A very sensible sharpening system..

[D_W]

Yes...well, our labeling requirements in the US are better. All of these knives are made by machines now, and have been for a long time with not too much hand time on them. I'm guessing they are die forged (they still say they're forged) and then machine ground, and the choice of steels has probably been changing partially to make them a little friendlier to unskilled steeling as well as to better stability in hardening and tempering.

At any rate, if they say they're made in thiers france, they should at least be in the ballpark with the "real ones". The listings that cost about $70 show a fairly narrow hardness range and appear to be legit.

 

[Jacob]

Be wary of info on Sabatier, the name is not a trademark and can be stamped on any old rubbish.

Oh no! Do you think I should throw them away?

 

[Rorschach]

Oh no! Do you think I should throw them away?

You don't listen to anything I say anyway, so no definitely don't throw them away, that would be stupid.

 

[Jacob]

You don't listen to anything I say anyway, so no definitely don't throw them away, that would be stupid.

OK. Would camellia oil help?

 

[D_W]

OK. Would camellia oil help?

no, just wrap them in a white flag.

 

[Rorschach]

OK. Would camellia oil help?

Isn't that for babies bums when they are sore?

 

[pe2dave]

Sharpened on a steel, if I run my fingers along the steel, there is steel 'dust' on my fingers.
To me, that is the steel removed from the knife.

 

[Jacob]

Sharpened on a steel, if I run my fingers along the steel, there is steel 'dust' on my fingers.
To me, that is the steel removed from the knife.

Yes but the enthusiasts will tell you it's the wrong sort of steel - that you need a smooth steel .
They aren't very efficient and as D_W says they form a "fat apex" , but this gives them the excuse to get out their stones and fiddle about with them as well.
If you just want to know how to sharpen something efficiently with as little fuss as possible, then sharpening enthusiasts are the wrong people to ask.

 

[Rorschach]

Yes if you want to do something the right way, ask Jacob

 

[Jacob]

Yes if you want to do something the right way, ask Jacob

Just ask yourself how people used to do things before the sharpening crazies and gadget salesmen took over!

 

[Rorschach]

Just ask yourself how people used to do things before the sharpening crazies and gadget salesmen took over!

Just ask yourself how people used to travel before the car salesmen and airplane salesmen took over.

 

[Jacob]

Just ask yourself how people used to travel before the car salesmen and airplane salesmen took over.

Yes the sharpening crazies have utterly transformed the world of sharpening - made it 1000s of times faster and sharpen things beyond your wildest dreams. I bet they could sharpen a blancmange!

 

[D_W]

The rest of the world wouldn't even eat blancmange.

 

[--Tom--]

A smooth steel burnishes the edge, we do it with cabinet scrapers and don’t descend into this farce.
Butchers doing butchery often use a coarse steel as it’ll clean the edge of sinew that otherwise clings to the edge. If that coarse steel is harder than the knife steel it’s like a file- and we all know how files work don’t we….

Smooth steel - burnish, coarse steel - file, ceramic / diamond steel - stone.

We all accept that they have different uses in the workshop, let’s stop with the side swipes it’s tiresome

 

[Limey Lurker]

I have two steels: one is of round cross section, and is effectively a round single cut file with the grooves running parallel to the long axis; the other is of hexagonal cross section, with very precise arrises. When either is used to sharpen a knife, a flashlight photo will show minute pieces of metal dropping from the blade. Here is the first one, along with the knife which it has sharpened for about 100 years.

 

[Rorschach]

I wonder if what is being confused for metal being "cut" off is actually the edge being burnished so thin that a wire edge is falling off?

 

[Jacob]

Impressed by LL's knife! My oldest one has a wavy edge and will probably only last another 100 years.
If caught out without a steel of any sort you can sharpen one knife on the back of another. Very effective if the back of the knife still has newish sharp edges but will diminish as the edge is lost and rounded over.

 

[Jacob]

I wonder if what is being confused for metal being "cut" off is actually the edge being burnished so thin that a wire edge is falling off?

I think you are confused because either way it's still "sharpening". I expect a blunt but "rough" steel would be doing both and all stages in between.

 

[Limey Lurker]

I wonder if what is being confused for metal being "cut" off is actually the edge being burnished so thin that a wire edge is falling off?

I don't think so, because every stroke produces particles falling from each part of the blade as it is drawn over the steel, whereas a wire edge would no longer exist on the second stroke.

 

[Rorschach]

I don't think so, because every stroke produces particles falling from each part of the blade as it is drawn over the steel, whereas a wire edge would no longer exist on the second stroke.

It would if a wire edge were constantly being formed.