Best $4.50 I've spent in a long time!

[cmo]

Last week, I took in our good knives to be professionally sharpened. Wow, what a difference! We had gotten most of these Wusthof knives as wedding gifts 7 years ago, and had never done this before. We would occasionally use the sharpening steel, and another gizmo that was supposed to bring the edges back, but it did only an OK job. When one of our paring knives disappeared a couple months ago (probably went into the trash accidentally), I got a new one to replace it and was surprised to see the difference in how well it cut, so I knew it was time to bite the bullet on the rest of them. I had half-heartedly looked for a place to do this before, but never found anyplace that was nearby. A gourmet cooking store opened a few months ago in the next town over, and had a sign advertising sharpening in the window, so it was meant to be! It was $4.50 per knife, serrated ones were a buck or two more, and worth every penny!

If your knives have lost that cutting feeling, I highly recommend it! Check gourmet kitchen stores, small appliance dealers, or ask at places that sell good knives.

Chris

[lil_acorn]

I love getting my knives sharpened! I am lucky..there is a guy at work who does it for $2/knife and it's practically overnight turnaround! Since it's so cheap, we get it done every 2 months or so. IT makes such a difference.

[DrSally]

I really should do this, now I just have to find a place. I have a henkles set, but really only the paring and chef's knives need sharpening. I heard the sharpening steel just aligns the blade right, but really doesn't sharpen them. It always seemed dicey to me to be carrying knives around (what if I drop them), but I guess I could figure something out!

[DebbieJ]

The sharpening steel doesn't really sharpen your knife, it HONES it. I once heard a chef say that honing is like braces for your knife. I thought that was an easy to understand analogy.

Sharpening should only be done every 1-2 years, depending on use. Sharpening takes metal away from the blade, so don't do it more than that!

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org

http://www.bfar.org/members/fora/style_avatars/Ribbons/18months-bfar.jpg

[kcandz]

A tip from an amateur - I read to keep knives sharp longer, to use wooden cutting boards. Those hard plastic antibacterial boards dull them faster.

[DebbieJ]

Wooden, Bamboo, Polypropelene....it really doesn't matter as long as it is a board that has some give to it.

Cutting on marble, granite, or glass--HUGE NO NO!

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org

http://www.bfar.org/members/fora/style_avatars/Ribbons/18months-bfar.jpg

[urquie]

i just saw a sign at joanne fabrics for knife and scissor sharpening. they have someone that comes every 2 months on a set schedule.

here are prices from the flier i grabbed...
$2 knife
$3 scissors and pining shears
$3 garden tools (pruners, loppers, shears)
$5 pet clipper blades
$6 pet shears/scissors

i bet other fabric/craft stores would offer the same service or be able to suggest somewhere to get sharpening done... hopefully for cheaper than a gourmet cooking store :)