Great video. Thanks for all your great tips

Hi Ryky, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I have a question, when you have to remove the burr, you do edge-leading or edge-trailing motions? And when stropping? Thank you

Especially Japanese newspaper for some reason. Thanks Ryky!

Question: I bought a 280/1500 grit combo stone from suehiro and the 1500 side seems to polish way too much and i feel I can get most things sharper, not only toothier, on my king 1000. Is higher than the printed grit polish a common theme with suehiro? And would you recommend the cerax 1000 instead? I've been thinking of the shapton pro 1000 since I like the 120 so much.

question: will you upload a flexible knife sharpening tutorial? do you ave any tips about it?

@Ryky question for you: when i use my vg10 knives in the kitchen, the apexes of their edges quickly develop spots that reflect light, when looking down on the apex under strong lighting. sometimes i believe i can feel a small burr on one side or the other in these reflective sections. often this can occur after preparing just one meal since sharpening. is this avoidable or is it just a "fact of life"? does this represent dulling of the edge that warrants attention? context: seto iseya knife (60Hrc), sumikama kasumi knife (59Hrc), both 18° per side; slight convex from strop, end-grain cutting board in hevea rubberwood always used. hardest foodstuffs encountered: just woody ends of garlic bulbs and seeds of chillies.

@eraserfred406

5 жыл бұрын

tea_and_thorazine happened to me with cheaper kitchen knives but properly heat treated vg-10 shouldn't be dulling that fast under those conditions. Are you sure someone isn't using them on ceramic plates when you aren't around?

Question. Hello Ricky... it's been a great surprise finding your channel, congratulations. I know you prefer single stones, but have you used the Zwilling combined "pro" sharpening stones? What's your opinion? And, do you ever use natural stones for sharpening/polishing? I've used Arkansas stones with just ok results and very good results using Belgian stones.

Liked the info on this video thx ,V

Question, Ryky: Thanks for the great videos! I would like to know when you decide a knife needs to be thinned and how you do it? Stones seem like a very tedious way to do it. Thank you!

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

I haven't thinned a blade yet, but it seems like a stone would be the easiest thing to use while keeping the face of the blade flat. Uh, oh… Ryky might have to flatten his stone(s)!! 😮

QUESTION I just bought an Enso HD 8" Chef's Knife and noticed that the edge out of the box shows micro scratches. Do you know what grit they use to sharpen these knives out of the factory?

@Burrfection

5 жыл бұрын

i believe they are polished around 8000 grit.

Question/#askRyky: Hey ryky, Premiss: I've had a two Mac mighty knives for over a year now and I've noticed a slight bend in them. First off the chef knife has a bend at the base and secondly at the tip (I will confess that the second bend was selfinflicted by dropping it... ._.' ). My second Mac knife also has a slight bend at the base but in the opposite direction. I've tried to gently bend it back but the knives just flexes back and I'm honestly too scared to force it. Other than than being thin and slightly bent they have by far been the best knives I've had and I do wonder what result they'd get in one of your cut tests. ;] Question: Have you encounted this issue (knives that are slightly bent) and how do you usualy deal with it? I'll appreciate any tips or suggestions you might have and thank you for your tutorials, they're great! ^^

Great vids

Ryky, I got your buffalo strop on the plexiglas base (w/feet). EXCELLENT STROP! Question: I’ve been sharpening for a few months now (using your methods), I have a King KDS 1000/6000 Combo Stone. I can’t seem to get a really sharp edge unless I strop AFTER using the whetstone. What am I doing wrong?

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

You're probably not maintaining your sharpening angle well from the outset… it's most pronounced at your lowest grit and this is where you should concentrate. Work on maintaining a consistent angle (irrespective of what that angle is) across a knife and everything will follow from there. Buy yourself a $5 cheap knife, black out the edge with a permanent marker and use that to see what it is you're sharpening. If you're doing it right that sharpened area should remain the same size from start to finish. So if the sharpened area creeps up the blade you are charging your angle over time. Consistency of angle is really the key.

hi man !! i love your videos. i would like you make a " how to make a whitling hair sharpness " video. best regards from argentina

Ricky, what do you think of the Shun 1000/6000 Combo stone.

Question: For cutting boards, which thread direction (maybe not this is the best word for it) is better? As I saw in your videos, yours has vertical threads. But in the shops I can see cutting boards only with horizontal threads. Greetings from Hungary!

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

András Frankovics… you are asking about the "grain" of the wood. In my mind there are two main differences between end-grain and edge-grain cutting boards: how they interact with knife edges, and price. And it's all because of the direction of the wood grain. On an edge-grain board, the wood fibers run all the way across the board (stripes), and are naturally cut as the board is used. Eventually this will create low or uneven spots in the most often used area(s), and may eventually require resurfacing. End-grain boards (checkerboard), on the other hand, have the wood fibers standing straight up. Imagine a brush pointing straight up, and the knife cuts between the fibers instead of across/through them. They are referred to as "self-healing", are much less likely to develop low spots, and are kinder to fine knife edges. The higher price for end-grain is due to the additional work in making the board (you essentially make an edge-grain board, then cut it into strips again, flip those up on their sides, and glue it all up again). But they're well worth it. A well-made end-grain will last a lifetime, and your knives will love you for it!

I got the 10 piece Nexus set all were sharp, All in all a very nice set. Good balance fit and finish were very good. The set had both a petty and a paring knife would have preferred some sort of slicer instead but I will buy that later.

@maximalgaming9955

6 жыл бұрын

Kurt Forbes I like the 12 inch slicer. Don't see 12 inch very often

@bH-eo5tz

6 жыл бұрын

ColePlayZ I always prefer a rounded tipped slicer as it won’t jag into the meat. The 12 inch nexus is good as I used it on a brisket. My other favorite slicer is the 10 1/2 inch dragon fire slicing knife. Probably the best slicing knife ever!

@maximalgaming9955

6 жыл бұрын

b H isn't the dragon fire pointy though??

@bH-eo5tz

6 жыл бұрын

ColePlayZ yes the fire is pointy. But with proper slicing it’s an extremely nice quality sharp knife. It’s just a super great knife. Although like I said I prefer a rounded tip slicer because u r less likely to poke into whatever u r cutting.

Question : First I wanted to thank you for your advices and for the tube. I'm a follower for several months now, and I wonder if you tried the new naniwa diamond stone. This new stone exist in 600 grit and up to 6000. I have a few knives with quite hard steel (Miyabi birchwood, artisan, Kramer damascus and artisan knives with white or blue steel) and I currently use the naniwa pro line (very good stones !). But they say the diamond stone line is very good especially on hard steel. PS : sorry for the mistakes. I'm french and my english is quite poor !

Question: I am a complete beginner and I've got a chosera #800 and #3000, but I've only been able to get somewhat decent sharpness only after using both stones and finishing by stropping with newspaper, and the result is still clearly more dull than my Miyabi 5000MCD 67 out of the box. Any tips on how to improve? Things to keep in mind when sharpening or other tips? Also do you have recommendations for a cheap chef's knife I could practice on before ruining my Miyabi?

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

While I don't have an 800 grit stone I do have an 800 grit ceramic steel and just with either you should be able to get an excellent and consistent cutting edge. As you go up in grit level the difference is the "smoothness" of the cut rather than its ability to cut. So realistically your sharpness should already be set out by the 800-1000 grit sharpening. My guess as to your issue is that you're not maintaining a consistent angle of sharpening between your strokes and also from the heel to the tip/point. Additionally, and it's something I initially has issues with, is the maintaining of the angle of the blade on the "reverse" side. There's always the one side that's easier and more natural to do. So while you might be encouraged to switch hands, thinking its better, when changing blade sides your off-hand actually isn't as stable and generally does a worse job than doing the whole process on with your primary hand. The Miyabi 5000MCD 67 has/had a 10º grind angle out of factory which is not exactly the simplest to start out from. So buying a cheap and similar profiled knife to play with is a good idea. Who cares if it can't maintain the edge… it's all about learning to get the edge. Pretty much anything thats a steel which has a similar edge profile will work. The reason you want a similar profile as the way you angle your arm/hand and hence blade at the heel is different to what is required at the tip. There's no reason to put any more thought into it than that. Blunt it, sharpen it, blunt it, sharpen it etc etc until you're happy. Its one of the best $20 you can probably spend in learning to sharpen. On the cheap knife get out a permanent marker and blacken the edge. When you sharpen the black will be stripped off so you can clearly see the edge you're putting on and how even you're doing it heel to tip. The is a really simply way to see what it is you're doing. Another thing is that also try to use significantly more pressure when drawing away from the edge (moving toward the spine). The reason you initially do that is it gives you a means to see material removal on the stone. So in the extreme if you're seeing thin streaks on blade material when you're sharpening a flat part of the blade you know something's wrong. So keeping the stone clean (with a Ryky-style rust eraser - I use a light pressured green synthetic pot scourer) will be helpful here too. Another thing, be sure your stone is flat and even. However you choose the flatten it, whether it be sandpaper or dressing stone or diamond lapping plate etc, make sure you do it. A dished or uneven stone, even if its marginal, will be a headache.

@maximalgaming9955

6 жыл бұрын

Miyabi is crazy sharp out the box. Practice is probably the only way your

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

Cubes and stuff… wow, you don't mess around! You got a knife that I'd like to get someday, and some great stones (I have both). While I understand why you might consider practicing on a knife with a very similar profile to your Miyabi, I think there are three main things you need to practice (holding a consistent angle, appropriate pressure, reducing/removing the burr), and I don't see a big problem learning how to do that on a knife that won't duplicate your Miyabi. You could get a less expensive santoku or nakiri… Ryky did this video kzread.info/dash/bejne/h6eorduShNbQpqg.html that may be helpful. Actually, it might be wise to get a softer steel chef/gyuto like the Mercer Renaissance, for when you are dealing with something that might damage your Miyabi. But whatever you do, DO NOT get anything with a full bolster, as they're a pain to sharpen, and your Miyabi doesn't have one. One challenge you could be having too is that at 66 HRC, your Miyabi is one of the hardest steels on the market. I've sharpened 63 HRC BD1N on those stones with no problem, but 66 HRC might be a different story. Good luck!

I never feel a burr when I run my finger up the edge of the blade but I always feel what I assume is a burr when I run when I run my finger down the edge. Yet my knives always come out hair shaving sharp. Shouldn't I feel it when going up the edge?

When are the Vicotinox test reviews coming? Great videos!

Whatever you do just stay away from some of the cheaper stones with high hardness knives. Tried to sharpen a knife I made out of 1095 high carbon steel (estimated hardness of 63-61) and my sharp pebble 1000/6000 combo didn’t fare very well. Probably took off the equivalent amount of material as sharpening the full set of my old low quality knives. Definitely agree with the “get a good 1000 grit stone” advice

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

A way to be nicer to your softer (and/or cheaper) stones with harder knives is to only apply your pressure on the draw direction (pulling way from the edge toward the spine) rather than applying it in the other direction. No matter how careful you are a harder knife will still cut into stone far more aggressively when you push towards the edge which speeds up material loss from your stone. So if you apply your full pressure moving away from the edge and say 1/4 pressure going towards the edge your softer stone will live quite a deal longer… in also not having to flatten it any where near as much.

Thanks.

How would you compare the Dalstrong shogun x vs the Enzo equivalent? I see that you have recommended both at some point.

@bH-eo5tz

6 жыл бұрын

Sahaj Khan the dalstrong will be sharper since it’s an 8 degree angle both sides. I personally prefer dalstrong over Enso.

@maximalgaming9955

6 жыл бұрын

I love my enso knives. I have a hard time believing dalstrong is sharper out of the box. The enso looks beautiful as well.

@bH-eo5tz

6 жыл бұрын

Well I’m speaking on behalf of the dalstrong shogun series I feel would be sharper. Not the phantom or gladiator series as those are around 15 degree angles give or take can’t remember the specs. the shogun is a 62+ RWH while Enso is cant remember maybe 60? I feel edge retention would be better on dalstrong but more prone for chipping due to the hardness so it’s a give and take with pros and cons to each knife. Either you choose would serve you well with proper use. My experiences with dalstrong and their customer service just surpass almost any other company out there except C&M and dragons line.

I own the cerax 1000/3000. It loads up quite fast but if your technique is alright then you can get a razor edge. I like the stone. Edit: Forgot to mention, Ryky's advice, like always, is spot on. All you really need is the 1000. I just wanted to say the combo version, in my experience, works well.

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

Get a medium Sabitoru rust eraser… removes load up like magic!

@wj4972

6 жыл бұрын

Yep. I have one, it's magical :) My only complaint about the stone is it sometimes feels "sticky" when sharpening. Not sticky like melted candy sticky, but like if you were to strop a knife on a piece of rubber, it would have a similar feel. The stone doesn't always feel like that though. I think maybe I soak mine too long.

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

Yup, if you can't get an edge sharpened right on a 1000 grit stone owning/buying anything else isn't going to help. That said, once done right an edge fished on 10000 grit or higher is way sweeter than what is possible with 1000 grit. Higher grits aren't going to correct the problem one has at 1000 grit.

Hey Ryky, really hope that you make a comparison Video of the Dalstrong Shogun x Chef and the Dragonfire Chef Knife.Would be Awesome! Keep up the great work.

Those that have the norton 4000/8000 combo should use it. The hard R59+ steel will be slow. If buying your first hone or set of hones get the best you can afford and stick to one brand (family). I like the Shapton Kuromaku Professional Stones because they have all the grits anyone might need. Start with a 2000 grit. Shapton glass hones are beautiful and for the home cook with beautiful knives make a lot of sense. The Shapton Glass series does have a 10000 and 16000 grit where the Kuromaku has a 12000 grit. Knives honed at or finer than 8000 are a bit of an excess that some indulge in when they should just use pasted leather. Wood planes are the land of unobtanium hones.

For daily maintenance you obviously you wouldn't need to do your process everyday, so how many strokes would I do on each stone (1000/6000 grit) for a daily touch up on the knife??'

How do I flaten a natural stone? I have an old combo Arkansas stone that was given to me. and one side is dished. My Nordstrand Flattening stone doesn't seem to make a dent in it.

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

The fast way is a diamond lapping plate… it's also the most expensive way. I would try a decent wet & dry sandpaper at a sub-100 grit on a flat surface and see how that goes for you.

@jasonrowland6544

6 жыл бұрын

Infinite Vortex ok thank you. I'll check it out.

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

Jason Rowland… here's an inexpensive diamond plate I've considered, but it's hard to say how flat it is. www.chefknivestogo.com/140grdistflp.html

Question or rather a couple of points, using wood to remove a wire edge leaves a torn rough blunt edge that will not be removed with stropping. Ron Hock from Hock tools explained it best in his book on sharpening, in short sharpening is a process of using ever finer stones to remove the burr formed by the previous stone and replace it with a smaller burr until the burr formed can not be felt by hand. Then you strop only a couple of times or not at all. The stones that are fine enough to produce an undetectable burr will be finer than most stropping compounds and as such stropping will reduce the sharpness of the edge. My sharpening is mostly for hand planes and chisels where you can detect the difference between a stone sharpened edge and a stropped edge. The stropped edge will never produce a surface on wood that is as smooth as that produced by an edge from a stone only. Also the stones from most manufacturers do not arrive flat enough for sharpening for woodwork and need flattening on a diamond plate prior to use. I also flatern stones after every sharpening session so the stone is ready for the next use.The cleaning of stones that you reccommend just removes metal swarf and does nothing to make the stone flat which may be OK for knives but not woodworking edges. Having said all this I do like your videos. All the best.,

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

I will also flatten new stones, not only as you do because they're simply not flat, but sometimes stones seem to cut better once you remove a little from the top. If you feel that your coarse diamond lapping plate is a little, or a lot, too coarse for a super-fine stone what you can also do is to use a flattened medium stone (800-3000) of a similar type (like ceramic splash & go on ceramic splash & go) as lapping plate for a finer stone. As I don't use my Shapton Pro 1000 & 5000 stones much I use them to flatten my Shapton Glass 5000-16000 stones. Once you have the vacuum thing between the stones happening you know you're pretty much done. Also, as an alternative to using pencil grids as the flatness guide you can instead just leave the load up on the stone you're wanting to flatten rather than cleaning it… once the stone rinses off fully clean you're done.

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

labrat7357… yes, it never made sense to me to cut into wood or cork or strop on felt or anything else like that, as all those methods do is tear the burr off, leaving rough metal. As for stones vs strops, are you talking 20K and 30K stones? I wonder if some of the difference might be due to the fact that a strop will give and a stone won't?

hey ryky. would you mind to demonstrate stropping on newspaper? greetings from germany! (:

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

Roll newspaper… swipe knife on newspaper. There's no real art to it outside of common sense where you don't swipe toward the edge… that would be a cut test. 😜

Question: So I whant your opinion on Global knives. Here in Sweden they are really popular amongst Chefs but I havent seen you talk about them at all. If you dont mind I whould really like to know what you think :) Ps: Love your stuff!

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

Apparently the Cromova 18 steel that Global uses for all their knives is 56-58 HRC, which is in the hardness range of a German steel, not Japanese. That's fine if that fits your needs, but I can't imagine the steel would take as sharp an edge as something that is 60+ HRC or keep its edge as long. They are probably lighter than your typical German knife, if that's what you're looking for.

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

Global make nice knives. Both my mother and sister use Global and they love them. Technically speaking the Classic is HRC56-58 (softer than other Japanese knives but in some ways its a good thing as it makes it easier to maintain) where as the Sai is HRC58-59. Depending on where you live the Ni series may not available to you and you may need to purchase through the UK in Sweden. I'm not particularly fond of them due to the way they sit in my hand but that's just a personal preference thing. The handle shaping isn't my thing. I've heard that they can be not the sharpest out of the box however that's neither been my experience nor not a big thing if you're unafraid to sharpen. The factory edge isn't long lived anyway. A typical grind angle of 15º is a good balance of edge thinness (not - I'm a little reluctant to say sharpness here as a 20º+ grind is still sharp - it just has different cutting properties) compared to edge retention. You can definitely do way worse than Global. I have the feeling Ryky doesn't speak much of Global given a lack of samples. I doubt its any more of that.

what ever happend to the Omega series? Want a review because I think I'm in love with Omega Santoku, that's her name!

I agree with not going to final stones (let alone to stropping) with a burr. But why not try to minimize burr formation all thru the process? Why have a stressed apex more than is absolutely necessary? Tearing off the wire edge by running the blade thru wood makes me cringe.

Question when are we going to see a BD1N steel sharpening video!!?? I got a complete 25 piece set of nexus knives and a complete set of dragon yaxell knives. All are extremely great knives. They all hold their edge extremely well and don’t chip! So I figure sometime in the next 10ish years I’ll end up having to sharpening one of them but looking like no time soon but would love to see a video. The nexus knives are pretty much the same quality of the dragons with the exception of the handle. The handle is more comfortable on the dragons!

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

Sweet! My "concern" with most people and a large count set (25 is massive) is the ease in which they can simply go from one knife to the next similar knife without having to sharpen any of them. Sharpening skills develop quicker having 3 knives as each knife is significantly more important day to day and they also dull faster given the extra usage.

@kfforbes

6 жыл бұрын

I have asked to see the one he used on the rope test resharpened and retested. It would be a pain to retest but I would be interested.

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

Kurt Forbes Yeah, I also think Ryky should choose a few knives to do a comparison of the factory edge to the Ryky edge with the cut tests. Even though it would probably be massively time consuming it was also be really interesting to go a step further and additionally cut test with steeper edge angles on those same knives to get a feel of how cut properties and edge retention is affected by altering this angle. I'm sure Ryky has better things to do though. lol

@bH-eo5tz

6 жыл бұрын

I would be interested in resharpening a knife and restarting the edge as well. We could get a 3 for one in that video. A BD1N steel sharpening, a stone sharpening review, and a cut test. Would be a triple threat!

@b-radg916

6 жыл бұрын

b H… 25!?! Wow! Can I ask why? Obviously, it's your money, but I've found that with sets you always end up paying for some knives that you'll never use. As far as I can tell from sharpening my Yaxell Fusion, BD1N isn't much different than sharpening VG-10. So far, it's the best knife and steel I've ever owned.

My Nexus knives are just ok.... I got the seven piece set (5 knives) only 2 came very sharp.

@bH-eo5tz

6 жыл бұрын

ColePlayZ hmm. You should contact cutlery and more about that! They will make it right trust me. I bought the 25 piece set and all of mine are sharp enough to shave with. They are some amazing knives!!! Great quality and a great budget price.

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

While we always want the best of consistency from the factory edge the best thing you can do for yourself is know how to consistently put your own edge on a knife. The factory edge is short lived compared the life of the knife so isn't worth overly stressing about.

@kfforbes

6 жыл бұрын

Knives are hard to get used to With woodworking tools your factory edge is never as good as what you can do yourself. I use it as a reference only.

@IntoxicatedVortex

6 жыл бұрын

Sure, but the fact that Ryky feels the need to post 2 videos on "brick sharpening" to prove the point that you don't need expensive stones just shows how a large portion don't simply take your word for it. I agree, a hand sharpened knife should outperform the factory edge so long as the overall dynamics of the blade isn't significantly altered (people often feel the need to over-do the angle).

@bH-eo5tz

6 жыл бұрын

When I first got into knife sharpening I tried an angle guide. I quickly learned that the guide worked ok but learned how to get my own angle feel off the knives.

This must be mistitled. You didn't explain what a burr is