Knife Question

[acy0029]

The two stone set should do just fine, but that three stone kit sure is nice

it comes down to what you want to pay and I see no reason the two stones shouldn't do the job.

EDIT: ok so I went back and noticed that the three stone is no stone at all, you don't need a leather strop it sounds stupid but it will make heavy use knives seem to dull faster you'll have to steel alot more so I would go with the two stone kit.

 

[bigredfeather]

Thank you so much for your advise. After using them so dull last week, I am looking forward to getting them back in tip top shape.

 

[acy0029]

Quote:

 

[GLBRWyans]

3 stone sets as you know are course , medium and fine . I never had to use a course stone . The medium and a couple of slides against the diamond still produced a nice sharp edge . I am not sure on what scale of processing do , have you ever seen a chicken slicer ? Looks like a meat slicer but it is vertical . A good commercial stone set up is rather costly . Often you can find them when mom and pop grocery stores or restaurants have going out of business auctions . No offense to the poster about Arkansas Stones , they are okay for the pocket knife , but you need a commercial grade set -up . The meat cleaver and shears are good also , but not practical when you are processing that many at a time . I would get a cleaver and have it on hand though . I am going to do some surfing and see what I can come up with . Also we used plain old castor oil on our stones .

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
I do 700-800 a year and growing

......have you ever seen a chicken slicer ? Looks like a meat slicer but it is vertical.

Yes, I have seen them.

The meat cleaver and shears are good also , but not practical when you are processing that many at a time . I would get a cleaver and have it on hand though.

I have an old clever. It's not very sharp. I only use it to chop of the head and breakdown the backs.

I am going to do some surfing and see what I can come up with.

If you find something, please post it. Doing chickens is something I plan on doing for a long time. I have no problem putting out the money to get myself completely set-up properly. I have learned long ago if you're going to do something, learn how to do it right and with the right equipment for the job.​

 

[acy0029]

If you want a commercial set up go with a Chef's Choice electric knife sharpener. I still prefer Arkansas stones for all my knifes and I've been cooking since I was 14 years old and use a 10 inch chef's knife on a daily basis.

 

[GLBRWyans]

@acy0029

I was a met cutter for 30 years . Towards the end of my career all I used was a 10 inch curved steak knife . Of course everything was boneless by then and the 6" didn't make the grade anymore .

 

[Ahab]

Boatbuilders around here use emery cloth to sharpen edged tools. I take a good-quality clipboard--it needs to be dead flat--and clip on sheets of medium emory cloth, followed by fine. Note that you can stroke only away from the clip. The pros who use this method often use a quick-release spray adhesive (Post-It spray is one example) on a sheet of glass (which is reliably flat and doesn't change during humidity swings) to stick down their emory cloth. That way you can stroke in both dimensions.

The advantage: a good three-stone set is about $100. A clipboard and a decade's worth of emory cloth is about $15.

I have old carbon-steel knives that sharpen quickly to surgical levels. My modern knives are all Forschners, which is the preferred knife brand with the local fish cutters. Buy them at a restaurant supply store, or online in many places. I steel my knives before every use.

 

[galanie]

Quote:
This is what I do. I don't stick the paper down, just lay it on the sheet of glass. And I use regular wet-or-dry sandpaper. I do have a couple of very fine waterstones and some oilstones plus a strop that I use for final polishing when I sharpen plane blades and fine chisels but for knives I normally just use the wet-or-dry then a ceramic rod.

This method hones VERY FAST and works quite well. No oil or water needed, just discard dull sandpaper or emery cloth.

 

[GLBRWyans]

Bigredfeather ,

I am really glad you made this thread . It has been very interesting to say the least . @acy0029 , there is a 3 stone set as you said . I remember the barber using is leather strop to hone is razor . To be redundant , as a retired meat cutter of 30 years it has been very interesting to see the many comments . As far as a good commercial grade 3 stone set -up , I don't think you can get one for $100 unless you find it at an auction . Last time I checked those things were around $300 . This is to everyone , if you have a friend that is a meat cutter , etc... and the knife is the tool of his/her trade see if they can get you one . They usually can get them at wholesale . My wife is a grocery store manager and occasionally , I get her to buy me a 6" curved forschner and she pays about $8 bucks . Go into a retail store and that will be doubled or tripled . What's amazing are the people along the Amazon that sharpen their knives by rubbing it against a plain old rock .

I changed my moniker from Doug8 to GLBRwyans ......... it has a chicken air about it . lol


A dull knife will cut you faster than a sharp one too .