I’ve always been a little obsessed with keeping my knives and other tools razor sharp. Everybody knows how a blunt knife can be more dangerous than a sharp one, as it can more easily slip off whatever you’re cutting and cause an injury.
In fact my dear wife once cut herself badly trying to use a blunt butter knife to do a job that should have been done with a sharp kitchen knife. Being the good husband that I am, I try to only remind her of this no more than twice a year.
A blunt knife is not only going to be dangerous but, obviously, it is going to make the task you are attempting more difficult and with poorer results than a sharp instrument. Would you want your surgeon to operate on you with the same butter knife? I doubt it.
Over the years I have honed (pun intended) my knife sharpening skills to the point where other people have brought their own knives to me to sharpen, but if you have the right tools and a little knowledge of blade geometry, it isn’t that hard to do yourself.
Every now and then I like to treat myself to a very close shave using a straight razor. If you have ever tried this you know that if your razor isn’t VERY sharp, the experience can be painful and then you have to walk around for the next hour with little pieces of bathroom tissue stuck to your face. My favorite razor is actually about 170 years old and still shaves as well as when it was new. To keep that razor sharp I purchased a quality Norton stone with both 4000 and 8000 grits. Used correctly it does a great job.
However, there is a certain amount of skill required to keep the angle consistent using stones, so I have also collected a few other sharpening systems, some from gun shows, some from the internet, and they have all worked reasonably well. They also have the advantage of being portable enough to keep in my bug out bag, or my Jeep’s center console.
Recently though I purchased what may be the last sharpening system I will ever need–the Lansky knife sharpening set. This kit is ideal for maintaining the correct angle on your blades edge and also to easily hone a nice burr along its length that can then be stropped off to leave an edge sharp enough to shave hair.
Thanks.
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