I have watched lots of uploads on sharpening knives and had varying results but this method was an absolute doddle to learn and gave me the best results so far. I can shave with my kitchen knife it is so sharp right now. I am keeping to this technique. Thanx.
if you start at same distance from bolster but with blade edge parallel and close to short edge (whether it is bottom or top depends on which side you are working on in combination with hand you use) you can do that with pulling motion. Also I find it easier to use whole surface of stone this way too.
I think I'm going to start learning sharpening using this method once I'll get my sharpening kit. My knives have no bolster, but this method looks easiest for the newbie.
Thank you for the video. You have more knowledge & experience sharpening knives than I will ever likely achieve. However here is the problem that I encountered sharpening these German style, full bolster knives; As you sharpen only the blade section of these knives, over time & many sharpenings, you will inevitably end up with the bolster protruding past the edge of the knife, therefore, the blade edge will not make full length contact with the cutting surface, and I see this as highly undesirable, for obvious reasons. My personal solution for my 5-Star Henckels line, was to grind the bolster up about a quarter of an inch above the blade surface(in my situation, I used a Tormek). This allowed me to both use & make contact with full length of the blade, and to do further sharpenings, without the bolster getting in the way of cutting. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I just believe this video is a really poor solution for getting an effective cutting edge on these German style knives.
What happens after a number of sharpenings... don’t you have a blade higher (towards the spine) than the bolster as you grind away only the blade and not the bolster ? I’ve taken my German knives and ground the bolster away at the very bottom and then back at an angle so that over time, the knife won’t get a little ridge right where the back of the blade edge meets the bolster. Any thoughts on this?
Yes that's how it should be done because a bolster needs to be aligned with the edge in order for the user to chop on a flat cutting board. I sharpen professionally and do that with all of my customer's knives.
@@airwilliam24 cool. Thx. So, do you grind a new angle into the bolster up towards the spine or just re-bevel the bolster? (Since I want to use a stone, I’ve re-profiled my bolster to allow the knife to lay flatter to the stone all the way to the heel of the blade)
@@fritzb.3978 I just ordered a K Sabatier carbon-steel 8-inch chef's and was very hesitant about that damn bolster, but it seems to be beveled up toward the handle and being carbon it should be easy to trim down if and when necessary. I'm pretty sure we're not "destroying" our knives when we alter them this way. Just customizing and making it your own.
@@fritzb.3978 I usually don't regrind the bolster all the way up the spine. I thin it down slightly so it's not just square block and it tapers naturally down from the spine, but I keep the bolster blunt where it is close to the blade edge.
Nothing beats wet stone sharpening. But only if you know what you're doing. Which will take you months to learn. And every sharpening session will eat up an entire evening. Advice 1: Buy a Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition instead. It's used by pros and serious amateurs alike. Brilliant results and easy to use. Advice 2: Don't buy a full-bolster knife (like the one in this video). With time, sharpening will make the bolster protrude, preventing the knife to make full contact with the board.
I would just sharpen the bolster, honestly. That way it still functions as a bolster, but also as an edge. And also so you don't end up with a gap near the bolster when you have the knifes edge against the cutting board.
@@cutleryandmore I respect your opinion, your right to express it, and your experience, but it is absolutely possible to grind the bolster in a manner which is not visually unpleasing, and that will greatly prolong the life of these German knives.
@@Ripper7620 I think it's their opinion that they want to sell more knives. : ) Seriously I went looking and what you see on a vintage knife is that years of avoiding the bolster area while sharpening creates what you could call a recurve just in front of it. So obviously it's preferable to keep ahead of that by reducing the bolster as you go, over time, so you're always sharpening a nice straight rear portion.
Thank you I do a bolster reduction, grind and polish. I polish with the knife in a vise upside down and “floss” with various sandpaper grit (wet) Looks fine to me.
I have watched lots of uploads on sharpening knives and had varying results but this method was an absolute doddle to learn and gave me the best results so far. I can shave with my kitchen knife it is so sharp right now. I am keeping to this technique. Thanx.
This is the method of sharpening I learned as a child with my first pocket knife. 30 years later I still use it for my chef knives.
who asked
@@iskiiwizz536 your mom
@@dintelignt
if you start at same distance from bolster but with blade edge parallel and close to short edge (whether it is bottom or top depends on which side you are working on in combination with hand you use) you can do that with pulling motion. Also I find it easier to use whole surface of stone this way too.
I think I'm going to start learning sharpening using this method once I'll get my sharpening kit. My knives have no bolster, but this method looks easiest for the newbie.
Thank you for the video. You have more knowledge & experience sharpening knives than I will ever likely achieve. However here is the problem that I encountered sharpening these German style, full bolster knives; As you sharpen only the blade section of these knives, over time & many sharpenings, you will inevitably end up with the bolster protruding past the edge of the knife, therefore, the blade edge will not make full length contact with the cutting surface, and I see this as highly undesirable, for obvious reasons. My personal solution for my 5-Star Henckels line, was to grind the bolster up about a quarter of an inch above the blade surface(in my situation, I used a Tormek). This allowed me to both use & make contact with full length of the blade, and to do further sharpenings, without the bolster getting in the way of cutting. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I just believe this video is a really poor solution for getting an effective cutting edge on these German style knives.
What happens after a number of sharpenings... don’t you have a blade higher (towards the spine) than the bolster as you grind away only the blade and not the bolster ? I’ve taken my German knives and ground the bolster away at the very bottom and then back at an angle so that over time, the knife won’t get a little ridge right where the back of the blade edge meets the bolster. Any thoughts on this?
Yes that's how it should be done because a bolster needs to be aligned with the edge in order for the user to chop on a flat cutting board. I sharpen professionally and do that with all of my customer's knives.
@@airwilliam24 cool. Thx. So, do you grind a new angle into the bolster up towards the spine or just re-bevel the bolster? (Since I want to use a stone, I’ve re-profiled my bolster to allow the knife to lay flatter to the stone all the way to the heel of the blade)
@@fritzb.3978 I just ordered a K Sabatier carbon-steel 8-inch chef's and was very hesitant about that damn bolster, but it seems to be beveled up toward the handle and being carbon it should be easy to trim down if and when necessary. I'm pretty sure we're not "destroying" our knives when we alter them this way. Just customizing and making it your own.
@@fritzb.3978 I usually don't regrind the bolster all the way up the spine. I thin it down slightly so it's not just square block and it tapers naturally down from the spine, but I keep the bolster blunt where it is close to the blade edge.
@@airwilliam24 thx! That does make sense. Would be a lot of work and imagine hard to match the satin finish/grind that’s on a lot of kitchen knives.
Nothing beats wet stone sharpening. But only if you know what you're doing. Which will take you months to learn. And every sharpening session will eat up an entire evening.
Advice 1: Buy a Work Sharp Ken Onion Edition instead. It's used by pros and serious amateurs alike. Brilliant results and easy to use.
Advice 2: Don't buy a full-bolster knife (like the one in this video). With time, sharpening will make the bolster protrude, preventing the knife to make full contact with the board.
The last way was the way I was taught as a young chef 15 years ago 👍🏼
I was looking for this, thanks Ryky!
Also, any thinning videos? How about thinning full bolstered knives?
Cool but.. I want to sharpen through the bolster to keep it even.
I would just sharpen the bolster, honestly. That way it still functions as a bolster, but also as an edge. And also so you don't end up with a gap near the bolster when you have the knifes edge against the cutting board.
Thank you
Can you use this method for a katana
What happens when the blade is becoming shorter then the bolster?
It will take many years for that to actually occur, but at that point it would be time for a new knife.
@@cutleryandmore how bout shaping it on a belt sander. It seems like a waste
@@cutleryandmore I respect your opinion, your right to express it, and your experience, but it is absolutely possible to grind the bolster in a manner which is not visually unpleasing, and that will greatly prolong the life of these German knives.
@@Ripper7620 I think it's their opinion that they want to sell more knives. : ) Seriously I went looking and what you see on a vintage knife is that years of avoiding the bolster area while sharpening creates what you could call a recurve just in front of it. So obviously it's preferable to keep ahead of that by reducing the bolster as you go, over time, so you're always sharpening a nice straight rear portion.
Thank you
I do a bolster reduction, grind and polish. I polish with the knife in a vise upside down and “floss” with various sandpaper grit (wet) Looks fine to me.
When he can’t count to 10