Waterstone knife sharpening by hand

Japanese knives	$15.00
Paring knives	$6.00
European knives	$10.00
Pocket knives	$7.00
Repairs start at	$5.00

For sharpening just bring the knives to the shop. On Thursday and Friday I can generally sharpen while you wait/shop/watch. Saturdays and Sundays will most likely be a drop off and pick up situation.

I hand sharpen knives on a series of water stones. For European knives I start with a 120 grit waterstone and then refine the edge with 250 grit, 500 grit and 1200 grit stones. For Japanese blades I continue polishing the edge with 3000 grit, 5000 grit 8000 grit and maybe a 12,000 grit stone to refine the edge. I finish with a graphite rub and/or leather strop. This is the way knives are sharpened at the factory/workshop where they are made. In my opinion it's the only way to return a blade to its original sharpness.

Every knife is constructed individually from different materials so each knife needs unique attention. I'll sharpen most European blades to 22 degrees, Japanese blades to 15 degrees and the finest/handmade Japanese blades to 11 degrees. These are the guidelines I follow for what I believe give the sharpest knife with great edge retention, but I'm willing to sharpen to personal preference.

I also sharpen single-edged blades with or without a koba or micro edge. Personally I use my Yanagiba and Miroshi without a koba and my Deba with a koba.

Repairs I perform include re-aligning the blade profile, fixing tips, repairing chips in the blade, and shining the blade face.

How often do knives need re-sharpening?

How long is a piece of string?

This is an impossible question to answer. How hard you strike the cutting board with each cut? What the knife is made of? How addicted are you to extreme sharpness? How the knife is being honed and how the knife is stored are all factors that affect the answer.

The best answer is once the knife stops performing as you like bring it in for sharpening. I believe in periodic knife maintenance just as I believe in changing the oil in my car. If you don't know how or couldn't be bothered to sharpen knives yourself then find someone whom you trust to do the job.

 

Sharpening classes

I offer knife sharpening classes monthly at the shop. They take 2.5 - 3hours with a class size of two people.

The class covers knife construction, steels/materials used, sharpening theory, sharpening demos and hands-on tutored sharpening. Cost is $60 per person and a set of water stones is required (250 grit and 1000 grit minimum and if you want to go to the bonus round a 4000 or 6000 grit and a truing stone are recommended). You can bring your own or I'll supply a set (200, 1000/4000 and truing stone) for $150.

All participants receive 10% off knife purchases on the day.