valc91•1mo ago

TIL I was sharpening my boning knives all wrong for 3 years

I always used a pull-through sharpener because that's what my old man had. Then last Thursday a vendor at the shop watched me do it and straight up said 'you're ruining the edge angle doing it like that'. He showed me the burr on a water stone instead and I felt like an idiot. Has anyone else had a weird 'oh duh' moment with a basic cutting tool?

3 comments

3 Comments

nguyen.morgan1mo ago

Caught myself trying to sharpen a cheap pairing knife on the bottom of a coffee mug two weeks ago because I lost my stone. My wife walked in and just stared at me for a solid five seconds before asking if I was trying to turn it into a butter knife. I mean it kinda worked but the edge was all wavy and garbage. The real kicker is I paid $40 for a fancy pull-through sharpener last year and now it's sitting in the back of the drawer looking all sad while I use a $15 stone from the hardware store.

kai_webb911mo ago

Man that pull-through sharpener comment hit close to home... I tried one of those a few years back and it took more metal off my chef's knife than a bench grinder would have. Ended up with this weird scalloped edge that would catch on everything. The mug trick at least teaches you something about angles even if the results are trash. Funny how we circle back to the simple stuff after burning money on fancy tools.

-1

anna4911mo ago

So you paid $40 to feel fancy while ruining your knives slower than the coffee mug method? At least the mug was free entertainment. I bought one of those electric sharpeners once, watched it eat a Wusthof like a wood chipper, and now it's a very expensive paperweight. The pull-through ones are great if you like your edges looking like a cheese grater. Guess we all have to learn the hard way that the cheap stone actually does the job better.