revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Cousin Jack wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 8:41 pm

Count Steer wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:53 pm

Horse wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:49 pm

Why 'water'?

You put water in the well so the rotating stones (coarse and fine) stay wet.

For smaller knives I take the plastic cover/guide off. I can do 12 knives in about 15 minutes.

If I ever broke it, I'd buy another.

I have one too. OK for a quick sharpen, but never gets a knife super sharp. That is a job for the oilstone, followed by a diamond hone.

CJ, taught to shapen planes and chisels by his Dad, a time-served carpenter.

The thing about super sharp is they become, relatively, blunt quite quickly. ie you notice. So you spend even more time sharpening them. Most of the time, in the kitchen for general slicing and dicing I find a good edge is perfectly OK and lasts well. The exception is the carving knife - to reduce the sharpening faff I have two and they get sharpened along with all the others but only get used half the time between. Not that I carve much apart from roast chicken.

They're using disposable stuff more and more but the ultimate in edges used to be microtome knives for cutting ultrathin, ie 4 micron, wax mounted tissue specimens for microscopy in a histology lab. Lab techs became experts in 'edge science' as much as they did in specimen cutting. They also had special glass slides of varying thicknesses that were snapped 'just so' to make an edge for leveling the mounted tissue block.

Whole rafts of learned papers were published on the benefits of the leather strop, etching an edge, blade profiles etc.

Doesn’t one simply post the knives to Kin and get them sharpened for you?

Admittedly I am yet to do this (and I don’t know if they still offer the service).

Otherwise, I use the Lansky system on the every day kitchen knives and keep on top of them with a diamond steel.

The butcher in the village where I used to work offered a knife sharpening service. I never used it and I no longer work in that village

I'm so low rent...

Works well mind!

Taipan wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:23 pm I'm so low rent...

Works well mind!

How strange. The current Kitchen Devils sharpener doesn't look like that....but the Fiskars one looks exactly like that. (On Amazon that is).

Ah...it appears Fiskars now owns KD. Mystery solved.

Half my knives are Kitchen Devil Professional. Had them for years and they're excellent.

Count Steer wrote: Thu Jun 12, 2025 7:05 am

Taipan wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:23 pm I'm so low rent...

Works well mind!

How strange. The current Kitchen Devils sharpener doesn't look like that....but the Fiskars one looks exactly like that. (On Amazon that is).

Ah...it appears Fiskars now owns KD. Mystery solved.

Half my knives are Kitchen Devil Professional. Had them for years and they're excellent.

I've had that sharpener longer than I've had my kids and a few back and forths through it with a cheap sabatier and i can slice tomatoes into fine slivers!

Nice little potted history of KD here.

https://www.hawleysheffieldknives.com/n ... k&kel=1795

Looks like Fiskars took over in 1990. Some of mine must be the original Sheffield steel jobs! I've been hunting for a replacement for the veg/paring knife as the black plastic handle is starting to look a bit grey in places. Haven't found anything I like as much as old faithful. (I've had to rescue it out of the dustbin at least twice when wife has lobbed it in with the veg peelings. Not always a pleasant job but I'd have been gutted to lose it).

Has anyone taken a punt on the Ali Express version of the Japanese honing sharpeners ?

Skub wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 10:00 pmA Lansky for me.

And me also

KungFooBob wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:23 pm You want a Horl. I can get a discount, but they're still stupid money.

https://www.knivesfromjapan.co.uk/search/horl

I want one of these, how much is your discount, they are very pricey 60% i hope

Mr Moofo wrote: Thu Jun 12, 2025 9:22 am Has anyone taken a punt on the Ali Express version of the Japanese honing sharpeners ?

Not quite Ali Express but i have this at home and does a decent job https://shop-novara.com/products/novara ... hKEALw_wcB

Still i do not think its as good a the Horl one

formula400 wrote: Sun Feb 08, 2026 7:54 pm

KungFooBob wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 7:23 pm You want a Horl. I can get a discount, but they're still stupid money.

https://www.knivesfromjapan.co.uk/search/horl

I want one of these, how much is your discount, they are very pricey 60% i hope

I got @Sunny one, but can't remember how much. I'll have a look when I'm back at work tomogga.

Nordboy wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 6:02 am

KungFooBob wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 9:52 pm Even though I work for the sole UK Global distributer, I don't have any. All my knives are 'Thomas' ones that I got from Tesco's using vouchers about 15 years ago.

I've had my Global knives for over 25 years now and despite despairing of the abuse they get from the good lady, they still hold up really well. I've been looking at getting some more at some point.
I really like them.

My missus REALLY abuses any knives, it actually hurts when I hear a high quality Global knife cutting down onto stainless steel. She also doesn't like really sharp knives, which I suppose is realistic given what she does to a proper edge.

I use a lanksy and its very good. You need to take your time. I also have a couple of whetstones. Its harder to get right. Stainless is much harder to get a razor edge on that carbon steel you just need to be patient. Both methods i can get it so i can cut paper like on the YouTube's.

Felix wrote: Mon Feb 09, 2026 1:10 am gettyimages-84303388-612x612.jpg

A steel isn't for sharpening though. It's for maintaining the edge - honing - that sharpening puts on a knife so you need to sharpen less often which reduces the metal removal, so your knives last longer too.

I've got one, there's a knack to using it and I very rarely remember to do it.

(I suspect it works best on carbon steel rather than stainless too).

I've got a whetstone and a slide on gizmo from Pro Cook which keeps the knife at a constant angle. Works well.