KIng of the Professional Chef’s tools is the knife. Costing considerable amounts of money and very much cared for they need to be sharpened by equaly dedicated and qualified professional sharpeners.
We are often asked which knives do we recommend, and it’s producct not from overseas but from a very long establish British maker from Sheffield, the place stainless steel was invented, and they’re called Samual Staniforth. They’ve been in business for 160 years, so we can suume they really know what they’re doing with knives
Domestic users may not have the quality of knives the Chef uses but many keen cooks do. However that does not mean they have to accept second best the mundane kife of no repute deserves. to be goodd and sharp. We use exactly the same processes to get the keenest practical edge.
Knives of course come in many shapes, sizes and variety of duties. That doesn’t really matter too much as most follow the came principle. Some are flexible, some stout, some pointy, some straight. It matters not the same priciples apply and the outcome isa sharpe
We mount the knife in the purpose made jigs for the water bath type Tormek grinder we use ensures absolute repeatability of the edge angle with zero heat being put into the blade. The machine’s design allows us to follow the knife nose shaped while maintaining a consistent bevel width.
We can chose almost any edge angle we want with this machine, we have options as to grind stone we use with several degrees of roughness or switch to diamond for an ultra edge.
Usual sharpening angles for European knives is a total edge angle of 36° to 40° - 18°-20° per side, this produces a robust edge for domestic use. Other knives may require a grind of with a smaller angle, this depends on both use and quality of steels used by the makers. Japanese knives can get as low as 18° total but the norm is 30°
Then post grind, we hone and polish the edge testing each knife for sharpness.
Implementing some trigonometry is the key. We measure the grinding wheel diameter 250mm is the norm. We set the distance to the blade edge to a known amout (say 140mm) We know the edge angle we need (the tangent angle) and thus calculate the distance from the wheel to the jig rest and by use the result via a vernier gauge to set the height of the jig rest. This way arrive at the we get the grind angle spot on. We calculate all the required dimensions before we commence the grind. Setting the machines to be millimetre perfect all guesswork is eradicated, it’s almost as easy to do it right as wrong so we do it right each and every time.
Using the Swedish Tormek T8 we are able to acurrately put almost any angle of grind on the edge of almost any knife, large, small, wide or slim thick or thin, two sided or one.
The Tormek method is much copied as it is an ideal solution for high performance sharpening of many items.
The Torrmek grinding system puts the cutting action happening on the edge underwater; ensuring the edge is kept cold and clean with the advantage of removal of swarf in the water.
Both carbon and stainless steels can be sharpened on this machine be it by grit stone or diamond wheel. For repairs we sometimes use the Sorby (dry grind) in the early stages to fix the knife. and finish with the Tormek
Our Tormek T8 ginds a new edge while underwater, zero heat is generated and passed to the blade, no loss of temper so no damage and minimal material removed with all the cut metal is flushed away and captured by magnets.
We use several honing techniques, the methods and materials used are dependent on what products we are working on, here is a polishing mop with white grade polishing media designed for stainless steel
One final polish on the mop with nothing added to make for a good finish.
Will the new sharpened edge perform? This one certainly does - all are tested like this
Riddles,
Back Lane
Bomere Heath
Shropshire
SY4 3PL
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