Household knife

Today, I finished sharpening about 60 household santoku knives (likely made from VG-1 steel). Out of these, 11 had edge damage, so I re-sharpened them. The benchmark for this re-sharpening is that the edge grips the nail and cuts smoothly through newspaper. To achieve that grip, a coarser stone helps, but for a smooth cut, a finer stone is necessary—and it’s crucial to remove the burr completely.

I tried various stones—Kitayama, Arashiyama, and G-1—each with its pros and cons, but they don’t bring the edge to a perfect sharpness quickly. Interestingly, using a #4000 medium grit, which I’d been overlooking lately, gave a solid edge that both grips and cuts smoothly with minimal effort. Kitayama and Arashiyama can achieve a similar edge, but they require a bit more time and consume more stone.

With the #4000, though, there’s no need to overthink; it just delivers the edge reliably. This is what I mean by ‘good stone compatibility.’ Perhaps Kitayama or Arashiyama could bring out an ultimate sharpness, but exploring that feels more like a personal hobby. I wouldn’t call it universally compatible.

• 2013-11-15