Sharpening Trick for bread knives

[Inspector]

I don't use a bread knife very often. Turns too much of the bread into crumbs that I have to clean up. I much prefer a thin bladed knife after a few strokes on a steel. Crime to turn warm, out of the oven bread into crumbs.

Pete

 

[Limey Lurker]

A trad knife "steel" not much like a burnisher - is serrated lengthways (probably a proper word for this?) with a bit of a filing action but not as sharp as a file.
It's all "sharpening" in my opinion, whether you call it burnishing, steeling, honing, grinding, etc

It's a single-cut file, with the cutting edges ALONG the length; NOT across it! With a bright light, I've seen tiny particles falling off as I've steeled a knife.

 

[Jacob]

It's a single-cut file, with the cutting edges ALONG the length; NOT across it!

Right thanks for that: "single cut file"

With a bright light, I've seen tiny particles falling off as I've steeled a knife.

As you'd expect. And a jaggedy saw tooth edge effect under a magnifying glass.
I've got two - one's an old bone handled Sheffield job and coarser than the other which is a smart-alec German variety. The coarse one for general purposes, the finer one for that little bit extra, if I wanted to shave my chin with a carving knife for instance.

 

[Inspector]

....... if I wanted to shave my chin with a carving knife for instance.

Don't slit your throat. We'll get blamed!

Ho! Ho! Ho!
Pete

 

[Bob Chapman]

Miracles will never cease! Jacob has made several comments and no-one has called him an idiot, or said he is totally wrong or asked him for links to his sources of information! I dunno, it must be Christmas.

I hope you all had a good one, and a happy, healthy new year!
Bob

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Nah .............. they've just given up.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

Oh brother another one of those knives, I REM the corded elec carving knife, last I saw of it the body was serving years as a door stop
I have cooks knives that I bought many years ago.
I use a steel to sharpen, every time I use a knife. Some of the smaller prep knives are starting to hollow where they have been sharpened so much.
Last night I found one in the dirty washing up water. The hard way, bring out the plasters....

 

[NeiljohnUK]

Oh brother another one of those knives, I REM the corded elec carving knife, last I saw of it the body was serving years as a door stop
I have cooks knives that I bought many years ago.
I use a steel to sharpen, every time I use a knife. Some of the smaller prep knives are starting to hollow where they have been sharpened so much.
Last night I found one in the dirty washing up water. The hard way, bring out the plasters....

Not something to repeat if you can avoid it, I try to get my family to keep sharp knives separate because of such things. My mothers family were master butchers, so I learnt at a young age to both sharpen and be cautious around knives, especially my uncles sharpened butter knives, which he'd sharpened so much they were inches shorter and hollowed, great for boning though!