Sharpen Knives

[GaryB1263]

Well it's time to sharpen, or have sharpened, some of my kitchen knives. Are decent stones available around Thailand? They are not expensive knives so maybe it's best to discard and rebuy?

I put this in the General Topics because it could apply to pocket knives, and other implements, etc.

It would be great if someone could do it for me. I live in the Jomtien/Pattaya are.

Thanks in Advance!

[manarak]

There are sharpening devices available at some shops, some are good.

I brought one over from Switzerland.

[thailiketoo]

I bought the one below at a daily market. I think they are all over. It works well even for yard tools.

[lovelomsak]

They have what i know as wet stones,at just about every market. Just ask a worker at the local market.

[Robby nz]

Sharpening stones are readily available in hardware shops and in markets :

Also steels.

[manarak]

Sharpening stones are readily available in hardware shops and in markets :

stone.JPG

Also steels.

steel.jpg

I don't like these, sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

I got this one, perfect for my needs.

[raro]

There was something on this in the Pattaya forum before, the recommendation was the knife sharpener guy at Nakluea market.

Note to self, got to bring my knives down there, too!

[NeverSure]

I bought the one below at a daily market. I think they are all over. It works well even for yard tools.

Agreed. Something with industrial diamond impregnated steel already in the right shape to just draw the knife through for a few passes.

When I was young we used an oiled whetstone and took great pride in keeping our pocket knives and hunting knives razor sharp. But it was a lot of work.

These newer devices sharpen just as well with a few passes.

[surangw]

the unglazed bottom a ceramic dish works well

[adammike]

I bought the one below at a daily market. I think they are all over. It works well even for yard tools.

Agreed. Something with industrial diamond impregnated steel already in the right shape to just draw the knife through for a few passes.

When I was young we used an oiled whetstone and took great pride in keeping our pocket knives and hunting knives razor sharp. But it was a lot of work.

These newer devices sharpen just as well with a few passes.

thats cos you soak the whetstone in water for half an hour first,the oil is what makes it difficult to sharpen,get one with a coarse side to start flip it over

and hone with the fine side,

[jcisco]

I handed a blade to a guy in Singapore to sharpen for me, only to return in the evening after my meetings to an

unhappy fellow. Apparently I forgot and he couldn't read that the blade was titanium, so apparently things didn't go so well

sharpening it.

I recommend against them now for this and well pretty much the sharpening issue due to the metal and the complexity of the

serrations really compounding the task.

H1 steel blades been good thus far.

[GaryB1263]

That Victorinox looks interesting. I guess it's possible Central has it?

[ezzra]

Go down to any wet market where they sell meet and chicken, look at the sellers how they

sharpen their knifes by rubbing it against the blunt edge of another knife or on a stone edge

of their mortar and pastel few times....they don't buy any sharpening tools, they have been doing that

for 100's of years....

[malt25]

Sharpening stones are readily available in hardware shops and in markets :

stone.JPG

Also steels.

steel.jpg

I don't like these, sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

I got this one, perfect for my needs.

sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

WOW, nookie must really take it out of you ! You manage to open your own beer without getting fatigued ?

Just wondering.

[eldragon]

Go down to any wet market where they sell meet and chicken, look at the sellers how they

sharpen their knifes by rubbing it against the blunt edge of another knife or on a stone edge

of their mortar and pastel few times....they don't buy any sharpening tools, they have been doing that

for 100's of years....

Doesn't mean it's the best method. I've also seen em drag knives along a clay mortar a few times too and highly doubt that does anything.

[manarak]

Sharpening stones are readily available in hardware shops and in markets :

stone.JPG

Also steels.

steel.jpg

I don't like these, sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

I got this one, perfect for my needs.

sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

WOW, nookie must really take it out of you ! You manage to open your own beer without getting fatigued ?

Just wondering.

Except if you consider butter knives sharp, try sharpening 10 large knives with a sharpening steel in a temperature of 35 °C ... you will end up covered in sweat half an hour later.

[casualbiker]

Sharpening stones are readily available in hardware shops and in markets :

stone.JPG

Also steels.

steel.jpg

I don't like these, sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

I got this one, perfect for my needs.

sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

WOW, nookie must really take it out of you ! You manage to open your own beer without getting fatigued ?

Just wondering.

Except if you consider butter knives sharp, try sharpening 10 large knives with a sharpening steel in a temperature of 35 °C ... you will end up covered in sweat half an hour later.

Top tip...Turn ya aircon on!!!

[Emster23]

I got a whet (not wet!) stone here and do my own. Doesn't take much effort or time. Look on youtube: plenty of "how to sharpen" videos available.

[GaryB1263]

I got a whet (not wet!) stone here and do my own. Doesn't take much effort or time. Look on youtube: plenty of "how to sharpen" videos available.

So you use oil? Was it a lot of money?

[malt25]

Sharpening stones are readily available in hardware shops and in markets :

stone.JPG

Also steels.

steel.jpg

I don't like these, sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

I got this one, perfect for my needs.

sharpening takes forever and costs lots of strength!

WOW, nookie must really take it out of you ! You manage to open your own beer without getting fatigued ?

Just wondering.

Except if you consider butter knives sharp, try sharpening 10 large knives with a sharpening steel in a temperature of 35 °C ... you will end up covered in sweat half an hour later.

For a start, a steel is only used to "touch up" an already sharp knife. If you're using a steel to try & sharpen a knife, maybe you should eat in a restaurant.

Knives are a very personal thing, they have to be treated just right. If you have half a clue, use a stone. If not, there's plenty of good "draw through" devices on the market.

I'll go with my original reply....if you think sharpening knives is fatiguing, I think you should see a doctor re your overall physical condition. If you "like or love your knife" sharpening it isn't a chore, it's a pleasure.

I'm not trying to be smart, but if you find sharpening knives fatiguing, you have a BIG problem.

Just my opinion. Cheers..... Mal.

[thailiketoo]

I have kitchen shears and shears to cut my trees and bushes in addition to my knives. I find the device I pictured above and in the video is better, faster and produces a better edge in all three tools far better than a steel or stone. I have used all three and in fact have all three available but I use the little deal in the video because it is better and quicker.

[xen]

If they are stainless steel blades then they will take a lot longer to sharpen than carbon steel but stainless usually keep their edges longer . The new sharpers have the advantage of having guides to keep the cutting angle is constant . When i used to sharpen blades on a whetstone the hardest part was keeping the angle of the blade to the stone constant and correct . Different blade and different uses dictate different cutting angles. My BIL once took one of my chefs knives which was worth a small fortune to buy and decided to reduce the width of the blade from a traditional chef's knife size down to a skinning knife size so he put it onto a grinding wheel (another thing you never do to a knife) . Poor simple and arrogant p-ick ended up completely ruining one my favourite knives with a cutting angle on the blade like a axe.

If you know any butchers or chefs then ask them to sharpen your knives .My ex wife was a chef and she was the best and fastest i have ever seen sharpening a knife with a stone.

[DD13]

There was something on this in the Pattaya forum before, the recommendation was the knife sharpener guy at Nakluea market.

Note to self, got to bring my knives down there, too!

Two Questions

1) Is that the fish market at Nakluea ? or the vegetable/fruit market ?

2) Does the guy sharpen garden shears ?

Thanks

[Baerboxer]

That Victorinox looks interesting. I guess it's possible Central has it?

There is a very good responsive Victorinox distributor in Thailand. They have a number of stores about, Fashion Island's is near to Fuji, or you can order on-line and they deliver by EMS for very small extra charge.

Lazarda site also has knife sharpeners, the draw through types. Be careful with those as they can scratch and remove pieces from your blades.

Stones are better if you have the time and once you get used to the angles.

[Bpuumike]

Once you get them sharp then keep them that way. A very quick sharpening after almost every use is much better than waiting till they're blunt.

[ImReallyRobenroute]

Go down to any wet market where they sell meet and chicken, look at the sellers how they

sharpen their knifes by rubbing it against the blunt edge of another knife or on a stone edge

of their mortar and pastel few times....they don't buy any sharpening tools, they have been doing that

for 100's of years....

Doesn't mean it's the best method. I've also seen em drag knives along a clay mortar a few times too and highly doubt that does anything.

Well, I can report from personal experience that this does work in fact. I tend to keep my knives sharp by using a 1000/3000 Japanese waterstone. I also have a Belgian stone (the dark blue-gray type equiv. 5000-6000) but use that only occasionally. When I'm a bit behind with the sharpening job and my missus needs a sharp edge, she takes the clay "Som Tam" mortar and sweeps the knife a few times over the edge of it. Works wonders. However, That new sharpness won't last as long as the razor fine edge of a properly sharpened knife.

[eldragon]

Go down to any wet market where they sell meet and chicken, look at the sellers how they

sharpen their knifes by rubbing it against the blunt edge of another knife or on a stone edge

of their mortar and pastel few times....they don't buy any sharpening tools, they have been doing that

for 100's of years....

Doesn't mean it's the best method. I've also seen em drag knives along a clay mortar a few times too and highly doubt that does anything.

Well, I can report from personal experience that this does work in fact. I tend to keep my knives sharp by using a 1000/3000 Japanese waterstone. I also have a Belgian stone (the dark blue-gray type equiv. 5000-6000) but use that only occasionally. When I'm a bit behind with the sharpening job and my missus needs a sharp edge, she takes the clay "Som Tam" mortar and sweeps the knife a few times over the edge of it. Works wonders. However, That new sharpness won't last as long as the razor fine edge of a properly sharpened knife.

But if you had a choice you'd definitely use a proper stone, right?

[katana]

I use one of these. Couple of passes before every use keeps them nice and sharp.

[robenroute]

Go down to any wet market where they sell meet and chicken, look at the sellers how they

sharpen their knifes by rubbing it against the blunt edge of another knife or on a stone edge

of their mortar and pastel few times....they don't buy any sharpening tools, they have been doing that

for 100's of years....

Doesn't mean it's the best method. I've also seen em drag knives along a clay mortar a few times too and highly doubt that does anything.

Well, I can report from personal experience that this does work in fact. I tend to keep my knives sharp by using a 1000/3000 Japanese waterstone. I also have a Belgian stone (the dark blue-gray type equiv. 5000-6000) but use that only occasionally. When I'm a bit behind with the sharpening job and my missus needs a sharp edge, she takes the clay "Som Tam" mortar and sweeps the knife a few times over the edge of it. Works wonders. However, That new sharpness won't last as long as the razor fine edge of a properly sharpened knife.

But if you had a choice you'd definitely use a proper stone, right?

Definitely. The edge of the knive becomes smoother when using a proper stone (assuming the person knows how to handle knives and stones), and a smoother edge stays sharp longer.

A word about those "sharpening" steels/rods (their proper name is honing steel, btw): all they do is fix minute dents and other imperfections along the edge, they definitely don't remove any material/steel from the knive. These honing steels can be used on knives that are sharp already; a blunt knife stays as blunt as it is even after an hour of steeling.

There are ceramic honing steels (it's getting confusing, isn't it) on the market, and they do help sharpening a knife. However, you'd have to steel the knife with the ceramic for an awfully long time, as these "steels" are round and hence the contact surface where blade and rod meet is tiny.

So:

1. sharpen with a proper stone - depending on use, probably once every few weeks;
2. hone with a steel - can be done daily or whenever you use the knife;
3. use unglazed ceramics (plate, som tam mortar, hell, even a brick will do) for a quick and dirty sharpening job.

Happy cooking (or murdering?)

Edited November 18, 2014 by robenroute

[eldragon]

Go down to any wet market where they sell meet and chicken, look at the sellers how they

sharpen their knifes by rubbing it against the blunt edge of another knife or on a stone edge

of their mortar and pastel few times....they don't buy any sharpening tools, they have been doing that

for 100's of years....

Doesn't mean it's the best method. I've also seen em drag knives along a clay mortar a few times too and highly doubt that does anything.

Well, I can report from personal experience that this does work in fact. I tend to keep my knives sharp by using a 1000/3000 Japanese waterstone. I also have a Belgian stone (the dark blue-gray type equiv. 5000-6000) but use that only occasionally. When I'm a bit behind with the sharpening job and my missus needs a sharp edge, she takes the clay "Som Tam" mortar and sweeps the knife a few times over the edge of it. Works wonders. However, That new sharpness won't last as long as the razor fine edge of a properly sharpened knife.

But if you had a choice you'd definitely use a proper stone, right?

Definitely. The edge of the knive becomes smoother when using a proper stone (assuming the person knows how to handle knives and stones), and a smoother edge stays sharp longer.

A word about those "sharpening" steels/rods (their proper name is honing steel, btw): all they do is fix minute dents and other imperfections along the edge, they definitely don't remove any material/steel from the knive. These honing steels can be used on knives that are sharp already; a blunt knife stays as blunt as it is even after an hour of steeling.

There are ceramic honing steels (it's getting confusing, isn't it) on the market, and they do help sharpening a knife. However, you'd have to steel the knife with the ceramic for an awfully long time, as these "steels" are round and hence the contact surface where blade and rod meet is tiny.

So:

• sharpen with a proper stone - depending on use, probably once every few weeks;
• hone with a steel - can be done daily or whenever you use the knife;
• use unglazed ceramics (plate, som tam mortar, hell, even a brick will do) for a quick and dirty sharpening job.

Happy cooking (or murdering?)

I bought a dual sided stone on the street today, with a light gray side and a dark gray side. Are you familiar with these? The guy said use the dark side first and finish with the light side.