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hone for maintaining kitchen knives?

not exactly shaving related, but sort of! i sharpened all my knives this weekend, and looking for a hone to maintain the edge with. i am thinking of something that could be used daily before i use them, kind of like a metal honing steel, but something that will actually sharpen. i was thinking an old barbers hone would be good for this, anyone else have something they use?
 
I use an 8" red (coarse) then blue (fine) DMT to put an edge on, then a ceramic rod to maintain it. This has worked for me for a very long time. I only have to go back to the stone every month or every other month.

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For kitchen cutlery a cheap aluminum oxide stone would be perfectly fine. You could even use a honing rod to put the finishing touch on the edge (ceramic or diamond "fine").
 
one japanese, the other few are german steel.
what stones other than barber's hone do you own now?

IMO min you can get by is 800 or 1k (King stones are very cehap in that range), CrO strop or 0.5 Diamonds spray on felt.
If you want to go a bit further 3-5k level stone will work great, then CrO or diamond spray.

For me CrO bench strop or Diamond spray is perfect to maintain edge.
 
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what stones other than barber's hone do you own now?

IMO min you can get by is 800 or 1k (King stones are very cehap in that range), CrO strop or 0.5 Diamonds spray on felt.
If you want to go a bit further 3-5k level stone will work great, then CrO or diamond spray.

For me CrO bench strop or Diamond spray is perfect to maintain edge.

not asking about stones to sharpen the knives with, was more curious about one to use daily, like you can do with a steel to keep the edge straight. thought a barbers hone would work for that. i sharpen my knives with synthetics, 1000 and 6000 grit
 
Since sharpening usually only takes a few minutes I don't use a steel. I say why bother maintaining the slow degradation of an edge, when it only takes moments to re-establish a razor sharp edge?
 
Since sharpening usually only takes a few minutes I don't use a steel. I say why bother maintaining the slow degradation of an edge, when it only takes moments to re-establish a razor sharp edge?

exactly my point. which is my question, which stone do you use to sharpen, instead of using a steel??
 

i like the idea of that, but would prefer something to lay flat, not hold. figure laying it flat would give you much better control over the angle, etc.

question - what grit is a barbers hone typically? i think i am going to try that. they are cheap, easy to find, and small enough to throw on the counter before i start cooking.
 
I use the same Norton 4/8K water stone I use to hone my razors, at least for the smooth edge blades. I have a translucent Arkansas slip stone I sue for the serrated edges.
 
seems the consensus for Barber's hone is that they are near 7-9K in grit,
But, I would think a barber's hone would be a little small for a 8-10" chef's knife.

What are you using now to sharpen?

If you want something flat, something like this.
 
You need something big and heavy. That way, when someone in the house runs the razor-sharp knife through a cheap kitchen sharpener ruining the edge, you can whack them round the head with it.
Yeah, happened to me. :cursing:
 
DMT makes steel sharpening rods such as this one found at Amazon. I have one similar to this one, but made by another company, and I don't really ever have to sharpen my kitchen knives on stones but maybe once every year, if that. I hone with the sharpening rod, then I hone with my steel and have an excellent sharp edge. Like any cutting tool though, make sure the knife's bevel is set well and you should be fine.

Edit:

As far as stones go, I use three oil stones (Coarse/Medium/Fine) for my German kitchen knives and I use my Japanese water stones (1K/6K) for my Japanese knives.
 
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You need something big and heavy. That way, when someone in the house runs the razor-sharp knife through a cheap kitchen sharpener ruining the edge, you can whack them round the head with it.
Yeah, happened to me. :cursing:
no way a kitchen sharpener even gets in my house!
 
seems the consensus for Barber's hone is that they are near 7-9K in grit,
But, I would think a barber's hone would be a little small for a 8-10" chef's knife.

What are you using now to sharpen?

If you want something flat, something like this.


i use a 1000 grit and 6000 grit stone to sharpen. i am going to try the barbers hone. its not big, but neither is a honing steel. i think it will work well. just a quick 2-3 laps on both sides of the knife before each use.
 

Legion

Staff member
Personally I would not use a king or a Norton, just because soaking and drying the stone all the time would be a PITA.

I would look at the fine white Spyderco hones for what you are doing. Never need lapping, can wash them easily when they get swarfy and you can use them dry if you want to.
 
exactly my point. which is my question, which stone do you use to sharpen, instead of using a steel??

I use a KING #1000 and a KING #6000 to finish. If I just need to touch the edge up I'll use trailing strokes on the #6000, otherwise (if I need to) I'll re-establish my primary edge on the #1000, strop with trailing strokes on #1000, and then finish with trailing strokes on #6000.

You may find this similar to the methods that Murray Carter uses.
 
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