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Old 07-24-2007, 01:47 AM   #77
Biff
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Edmonton
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Good on ya', Shawnski. Get a good honing steel (if the set didn't come with one) and learn to use it to set the edge on your knives. Contrary to the two-handed flail method (oh get out of the gutter most of the rest of you), there is a far easier and vastly superior method.

Hold the honing steel vertically and point down on a flat surface. Grounding it on a cloth will keep it from slipping. Then place the knife edge against the the top of the honing steel with the point of contact right near the back of the blade nearest the bolster. Angle the blade outwards at a 20 degree angle (16 for Japanese and other asian blades). Draw the blade evenly towards you and downards and across the honing steel. Repeat the same exercise on the reverse side of the blade using the other side of the steel. Repeat 3 or 4 times per side at most. Test the set of the blade by lightly resting the blade against your thumbnail and attempting to move the blade sideways in both directions (not back and forth for obvious reasons). If it moves much more freely on one side than the other, hone one pass on the opposite side of the blade.

Preachy and quite possibly unnecessary for you to read, but every decent knife deserves a decent edge and, maybe because of this post, if even one blade can be saved it will all have been worth it. And I was bored.
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