Knife Sharpen photo

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
These are some photos of a knife blade before and after sharpened. I have wanted to do this but our knives are fairly sharp most the time.Went over to a friends last night for a Christmas party and found a good knife that had a hard life. It was dull and the blade had a few ripples in it. I used a chefs choice sharpener to fix the blade . About 15 passes in the coarse side then the same in the regular.The final only two quick to remove the burr.I did use a Apex to take to the next level. What I found is key is using a photo loupe to see the blade close and make sure both sides are the same 8 to 15 power, with 10 be a good start.
View attachment 186View attachment 187
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
Crazy to see that up close, good idea! I use a stone more than anything, guess my dad rubbed off on me with that skill :)
 

ACW3

New member
BP,
Tell us more about this exotic stone of yours. I am always interested in "trying" to keep all my knoves really sharp.

Art
 

Red

New member
Jim - we totally understand the need to see the blade magnified we use the 100X microscope in the quality assurance department here in the office. It changed the way we sharpen knifes.

Big Poppa - The knife sharpening system we use is the EdgePro. They are out of Hood River Oregon. Here is our story on arriving at what I believe to be one of the best consumer knife sharpeners out there...

We started with a fixed angle sharpener, just a generic thing off amazon. It worked ok for some knives but don't even think about putting a Mac or Shun knife in one of those.... The angle they are set at are around 21-25 degrees. Nice Japanese knives are approaching 15 degrees or less.

Next we moved on to traditional wet stones knowing that we needed to sharpen at several different angles. The stones worked ok but it was very difficult for each one of us to duplicate each others angles. If only one of us was doing the sharpening that might be okay but with a dozen knives needing to be sharpened at each competition we needed a better system.

Enter the EdgePro. The EdgePro allows you to set whatever angle you want to sharpen your knives. Not only to set it but to keep it fixed at that angle so you don't have to worry about the angle changing while you are sharpening. Sharpening a sweet Japanese knife at 15 degrees no problem. Sharpening an old chefs knife at 25 degrees next no problem. We have the pro model which offers a bigger knife platform for our 12" slicers. The pro also offers a larger suction cup mount that seems to mount to anything. The system comes with several different abrasive stones that will allow you to sharpen any knife up to a razor finish.

After using this sharpener I will never go back to sharpening with anything else... If you ever see us at a competition as for a demo it is amazing.
 

Red

New member
No problem. It kind of sounds like I am pitching something, but I assure you that I am only enthusiastic about this sharpener because of how good it works. It also doesn't hurt that it is made in the USA, or the fact that Ben, the designer and business owner has great customer service and is willing to answer any question you might have...
 

5 Hole

New member
Scooter....check the website that the knife comes from. They will have the info more than likely. FYI...we sharpen ours at 17 degrees (that's what the factory recommends on our knives).
 

ACW3

New member
Well, I have viewed the "system" on several websites, including about 10 videos on using the Apex. It is now officially on my "items to get Art at the last minute for Christmas" list. The first sign it was going on the list was when my wife asked the basic question, "How much?" I have a number of different types of knife sharpeners around the house for many that may just have to go on the yard sale table in the spring, provided I get the Apex, of course.

Art
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Art we tried a bunch of stuff theis apex is crazy...Actually there was a Shun Knife that I bought the team and it was too sharp for them I called them wimps and took it home and cut myself.....I never cut myself. Be careful with these sharp knives
 

ACW3

New member
The Apex Sharpening System just went from the "list" to being ordered. I am looking forward to having all my knoves is good shape again. It has been too long.

Art
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
Art like yourself I have tried many systems.All worked and sometimes I could get a knife real sharp. The Apex does not leave the angle while sharpening to the users.Where other systems do except for the Chefs choice machines. If you watch the Apex videos it appears that you may need to have that certain stroke when using the stone on the knife. Not so, Once your moving it side to side and covering the blade length as you go it works fine.One trick I use when sharpening my knives is to have a tomato to test the knife on after it is done after cleaning of course. I have found the tomato helps clean the knife of any residue and lets you know how sharp it is. A lot of us brush the edge with our thumb to check for sharp and when done some times my not feel just right.But after slicing the tomato you can tell the difference.
 

ACW3

New member
TH,
I have ALL the knives I need right now. Oh, were you wanting them "sharpened", and returned?

Art
 
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