Very nice. Lucky daughter.

I don't know about other parts of the country but here one can often find old carbon steel knives. Of varying shapes and varieties of handles. They were always the sharpest knives in the house. I pick them up when I find them. One of my sister and I future wood projects is to make handles for some without...

Clearly time to sharpen and polish.

agmss, I too will pick up most carbon steel knives whenever I find them. Even if they never get restored to kitchen service, they make great utility knives in the workshop, far sturdier than those little snap blade plastic utility knives.

I have found a paper wheel system works great for restoring old carbon steel knives. Only drawback is that you need a dedicated bench grinder and a dedicated space in your garage or workshop for it. But once it's set up you can get a razor edge on a carbon steel knife in less than 5 minutes, maybe ten if it's dull as a butter knife. It's really much easier than a whetstone, especially for stainless blades. Steve Botorff's web site has those paper wheels along with lots of other good info on knife sharpening.

John, one other brand of knife you might look at is Victorinox. They have them at Amazon and other places on line. Cooks Illustrated rated their 8" chef knife for $37 or so right up there with those costing ten times as much. For utility knives like boning knives or paring knives, you can't beat the value. They're by far my favorite stainless knife brand. They have both inexpensive stamped knives with plastic ('Fibrox') handles, as well as forged knives with wood handles.

1. I have a couple of Japanese knives that are extremely sharp (you can shave with them), and it is also extremely easy to cut yourself with them, although I have mostly only chopped fingernails with them. They do take getting used to, and you must be very sure not to touch the blades. I got a very nasty cut from one of them by barely touching the blade, and so the idea that sharper knives are safer is a myth, as far as I'm concerned. It is easier to slice a finger with a sharp knife than with a dull one.

I do recommend the Japanese knives, however, I got mine from Cutlery and more on line, as I felt they had the best prices. I also bought a couple of double sided whetstones, and I've been getting good use from them.

Why is there a #1 at the beginning of my post?

If I had bought the knives that you did, I would have taken them to sizzle grinder! There is one at the Mar Vista farmers' market that is very reasonable. The stones that I have are good only for knives that are not all that dull, I think. It's nice that you enjoy sharpening the knives, however - it is not at all pleasurable for me, but I like the results.

Lars, the 1. comes from the ordered list function (the fourth formatting button at the bottom of the message box). It volunteers sometimes and is very hard to fight.

John, those knives are fab! I recommend against a standard knife block. They can actually dull knives if used sloppily. A roll is great because it's easy to hide from the roommates if they're not sufficiently respectful of her knives. I use Messermeister edge guards, which protect each blade individually, and allow for the most compact storage space. I like the standard black, but they also come in these translucent fun colors. This image is from ChefDepot, but most stores that sell knives have them.

One other knife worth considering is a 6-7" utility knife. The knife that will cut anything and that can be used on packaging, string, etc., without guilt (or anger at roommates).

Arley, why would you want a sharp butter knife?

I have a couple of Japanese knives, as well, but not the super expensive, rare ones. Are those the ones you are considering? I find my Santoku makes fine paper thin slices of radish without reaching for a mandoline or to easily brinoise veg, and the Nakiri handles the larger tasks quite well.

Those Victoronix knives are well regarded everywhere -- the Fibrox versions seem to be a good choice in a roommate situation. You might consider getting her the carrying case for the knives, rather than leaving out a block. I'd hate to see them abused by her roomies.

Beautiful knives. They look professional.

Do be very careful when buying old knives.

There are two most important qualities for a knife. i.e. the quality of the steel, and how the steel is hardened and tempered.

If the knife is sharpened carelessly, you can ruin the hardened edge permanently, It only takes a fraction of a second to overheat the edge, especially on a mechanical sharpener. With a used knife, there is no way you can tell if the edge has been messed up.

I am not a believer that dull knives are more dangerous.

You hear this all the time, " I was told by doctors who work in emergency rooms that all they see are people who are cut by dull knives"

Well, very simple logic, 98% of the people have dull knives.

The other reason why there are more dull knife accidents, users of dull knives are people who have less knife skills.

If you accidentally cut yourself, a sharp knife can cause very serious injuries.

dcarch

These edges seem okay, but I'm still working on them with a water stone, so we'll see.

I like the victorinox knives, my very first good knife is one and it has served faithfully for over 20 years, but daughter doesn't like the handles and she likes a heavier blade. Oh well.

"These edges seem okay"

It is difficult to tell, because bad steel and messed up steel can be sharpened just as sharp, except they cannot keep the edge sharp.

One way to tell is to examine the edge with a high power magnifying glass. If you see lots of micro chips, then you can tell the edge temper is still OK. Bent edge is a useless knife.

How I store my knives:

dcarch

LOL pllog

I was using butter knife as an example of how dull some knives can get; even I, with my compulsion to get knives as sharp as practical, wouldn't sharpen a butter knife.

I have a sharpening question. I have a very fine grit water stone. Might be about 4000 grit, maybe more. Japanese but synthetic, I'm sure. It needs to be soaked in water for a while before using, which is tedious. I've started cleaning it then leaving it in water 24/7 so it will be always ready to use. Bad idea?

Oh! It was a simile! Sorry, Arley. :) I've been run a bit ragged lately and read to mean (which it could, grammatically, though it makes a lot more sense the way (also grammatical) you meant it) that butter knives are so dull they take that much longer. :)

Soaking: Bad idea in that it'll start growing algae or something. :) I think once you're done with your daily use, it would be better to let it dry out. (I don't know what it does to the stone.)

I had meant to say, before, that my father made me a nice wooden box to fit the stone he gave me. It sticks up higher than the lip that holds it, so it's easy to lift and flip, or whatever. The bottom of the box has felt to keep it from slipping during a touch up, though for a proper sharpening, I use a ridged silicone potholder. I think your dear daughter might appreciate something like that if you're of a mind to make one.

That describes exactly the wooden box that contains my venerable combination medium/fine "Oregon Stone", which said daughter has taken with her and been using all summer. [Grumpy face.]

I cut a leather strop from a thick roll of tool leather. That will go in her knife kit as well.

Hmm, I never thought of algae in the water. That doesn't sound very nice.

I don't think soaking the stone in water will damage it, but there is no need to as long as you sharpen under dripping water.

This is my set up for general quick sharpening:

A long piece of wood board that can span across the sink, rubber band each end so the board wouldn't slip. The stone is fixed in the middle of the board. Drip water from faucet on the stone and sharpen. No need to wait until the stone is soaked.

dcarch