of the reason some chefs don't thin out their edge even after years of use, it's cause you can just bang on the knife and roll out prep hard all day without the worry of the knife chipping easily.
I'd agree that as you said in that it is highly unnecessary for 99% of the common users to do thinning. However, if you have that one knife that was cutting bliss when it was new and just no longer like what it was anymore, consider sending it in for thinning if not doing it yourself, brings the life back into a knife.
Finally someone with proper knife knowledge 🙏 100%accurate Sean
sean, appreciate the thorough comment, but i think you may have missed my point in your arguments. you obviously are an expert, and i'm not trying to say wrong in any of your points, but please consider my points as more general, as opposed to picking exact words, and terminology, and only experts like you understand.
regarding "grind", i may not have explicitly said "grind" for the kato, but did mentioned that's what it is, when talking about the yaxell. so yes, i see how you can call that erroneous, but the point was made.
and about micr--bevels, you are taking the stance they it MUST be 30 degrees (which is fine), but i was not talking about degrees, and simply explaining the cutting of Kato R2 i was referring to. if you allow light to reflect off the cutting cutting edge, you'll see a "micro-bevel" be it 12, 30, or 45 degrees, which is less than .1mm wide. to me, that classifies as a mirco-bevel.
like i said, you are an obvious expert. i'm simply trying to explain a few points for everyday people like me can understand.
@@Burrfection Hi Ryky, what I meant with the micro bevel was that it actually isn't a micro bevel, but just a super tiny normal edge bevel because of how thin the knife was ground. From a viewer's perspective, IMO you kinda made it sound like the Kato has a zero grind all the way down and only has a micro bevel at the edge.
The reason it's a normal bevel instead of what's called a micro bevel is cause it's actually sharpened normally, around the 10-15 degrees range. I do get your stance of not talking about angles but I'm just use them as rough references.
A micro bevel is actually what they do after they sharpen in a regular edge bevel (like the one on yaxell) and they raise the angle to grind in the micro bevel which is usually thinner than a hair, to reinforce the edge.
The reason I wanted to point those out was because you have one of the largest reach in the knife world, as far as educating an audience goes. I think it's good to be accurate and consistent with the terms used so that it's less confusing for beginners. I don't think I've missed the point but to clear things up I figured making a thorough comment can clear things up better.
Also gotta point out that I'm not an expert...just an avid enthusiast that was fortunate enough to learn from a kind community of knife people. And to be honest you're the one that got me into sharpening and knife collecting few years ago heheh! Appreciate your videos as ever Ryky!!
@@steppbrooEFT lovely conversation! This is gold! The student has become a master. Maybe not The Master, but certainly a master.
I recently found your channel and have been just down right stunned by your decency and humanity. Your reviews and tutorials are always down to earth and conveyed in a manner that newcomers like me can understand and appreciate. Love it! Keep up the excellent work! Subscriber for life.
Wow, thank you!
Ryky, Thanks for the vids. I have learned how to sharpen the proper way bc of you. Keep them coming. All the best and stay safe.
Do what you do ignore the negative comments. Only care about the people who care about you! Thank you for your answer!
My dude, you're just the best. I've been watching you for a while and have used your videos, almost exclusively, as reference as I've gotten more and more into knives and cooking. By in large, you have helped me far more than any other content creator in those pursuits and I thank you so much for that. Just a couple of weeks ago I finally decided to take the plunge into knife sharpening using whetstones and was stressed as hell about it; I've been desperately afraid of ruining my knives' edges. But, after hyping myself up and drinking a gallon of coffee (in hindsight I could have done without the caffein jitters), I finally worked up the courage to put blade to stone....and it definitely could have gone better hahaha. However, I've continued to watch your videos -- using them to work on my form/process -- and already I've made huge improvements on the quality of my sharpening. Obviously I'm nowhere near master-level, but it's turning into something that I'm less afraid of and actually enjoy doing. That high you get from cutting through a magazine for the first time after sharpening is top-notch.
So thank you so much for that and for just overall being the wholesome person you are. And ffs please stay safe and healthy! :D
There will always be people who don't like what you're doing. You know you're on the right track when there are people who love what you're doing. Selfless, humble, helpful and kind. Trust yourself. Thanks Ryky! ❤️❤️
Wow this man jst delivers raw knwlgde rgt n left without hyping anything huge respect brother I hope this channel grows hugely wishing u a grt success ahead keep it up
Appreciate that
Perfect statement on people that post very negative comments. I feel they are just jealous angry people. If you happy with what you post or make your self. If they cant give constructive criticism. Blow them off they dont deserve your energy. Thank for all your videos. Always full of useful info. Keep them coming.
The ending is so sweet that you almost forget whats happening with covid-19.
Quote from flat mate "omg you're watching that guy talking about stones again". :-D
Flat as in apartment?
Very confused American here.
I think there's a couple of nuances to the topic of thinning. If you buy a knife that's already thin behind the edge you don't need to thin the knife as often. Murray's knifes are super thin already and he recommends that the performance of your knife will only improve if it's thinner. If you are scared of learning to thin or thinning yourself, you can always send it somewhere to be thinned.
Just wanted to say thanks! Been watching your videos for a while now and just bought my first stone (cerax 1k) and I was able to finally get two of my cheap kitchen knives sharpened again including fixing some chips out of the length of one of them. Just wanted to swing by and say thanks! Glad I've learned this new skill and looking forward to continue to hone (lol) it and potentially getting a new better knife sometime in the future. Thanks again and keep up the high quality work and vids!
I think Murray Carter pursues the absolutely best sharpness out of a knife. He suggests making the angle smaller and smaller until the edge doesn't hold, then back down a tiny bit. If he can double the work load to improve the sharpness by 5%, he would do it. Whether that's what you are looking for is up to you. But to me, I'm looking for pretty good sharpness without too much work, so I don't thin my knives that much. I think so far I only thinned my knives in one condition: when I got a new knife and its factory profile isn't thin enough. After that, I can sharpen it a lot of times without thinning.
Completely agree! as Ryky said he is a master sharpener.......he is chasing the perfect cutting edge and has the skill and is willing to spend the time for that.
Yet again Ryky your sharing of knowledge has helped me and all the other watchers. You are awesome. If Only SG2 knives were cheaper in Australia, I am sure more would have them. Keep up the good work. Inspiring and informative as always.
Be safe and thanks again.
Yes it was. It is so good that you are always thinking of other and taking care of then. 👍👍👍👍
Its kinna dumb how everything HAS to have a definite yes or no answer. For thinning blade, it really depends on what knife it is. A gyuto is mostly gonna be okay without thinning. But sometimes pettys get pretty thick, and the cutting edge just becomes thick asf after a couple years of use. You really cant cut things without forcing the blade through
No matter what, all Knives get thicker the more you sharpen them, so if you want the original performance you have to thin. I like to at least keep my Knives cutting like when they were New
I was just coming here to say exactly this, it all depends on the application, I definitely wouldn't thin a gyuto, but I thin my boning knives regularly - that said, my boning knives get 8-10hrs a day of constant use, and are also used more for slicing as opposed to chopping etc.
some outdoor knives aren't as tall as a chef knife and can have a very thick spine, so might want to plan sharpening a bit differently
Great video, thanks. About the thinning, as a sharpener gets more experienced, he/she will develop a sense of grind, edge bevel, and apex/edge. After understanding these and developing the skills to assess them, and understanding what works better for what purpose, one can decide if they want to thin. If someone is asking whether they should thin etc, it means they don't have required experience yet to understand, assess, and modify characteristics of a blade. It can be a personal preference similar to what grit you finish. Good example in the video, thanks. However technically it is necessary over time but whatever as I said with experience it will be obvious.
It's very easy for the internet trolls to hide behind their computer and make negative comments. They think they're tough guys but they hide like cowards. They would never say anything to your face. So keep doing what you doing, putting a smile on her face and entertaining us. We love it
Thank you for this. It flattening a blade has been a question of mine for a while. I feel much better ad much more competent as a newbie to the sharpening world
Also im pretty sure my wife isnt all that happy with my new addiction of collecting expensive knives. I just got my first (shun classic 8 inch) chefs nife ladt week and because of you i am hooked on these knives something about having a knife made from generations of samurai blacksmiths is so satisfying. So again thank you for the new hobby.
This. We need more of this. Overall wholesomeness and love. God, so happy right now
Edit: wow I think you are my first ever heart from a CZcamsr. Right on
It is so true that people will bash things you do or make but can't do it there self. That is in all kinds of creating / making things. Not only with knives :)
I've thinned quite a few. The hardest was a Yanagi. Second hardest was a Chefs knife I used for 30 plus years. It was a Henkles...my primary on the line knife. I only do when necessary
I will only thin if I begin to feel a noticeable decrease in performance. I havent felt that yet, and I have damascus Miyabis, so they are plenty thin already. I might thin later on and might try to reetch the blade to.
Miyabis are terrible. Almost as bad as this guys misinformation filled videos. Every single Miyabi has visible shoulders behind the edge because the grinds are extremely thick. They try to make up for it with acute edge angles but that doesn't cut it. Miyabis are at least twice as thick as even a Shun behind the edge. I have 3 miyabis and I would never suggest anyone buy these overpriced and poorly designed knives.
Carter's thinning philosophy makes a lot of sense to me.
I don't buy super knives, neither do the people I know. Everyone just buy those knife block set of whatever brand when it's on sale. Those knives have a thick spine going parallel all the way down to a microbevel cutting edge. Once that dulls you practically have to sharpen at 45 degrees on both side if you don't plan to thin it out.
Thank you for your videos! You are a good person. That is clear to see. You're also correct about the negative people. A lot of people like that can't bring themselves to give compliments or think positively. It consumes you over time and one gets to the point where they can't realize they've grown to be toxic.
I don't know why, but I just ended up binge watching your Knife Sharpening Restoring, damage knife opening... man almost theraputic. Which also reignited my knife interest .. sub +1
Today I sharpened my knives for 3rd time and already feel improvement on the edge. I've had a lot of help and information from your vids. Thanks and stay wholesome! ;)
Thanks for all your great content. Keep up the great work. I appreciate all your teaching. I have learned so much. 👍
I appreciate that!
Another take would be to sharpen a convex or a hamaguri grind.
Starting at 8-10 degrees and working your way up
Well done Ryky
It was very heart warming listening to your your guidance to the op that was getting trolled, not many care about others these days,
says a whole lot about your caring personality,
Regards,
Gary
............AU
My opinel is from carbon steel and has heavy patina. The patina actually protects the steel from rusting and it is more beautiful in my opinion. It never bothered me to cut food with patina knife
So jealous of that full magnet knife background lol. I would do my whole house like that as wallpaper if my money and wife would let me Haha. Your channel is the best! God bless you and the fam i hope everyone who follows this channel are safe and healthy.
Great to see you giving more knives away! On the thinning question, I've only tried to thin German knives like Burgvogel, Henckels, Wus... Etc. because of the weight or to correct the over use of powered sharpeners. Most were not hollow ground and we're corrected on a belt sander. Blade thickness/taper at the edge had a definite effect on the amount of drag the knife has through food. Which is why I moved to thinner Japanese knives and started sharpening all my knives at lower angles! That's why I watch your videos!
so basically you realized that his claim that only steels harder than 62 hrc can withstand thin edges was false, like half of the other things he says.
We need GAW winner videos! It would be cool to see who the knives went to and photos of their repairs i.e. the new life that's been breathed into some of those poorly abused knives. Cheers Ryky
That Ryusen Ryky VG-10 profile is literally exactly my preference. Well done on the design, man.
Iv never thined any of my zwilling knives but i have thined both my tojiros when i got them and never needed to do it again. Shuns dont tend to need it either from the few that iv used. They knives i did thin where for plate garnishing and very specific and delicate cuts not a chef knife or hard use knife.
And I love your attitude and generosity. Heart wrenching to listen and watch this. All the best my friend.
As I said before, my knifes are mostly butchers knifes that have been used by my great-grandmother. She founded a dynasty of butchers with shops all over my hometown, ending in 1980, when there was no male heir, and the females had no interest in running a company. So everything was sold.
Some of my knifes are said to be used by my great-grandmother back in 1870. They never have been thinned out, and with my humble abilitys of sharpening knifes I am at least able to keep them razor sharp. Not hair popping, but sharp.
Before I came into sharpening my knifes by myself, I gave them away for sharpening. This happened last time 15 or more years ago, as this became quite expensive.
Most work I have to do, especially with the old blades, is using a honing steel, I have one of those used in the butchery. Maybe the steel of the rod and the steel of the knifes match perfect, both are from the same period.
My more modern or new knifes, kitchen and EDC, are maintained with a leather strap with green compound.
I use stones only when I chip a knife, or if it needs a nee bevel, just because I am not that good at it.
Only channel I have ever subscribed to.
Really enjoy the impartial content.
Used the info to purchase sharpening stone. Thanks. I have about 10 knives mostly geared toward hunting and fishing. No Japanese knife. I will purchase possibly two matching knives as gifts for my son and daughter.
I love to hear a knowledgeable expert in all sincerity pass on what they have honestly earned. Thank You please keep on doing what You do best.
So nice of you
Wow Mr R, you are a truly good dude and may your good deeds be rewarded back to you many times.
Just doing my best
Murray Carter is an amazing blade Smith. And definitely knows his stuff, as do you. I've taken things from both of you as well as many others and developed my own sharpening style. I've thinned a couple knives the way Murray does it. I think maybe one turned out the way I pictured in my head. Your channel is one of my favorites on my watch list. I've since taken up making blades, but still frequent your channel. Thanks for doing what you do.
Update
Hi Ryky
Question : Just noticed my Chefs knife has lost its curve, wasn't much, but have noticed chopping with rocking non affective now
Did not realise my knife had a slight curve, you were right........again! Bad sharpening can take that curve out :)
lack of skill here, knife now slicer, should I just take this as a learning curve and buy a new chefs knife as I now miss the curve
Regards,
Gary
..........AU
Franscisco, the hardest part is to not treat them like a drunk heckler on stage. But the fast way to shut that stuff down is to straight up ask them to show you what THEY produce. (it tends to shut them up) I get that stuff when selling the custom brass knuckles, and the occasional knife I make. Don't let them grind you down (no pun intended) and keep on going, every knife made, every blade sharpened, is a new learning experience and you WILL improve every time you make a new one.
Well said. Spoken like a true gentleman
Or the comments of "Oh I can make that in my shop." I look them square in the eye and tell them to do it, bring it to the next show because I want to see what you make. (I'm actually genuine at that point, because I want to see new makers out there, and I buy more than what I sell.)
And also, if you ever get the chance (You as in anybody doing custom making/sharpening or are generally curious about getting into the industry.) Go to a custom knife show, meet the makers, show off what you are doing, and you can get some really great advice on setting handles/scales (the thing that I really suck at) grinding equipment ect. Sure there are Divas in the industry, but 99 percent of the people I met are down to earth and will encourage you to keep going.
i love it. need to use that line next time "bring it"
This whole comment section is bliss man, keep doing what you do! Regards from Malaysia
I really loved this video! You inspire so many people, and are a down to earth person. I’m happy to hear you didn’t let any of those negative people stop what you are doing. I’ve learned a lot from the people’s questions in this video. Very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
No matter being a CZcamsr or other... we will facing negative people anyway. I totally agree with what you said but still so hard to face those situations. I got to hand it to you!
wow, im so happy for those people who will be receiving that artistry knives .im so touch.more power and thank you, learned a lot. :)
Love the videos man! I fell in love with cooking a few years back got a decent set of Calphalon knives. I had always paid for sharpening but from your videos I have gained the confidence to start sharpening my self. Just had my first run yesterday. Turned out ok. Muscle memory and form need some work before I venture into getting better knives. Anyway, thank for the great videos and keep it up man!
Josh Mooney I learned from Ryky a few years back too. The most important thing to learn at the beginning, speaking from my own experience, is to lock your wrist and don’t rotate the blade. What stones did you end up going with?
@@curseofthegreat naniwa chosera 800 and suehiro 3000
Josh Mooney Cerax 3000? Rika 3000?
I like your answer to Francisco's question!
Thank you!
I bought a couple of custom knives and a whetstone in Osaka a couple of years ago, and thanks to your channel I can sharpen them properly! The shop I bought them at did show me how to sharpen them, but by the time I needed to do it, I had forgotten lol. btw, bought a buffalo leather strop off your site and found it to be much higher quality over less expensive options on Amazon
Murry suggests that if you have a western style knife it probably could be thinned. And the a little bit of matainance thinning is required everything you reestablish a primary edge else that secondary bevel will grow more a more obtouse ie. less sharp. He dose not go as far as to say you should re-face the knife rather just let that happen over time as you sharpen your knives.
My procedure is to use 1000 to 6000 to 8000 grit and finish of leather and 8000 surface polish on my secondary edge looks better then the original face. But id feel differently if it was Demarcus or etched these are working knifes that I use all the time.
Good answers, glad the channel's doing great.
Thinning knives with whetstones is a huge pain in the butt, but the result if you do it right is awesome -- nothing like effortlessly sliding through your veggie prep.
If you want the best possible cutting experience for the least money, getting a cheap Shirogami #1 knife and manually grinding the primary bevel until it's nice and uniform, and reaches the edge, followed by a very thin micro-bevel will produce a pretty awesome cutting-experience. But if you do that, the edge will be more brittle and vulnerable to chipping if you cut hard things with it or just cut in general with bad technique.
I personally think it's worth spending a little extra to buy a knife that comes with a nice thin profile, although I think over time I have ended up refining the primary bevel on almost all of my knives -- it's something I do very rarely.
appreciate the input. thinning has its place and purpose. i was only addressing the question of it being required at every sharpening session, which is a bit overkill for most people.
Hi, Ryky this is my very first comment on any youtube channel and i want to tell you that you are a great teacher. I've learned a lot from you till i can sharpen my knives properly. So, Thank you!
I am honored
When you say at 2:18 that thinning removes support from the cutting edge, you misunderstand Carter's point. Yes, he often thins blades to his preference (a different issue), but once that is done his aim in removing material from the primary bevel at every sharpening is to restore the secondary bevel (cutting edge) to its original geometry. If you never remove any material from your primary bevel, *every sharpening increases the width of your secondary bevel.* Yes, by only a tiny amount, but you would remove a correspondingly tiny amount from the primary bevel to correct this. To the extent that this "removes support from the cutting edge", it is support that was not originally there, i.e. it returns the secondary bevel to its original width.
This issue becomes more pronounced with the overall thickness of the blade (which is one of the reasons that Carter often starts by thinning the entire blade to his preference) and with the frequency and aggressiveness of sharpening. If your blade is very thin, and you do not remove much material from the secondary bevel, you might not feel the need to adjust the primary bevel for long time, or ever. If you sharpen aggressively and/or frequently, and/or the primary bevel is relatively steep, you will need to deal with changes in your blade's geometry.
In terms of angles, Carter's approach is equivalent to keeping the "lower half" (cutting side) the same but moving it upward toward the spine (as if material was deleted from the spine and the blade was "scrolled upward" toward the spine, which becomes marginally thinner). Your approach also "scrolls" the cutting edge upward toward the spine (as all sharpening does) but the "deletion" occurs at the secondary bevel, keeping the width of the spine but widening the secondary bevel. This will affect cutting performance, but whether it is noticeable depends on the circumstances.
Hi Ryky,
I have been following you for a couple of years. I remember the early days and some of the flak you have taken. There are still people out there making snide comments about your line of knives. In spite of the negative comments by certain individuals, I bought one of your knives for my daughter and it is her favorite. You give sound advice and the purpose of my purchase was to also support what you do. I believe in your morals and ethics. You try to do better for your fellow man, I remember you did charity work back in your college days. I don't typically comment on videos, but I tend to be more vocal during your giveaways and when I see people trying to tear down someone that is a decent person. Keep up the good work, you can't please everyone. I recommend you to all my friends and family. I can't afford to be a patreon, but I try to support you in other ways. Keep being you.
Hey man! I recently found your channel and it helped me a lot!
I purchased 2 Yaxxel Ran 69 knives a few years ago and they lost their edge, as well as I could notice some smaller chips all along the edge. While I DID try the Yaxxel "wheel" knife sharpener it didn't really do anything except to scracth my knives. At least it didn't fix the chip. I purchased a King wetstone now (double sided with 200 and 1000 grit) and working my technique! Keep up the good work!
Whoever is using the same knife as a chef for 30 years without thinning it, obviously doesn’t know what they are talking about. Thinning is a basic part of knife care, also it’s very subjective that the knife should be thin enough after repairing a chip, yea sure if it’s a new laser, but if it’s a convexed workhorse you will HAVE to thin it.
Don’t try to educate people on a subject you don’t know man, you shouldn’t avoid thinning because it ruins your finish, at that point the knife is a toy, not a tool. Plus you can repair the finish if you are fanatical.
Not meaning to sound hateful at all, you have every right to your opinion.
Wise words Ryky. Haters gonna hate, and feel ever more validated in this day and age. Only with perseverance will things right themselves in the future. Thanks for addressing this.
I thin my knives once every about five or six sharpenings. Like Riky said Murry is a master thus he does it every single time.
Absolutely love how positive you are. Great videos.
First of all, great video. Second, that advice at 9:30ish is so true. I listen to podcasts from people in all kinds of youtube and other media and they frequently talk about how they deal with the haters and what not and this is by far and away the best advice I've heard about it. Different people react in interesting ways. Some people outright fight back, others make the hater look like an idiot, and others just ignore them.
I dont do youtube so I haven't actually been in this exact situation with haters hating on a knife I made, but one time I was really upset because someone basically yelled at me and a person helping me on a forum for posting in the wrong spot. They didn't attack ME for posting in the wrong spot or whatever, they just said that "you posted on the wrong spot" then attacked the lady helping me with "you should know better than to start another conversation than what the thread section is supposed to be about!"
I didn't see till a few posts later what had been going on and that the helpful lady was being attacked, but I got upset when I did. I said "this lady is helping me, and I'm so sorry if you're offended because this is not the right thread and whatever. I will start another thread so you dont get your feelers in knots anymore, but you need to STOP attacking the person helping me because you're upset."
I dont know if that was the right call, but it sure stopped the bullying! I probably could have done the same thing with less satire than I used in the actual post, but at least they quit bullying that lady
thank you for your kind words.
Ending = Burrfection. That Nobu is just unf. Time for me to start saving for an upgrade, my gf finally wore me down and I've pretty much given her my 'best' knife, the things we do to keep the significant other happy.
Thank you for answering the youtube 101 question. It is really helpful on a very broad level!
Best College student affordable all round chefs knife? I do a lot of Vegetable and meat cutting with the same serrated parring knife because it stays "sharp" better than other crap at Walmart for a similar price.
hello mate, hope you are fine, i'm from Algeria and you can't find fancy knives here, due to low income generally, but we've got some marks on sale as "Fischer, Bargoin, Arcos, Icel, Laika, Opinel and the best of them around are Victorinox" i've got a bunch of all of those but i really have some difficulties to sharpen my knives, i can repair the edge but never make it through the paper test, skinning sheep is the worst thing for my knives, so my Q is can you made a review on Victorinox knives and any suggestions how to deal with sheep skins.
Wow 🤩 You are a kind person god bless you
Ryky Your are a GREAT man...Thank You for all you do.Love you Brother from Ray in Michigan.
As far as thinning a blade, I've seen a video where Murray Carter himself said he thins his knives, personally made knives, because of his laminate construction. If he didn't thin the secondary bevel, the harder carbon steel core will have to obtuse of an angle where it is forge welded to the softer stainless steel.
I haven’t been watching for too long but I can’t fault you in anyway, you’re a good guy Ryky.
I am new to the Knife world and am learning a lot from you. I am looking at spending a good bit of $$$ to get a fantastic set of knives I can enjoy using when I need to. Tired of crappy cheap and want to get a set for life. This is where I found your channel and am starting to learn. So far Enzo SG2 or Kramer SG2 knives are at the top of my list right now.
Keep it up I am learning and enjoying what you are putting out. You have a fantastic personality and a great way about you.
Thanks
Brian
Brian Supermag I would absolutely recommend going to a local culinary store and trying out different knives if you can - this will ultimately help you decide what knife you want, that suits your technique and hand best. I did this a few years ago and discovered that I much preferred Japanese knives not only because of the superior edge, but how much better my hand conformed to the handle and the pinch grip was so much more comfortable. Timing was finally right and I’ve now got my first 2 Japanese knives on the way.
@@curseofthegreat unfortunately there is none around me or I would be doing that for sure.
Brian Supermag what are you primarily looking for in a knife? Ease of sharpening? Edge retention? Corrosion resistance? Hardness? I’m not trying to talk you out of your current choices by any means. Just trying to help if I can.
@@curseofthegreat pretty much all of that if possible. Enzo sg2 is high on my list that covers most of that. Followed by Kramer sg2.
@@briansupermag3918 have you been to Kitchen Knife forums? Lots of reviews there.
You should listen to negative comments as well, maybe they are trying to give some advise, negative doesn't mean rude or disrespectful., if something negative is said in a constructive amnner should be take into account
appreciate the input. that is true, constructive criticism is a good, but that does not seem to be the case in this matter.
I posted some knives I had reprofiled and rehandled on a Facebook group. Enough people love it that I am keen to do more. I'm not out there to please anyone. I'm out there to extend myself and learn. If people want to be constructive I'm listening
If people are out to slam me, my selective hearing comes in handy.
I loved this insightful video 👍 keep up the good work. If anyone could comment about the negative aspects of blue steel or super steel relative to white steel? I prefer blue because of higher RC. THANK YOU
Kamal, thank you for all your great input on the channel. white2, will top out around 62, and that's pushing it. most of the time, you'll see 60-61 rockwell, but blue2 regularly is 62+ and blue super get to 62-63 almost without trying, with 65 being the highest i have seen.
New to your channel and actually more into pocket knives, but I love your videos. I have learned a lot from you. Thanks for all you do!
Glad you like them!
I really enjoy watching your videos. I never fail to learn something.
Very insightful information for the knife lover and the ending with the thoughtful give a ways was priceless. Happy trails stay safe out there.
I have learned so very much from you Ryky. Always great content, great attitude, very wholesome. Love you
Q and A was very informative, thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
As a chef it helped with older blades
I've been aware of your channel for quite a long time now. But just recently subscribed so I can keep up with your content better. So first of all, thank you for all the awesome content.
I've been using whetstones for 10-15 years now. But primarily coarser stones in combination with files on larger tools and equipment, things like axes and such. Which don't require a super fine edge. As well as touching up pocket knives occasionally.
Due to the many people in my household that aren't really interested in properly maintaining a knife. I've never invested in good cutlery due to the fear of someone ruining it. So all of my kitchen knives are really cheap softer steel Chinese knives. But I just recently decided to try to put a good edge on my kitchen knives. Partly for practice, and partly because I would just like to have sharper knives in the kitchen.
My question has to do with burr development when sharpening. I've noticed with these knives that as the burr develops, it's very rough and jagged. Almost like it's tearing as it develops on the edge. Have you had any experience with abnormal burr development on soft/cheap steels? Or is this 100% my technique?
Thanks in advance if you find the time to answer this question. But if anyone else has any insight into this, I'd appreciate your input as well. :)
Good Video. I really don't understand why people would comment like that about your patreon guy, Francisco. If the quality is there in his knives who cares what they look like. If he likes how they look and if they do the job. I've always thought Victorinox with the fibrox handles looked like cheap bad knives, but it's my daily driver. If he is selling them he should market them as sleeper knives, lol. Negative people should get over themselves. The world would be a better place.
Victorinox fibrox has worked for me for over 30 years. After getting it really sharp for the first time in years using Ryky's videos (I was tired of having to jiggle it to get it through tomatoes and was envious of those paper thin tomatoes videos), I was so excited I bought one of Ryky's B store Launch gyoto's. So far all I do is strop lightly oh so lightly on 2k grit wet sand paper and surprise myself with every cut. So happy to be able to pick up that AUS8 on a discount! The fibrox practice has me ready when I do need to sharpen the Ryky.🙂😉
As a professional: I do thin my knifes(even when recently purchased). It's just way better for the long run of usage and cutting performance.
As a homecook: I don't even think about thinning my knifes, it's a waste of time.
exactly
I really enjoyed watching your videos. Very informative, and a little zen like. Can't wait for your next one. I use Norton oil stones and Arkansas stones that were given to me many years ago. Looking forward to trying new stones that you have suggested.
Sorry if this is the wrong location to post my question and the fact it is too long: I'm getting into bbq and want to step up my knife game after watching $9 vs $900 Knife Sharpener? On the project farm’s channel I discovered wet stone to be a great choice so started googling and wound up here. I have Zwilling J A Henckels. and victorinox knives (because america test kitchen) both not very hard knives. I am looking to get started with wet stone sharpening (i would rather buy quality once and cry once) after watching your video (How To Choose Best Japanese Sharpening Whetstone) I’m looking to get Naniwa Chosera 800 Grit Stone 1st 2nd i was going to get Chosera 3,000 Grit Stone
Question is a 3000 grit stone worth it on soft steel european knives
I can't find the video but you said soft steel can only hold and edge up to a 3000grit stone (might of been How To Choose Best Japanese Sharpening Whetstone)
Video (Knife Sharpening w/ National Champion BBQ Pitmaster Harry Soo) said only go to 1000grit with soft steels and said will be follow up proving it that i can't find
Video to watch is just fine as a response
found the video Stop Polishing German (soft) knives
I enjoy your videos. I was watching one on stropping today. Everything I've ever seen on stropping uses compound on the rough side of the leather. Some people follow that up with polishing on smooth leather without compound. But I see that you use compound on the smooth side. Now I'm confused. Can you explain?
I have the same question. Following!
Suggestions Please include the spell of the products you are talking about in the video description
I’m terrible at spelling and these brands are quite challenging to spell (understatement). I am new to this stuff so I don't know if you are talking about the brand, the model or the series or what. This makes it quite frustrating to look up. I don't need a hyperlink (preferably to your store or affiliate) although that would be great but a spelling would be enough to get me started if i want to buy/research more.
I agree that you don't need to thin your knives every single sharpening, but to say that you never need to thin unless you have like a 3-4mm chip in your life is just... not true. That's just how you end up with lousy cutting knives. The apex of the bevel is what initiates the cut, but it's the thinness and overall geometry of the knife that determines if the knife cuts well. Knives that are thick behind the edge wedge on tall, hard foods.
appreciate the feedback, but i never said you should never thin your knife. the statement about the chef using the same knife for 30 years ( a real chef i know) was to point out that a chef who earns a living using THAT knife, could use it for that long without thinning. the point about still not needing flattening after 3-4mm chip (actually, i said after 2-3mm did not need thinning) was from experience of a specific knife, not a golden rule, that unless you remove at least 3-4mm, you shouldn't flatten. to each their own. nothing wrong with thinning as frequently as some experts suggests - i'm just saying it's not absolutely necessary for most people.
@@Burrfection But I guess that knife wouldn't cut particularly well, having not been thinned in 30 years. I guess your audience may be a bit different to the knife nerds, e.g. don't need maximum performance. Thanks for your opinion anyways.
p.s. would you consider trying this?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekonoshoben#Overview_and_Theory
@@Burrfection Hmm... I think anecdotally, yes you're talking about one specific chef and one specific chef knife. But I'm sure you may also understand why that sounds very misleading, no? It's very easy for someone to think "burrfection told me a chef of 30 years used the same knife without thinning, I should do the same".
I sharpen regularly as a side gig and many people who've only used their knives for 5 years, but very regularly cook at home, need their knives thinned. Cutting edge sharpness is one thing, but if the knife behind the edge isn't thin, the knife just feels awful to use.
If you were to tell people that they shouldn't be the ones to thin the knives themselves, but to send it to someone who knows how to take care of the aesthetics, that's a reasonable suggestion I think. But to infer that it's not necessary for most people I think is wrong. You're certainly entitled your opinion too. But people are going to end up with really lousy knives at the 5 to 10 year mark if all they do is edge sharpen. I've seen plenty of knives that could cut through newsprint without any fibre tearing, but couldn't cut through a potato worth a damn without having to slam it against the board. And that issue comes down to lack of thinning.
Murray Carter's "thin every single time" is a bit much, I agree. Certainly not suggesting that. But every 3-5 years is a good time to get it thinned at least a little bit if you're cooking regularly.
i'm sure his knife was not as sharp as some knife nerds would like it, but he earned an honest living with his knife. i don't think he cared whether of not, a knife nerd thought his knife was not sharp enough
think you are missing my point. i never said thinning is something you should never do. i was addressing the question of whether or not, one should be thinning EVERY sharpening session, which appears to be the recommendation by m.carter. i simply said, if one is in pursuit of pursuit of absolute sharpness, and wants to thin at every sharpening, that is fine, and for those of us who don't want to deal with thinning that often - it's also fine.
Your Mum has done a great job with your hair!
I think so too!
@@Burrfection excellent retort!
Hi hope your keeping well and you and your family are safe just a quick question is there a good way of keeping a good edge on a serrated knife such as a bread knife many thanks and keep up the good work
Boy, you guys have your own Jargon, just like us Nihonto Guys.
Hope all is well with you and the Family Riki!
An Acquaintance of mine is Green Beetle (does Blade Smithing). He once tried to thin an edge to super thinness. It became steel foil, and bent etc. Video on his channel.
Well said!
My 8 inch Shun kitchen knife(actual name unknown) had some visible chips in the edge. Not obvious, but there on close inspection. I used a stone to take out the chips while keeping the angle steady at around 15 to 20 degrees both sides. My edge slices through paper with a pleasant whistle. But that proves nothing. Because the knife goes into the tomato easily, and then "jams". I assume the edge is to big. I need to take away material behind the edge. That's thinning isn't it?
Such a cool surprised for both of them!
I cracked a smile there, speaks beautifully of you man :)