That Moment You Know the Edge Is Right – The Feeling of a Perfect Edge
January 16, 2023
Today, I sharpened several different kinds of knives.
Among them were Japanese knives made from Blue Steel No.2, White Steel No.2, INOX steel, and VG10.
I had always thought VG10 was a rather difficult steel to sharpen, but today I found it surprisingly easy to bring to a keen edge.
In the past, my impression was simply, “This steel is hard!”
Perhaps the blacksmith has refined the heat treatment to make it a little friendlier for sharpening.
I’ll have to ask him next time.
Speaking of sharpening, I have to admit that I am quite fond of Suisin’s INOX Medium Stone and INOX Finishing Stone.
They respond exactly the way I expect them to, allowing me to create the edge I have in mind.
If only the medium stone wore down a little more slowly, it would be perfect.
But every sharpening stone has its strengths and weaknesses.
Now, about today’s title…
What do I mean by “That Moment You Know the Edge Is Right”?
Every once in a while, while sharpening, I experience a moment when I instinctively know that the edge is going to perform beautifully.
It is an exciting feeling.
I felt the same way when I experimented with the “Yoko-Hama” edge profile.
Whenever that feeling appears, the finished knife almost always turns out exactly as I had hoped.
I experience it most often while performing Honba-zuke (final edge sharpening).
When that happens, I almost don’t want to let the knife leave my hands.
People might laugh and say,
“Tatsuya, what are you going to do with all these knives yourself?”
But that’s simply how satisfying it feels when everything comes together.
The Gyuto and Sujihiki with the Yoko-Hama edge that I introduced previously received wonderful feedback.
The owner told me that even slow-cooked pork belly, which usually falls apart so easily, sliced cleanly and effortlessly.
Hearing results like that makes all the hours of sharpening worthwhile.
I’ll continue this story in my next post.
Daily Practice
December 13, 2006
