Question 1

What exactly are you doing?

Accepted Answer

I sharpen entirely by hand using a progression of Japanese whetstones. Every knife is treated with a personalized approach based on its type and the blade's condition.  A common evolution starts with an 800-grit stone (does majority of sharpening) followed by a 6000-grit stone (to get that beautiful shine).  Duller knives may require starting on a 220-grit and increasing from there. I finish with a leather strop to remove any micro-burr.

I am constantly checking the blade's sharpness by running it along the back of my fingernail.  As a final check, I like to slice a tomato. I am looking for:
Does the tomato's skin deform or does the blades slices right through?
Can I cut a paper thin slice?

Question 2

What can you sharpen?

Accepted Answer

Western and Japanese kitchen knives (no machetes or katanas please).
Kitchen Shears

Question 3

Serrated?

Accepted Answer

Coming soon. Practicing on my wife's knives (poor woman)

Question 4

This is embarrassing, I have cheap knives....

Accepted Answer

I love them more because I will see you more often.  Inexpensive knives sharpen just as well but don't hold their edge as long. FYI the process of sharpening does remove material, so years from now we might run out.

Question 5

Can you fix my broken tip or chip?

Accepted Answer

I recommend taking your knife to a professional shop and having them grind it down (it just takes too long by hand). Once you are satisfied, I am happy to help keep your blade healthy.

Question 6

Do you sharpen other stuff?

Accepted Answer

Well if your child needs a math tutor, I do have 3x technical degrees... I stick to kitchen blades (sorry barbers, axe throwers, or gardeners)

Question 7

I'm sold! So how do I get you my knives?

Accepted Answer

Great! Either contact me to schedule a drop off time in West Seattle or subscribe to my newsletter to hear of pop-ups.

fyi, I am a student and a father first. So my schedule will be dynamic. Drop offs will be scheduled around my class schedule this quarter and bedtime.  That said I will do my best to be convenient.

Question 8

Turnaround time?

Accepted Answer

I know the moment you give your knives to me you will feel a sense of loss and loneliness. Don't worry, I will have them back to you ASAP. I can do about 4 knives/hr, so depending on my popularity (and school work) I will have them back to you ASAP.  Please let me know if you have an event coming up.

Question 9

How often should I sharpen my knives?

Accepted Answer

Rule of them for average home-kitchen use is about every 12-15 months.

Question 10

What's the difference between honing and sharpening?

Accepted Answer

"In short, sharpening is used to restore a dull or damaged edge by removing metal, while honing is used to maintain and straighten the edge (which can bend over time). It's good practice to hone a knife often to maintain the edge and only sharpen it when it becomes dull." - Chef Kenji

I learned everything from Chef Kenji. check out his description here.

Question 11

What are you studying?

Accepted Answer

Masters in Counseling Psychology.

My background is engineering and I would like to help other practically-minded individuals discover the freedom of emotions.

Whet is Best

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