Took me 8 years to realize I was ruining my knives with the wrong steel

I've been a line cook for over a decade and always thought the more expensive the knife, the better it kept its edge. About 6 months ago I was at a pop-up in Portland and an old Japanese chef watched me sharpen my $300 German chef's knife. He just shook his head and said 'your steel is too soft for that stone, you're just pushing the edge around'. I honestly felt like a fool right there. Been using a harder carbon steel blade for a month now and it holds an edge for two whole shifts without needing a touch up. My old knife would go dull after prepping just a case of tomatoes. Also realized I was using way too much pressure on the stone this whole time. Has anyone else had that moment where you find out a basic thing you thought you knew was totally backwards?

3 comments

3 Comments

brianl5321d ago

The sharpest knife I ever used was from a thrift store.

stella_lane21d ago

Whoa, eight years? That's wild. I would have been so embarrassed too, especially with a chef calling it out like that in public. Honestly that's the kind of mistake that sticks with you for a while.

the_nathan21d ago

Yeah but is your food actually better or are you just nerding out about sharpness now?