About sharpening a gyuto knife
Today, I worked on aligning the micro-bevels of several SP-INOX knives. With hard, tough gyuto knives, once you’ve properly set the edge, the sharpness can last quite a while. But if you leave any burrs or don’t finish the job completely, the edge ends up being too slippery!
For Western knives, it seems like as long as you match the bevel angle to the steel, you can get an edge pretty easily. Sharpening both sides at the right angle will remove the burr and give you a durable edge. But… this can lead to issues with food release, where the blade doesn’t glide smoothly through ingredients.
That’s why you need to think about the relationship between sharpness retention, cutting performance, and food release when sharpening. The method you use to set the edge is also a key sharpening technique. I find the hardest part of sharpening tough knives is handling the convex edge. As you sharpen both sides, tiny convex edges pop up here and there.
When you try to remove them, you might end up creating another convex edge! A surprisingly effective way to deal with this is by slowly sliding the knife side to side on the stone. It seems to work better if you move the knife while pulling. Of course, this only works if the stone is perfectly flat and not clogged.
The idea is less about ‘setting the edge’ and more about ‘sharpening out the edge.’ Gently focus on just the points where the convex edge meets the stone! If this doesn’t get rid of the convex edge, it could mean there’s still too much thickness at the edge, so you’ll need to sharpen both sides to thin it out.
If, after cutting food with this edge, it’s still getting beaten by the cutting board, it could mean you’ve thinned the blade beyond the steel’s potential—or you might just be pressing too hard on the board.
You could try removing the convex edge with newspaper, but I highly recommend going through the effort to remove it with the sharpening stone. You’ll end up with a Western knife that bites better and stays razor sharp! When I say ‘sharpening stone,’ I’m talking about finish stones at 2000 grit or higher. Be sure to match the stone to the type of steel you’re working with!
Whew… explaining all this in words is tougher than I thought.
- 2011-12-02
