I'm not dcarch, but I sure would be worried that I'd nick the window's film that coats the tempered glass?

He was using the glass to hone, not sharpen, the edge.

After use, a knife will develop a jagged edge (when viewed from the top of the blade down toward the cutting surface). A steel hone, which you see in butcher shops and professional kitchens, doesn't sharpen the knife, it just straightens out the jagged edge. That makes the knife "sharper" in a sense.

Keeping knives sharp is important. They should be sharpened regularly. I personally think the easiest ways to do so is to use a professional service (as restaurants do) or buy a Chef's Choice machine. I found it took a bit of practice to get the best results with the machine but I'm very satisfied with using it.

Thank you for the responses, this isn't my area of knowledge.

Occasionally JoAnn's Fabrics will have a knife sharpening service in the store; I take advantage of that for my scissors and knives.

I think it's a great idea if you need to hone a knife when you are out in the boonies. Otherwise, a steel hone will work just fine. I taught myself years ago how to sharpen my kitchen knives with $10 Norton stone, and there are plenty of YouTube videos that show how easy it is. Hand sharpening takes off less steel from the knives than many mechanical sharpeners, so your knives last longer. And I don't have to pay a professional $150 every six months to sharpen my kitchen knives.

Interesting video.

I am not sure what kind of car he has that has glass windows with such rough glass edges. I think all car glass windows have relatively smooth edges.

Most all cars have tempered glass side windows. Tempered glass should not be "tempered" with. It is highly stressed, any imperfection can cause it to shatter. Don't try to do it.

You can get good results by sharpening on the bottom of ceramic plates, if you don't have a sharpening stone.

dcarch

Here are some pictures I took with my kids' microscope{{gwi:807}}.

A dull knife that has been steeled.

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Same knife after sharpening with a medium stone.

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After further sharpening with a fine stone.

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You could go to finer stones, or a strop, or ultra fine sandpaper.

This post was edited by johnliu on Tue, Jan 13, 15 at 23:33

If you want to pursue knowledge of sharpening techniques, check out Steve Bottorff's web site. He publishes a small book called 'Sharpening Made Easy' but he's generous enough that a lot of the info is on the website.

He likes the Chef Choice machine as well.

I bought from Steve some paper wheels, which I find to be the best way to sharpen my knives. YMMV.

Here is a link that might be useful: sharpening made easy

This post was edited by arley on Wed, Jan 14, 15 at 8:29

Thanks all!

I need to get engaged in this knife sharpening project and with your help I think it's doable for me.

If your knives cost you more than $25 each and you like them, find an experienced knife sharpener in your town. If you are not sure where to go, call your favorite restaurant or restaurant supply store and ask them for a referral. Or try your butcher.

I have seen plenty of expensive knives ruined by some of those machines or amateurs trying it for the first time. If you are determined to DIY it based on a YouTube, go to the Dollar store and practice on those.

If your knives cost you more than $25 each and you like them, find an experienced knife sharpener in your town. If you are not sure where to go, call your favorite restaurant or restaurant supply store and ask them for a referral. Or try your butcher.

I have seen plenty of expensive knives ruined by some of those machines or amateurs trying it for the first time. If you are determined to DIY it based on a YouTube, go to the Dollar store and practice on those.

Peppi, As you know, I have experienced expensive knives being ruined i.e. The HG sticking my Wusthof into the oak tree after using it to cut vines.

I'll check with the Berghoff outlet here; I'm sure they can give me some direction.

What's HG?

I bought a set of Wuesthof knives in Germany over 30 years ago. Even back then they were expensive. I've been using a pro-level Chef's Choice to maintain them for at least the last 20 years. Other than periodic honing, I only "sharpen" every few months, and only with the middle and final grade slots.

With sharpness the goal for safety and useability, there's lots of ways to do it.

Don't use a steel that has grooves.

If you steel a blade with one of those, then examine it using a microscope{{gwi:807}}, you will see that the edge of the blade has become jagged. The rough grooves of the steel have torn irregular little bits from the edge, making it something like a saw, at a microscopic level. The blade will cut very well, or at least very effectively, at first. But the little jaggies soon get folded down or torn off, and the blade ceases cutting well. Because it wasn't actually sharp, it was just jagged. So you have to re-steel it often.

The steel you want is a smooth one. These aren't usually sold in kitchen stores but you can order them, or use the smooth bit at the base of a grooved steel, or use some other round smooth steel bar.

Also, don't apply much pressure when steeling a blade. The edge is very thin, and is easily deformed. If you take a sharp knife and steel it hard on one side only, you can feel the edge bent over to the other side. Use light strokes on alternate sides.

This post was edited by johnliu on Wed, Jan 14, 15 at 21:49

I am in a disagreeable mood.

1. Don't go to a knife forum to ask for advice for sharpening. The people there will make you feel stupid. They will tell you that you will never be able to learn the fine art of sharpening a knife. That you are a cheap skate unless you spend $1000 for a knife, that your sharpening stone has to be $500, that your knife must be "scary sharp" and be able to split hair.

2. It is non-sense that dull knives are dangerous. The reason for this myth is plain simple. 95% of the people use dull knives, you will obvious see 95% more dull knife injuries in emergency rooms. Not only that, people who have sharp knives mostly have much better knife skills. Knife accidents have nothing to do with dull knives.

OK, I feel better now. :-) Let me teach you to be an expert knife sharpener in 2 minutes.

1. Can you hold a knife at an accurate angle, more or less? If not, you can actually end up with a better edge, a what's known as convex edge,

2. Can you move the knife up on a sharpening stone? then move it down? If your answer is yes, then here is a toughy, can you repeat those motion more than once?

You see, there is no magic or high skill required for sharpening a knife.

I also disagree that you need a very sharp knife in the kitchen, unless you a sushi chef. A knife that is not dull is all you need in the kitchen. The sharper the knife, the quicker it will get dull and damaged.

dcarch

John, I was given a steel that's supposed to be the cat's meow--a F.Dick Multicut--recommended by A. Brown in his book on equipping a kitchen. It's a flattish oval in cross section, with very fine grooves. It didn't come with any instructions, and I get okay results with it, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. (or, as Randy Newman said in his song, 'Maybe I'm Doing it Wrong')

Anyone have this item, and does the technique of steeling differ from an ordinary round steel?

Here is a link that might be useful: F, Dick Multicut Steel

I use this steel (see link).

I don't think an oval steel is used any differently from a round steel. The steel contacts the blade's edge at essentially a single point. The difference in the curve of the steel where it is not contacting the edge doesn't matter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Victorinox smooth steel