Sharp Pad - Best Product In My Kitchen

[Bobbo]

When it comes to knife sharpening it would probably be considered overly kind to call me an amateur but my Sharp Pad has turned my kitchen knives around. I also own a PT50 edge tester and that was key as well. I don't have to speculate about how sharp they are because I know that they are sharp. Sharp Pad is simply a great tool in the kitchen. It not only makes my knife edges sharp but keeps them that way. I recently bought one for each of my three grown children and I know for sure that at least one of them is making good use of it. My oldest lives in San Diego and on a recent visit there it sat right by his knife block. He said he uses it almost daily.

He asked a question though that I couldn't answer so maybe someone here in the forum can. He doesn't have an edge tester so is there some other simple test or means that would tell him when the burr has been totally removed? I know now what he is getting for his birthday but that is a ways off so are there any suggestions from someone to get him by until he gets his edge tester? Thanks.

[grepper]

There are several ways to check for a burr:

Drag a cotton ball, gauze or some other "catchy" material from the spine over the edge of the blade.  Do this on both sides.  If there is a burr little bits of material will catch on the edge.  This works surprisingly well.  You can also drag the length of the blade gently into the fabric or cotton ball.  

See if you can feel the burr by doing the same thing with your thumb. It takes a little practice, but it's amazing how sensitive human touch can be.

Look at the blade under a good, strong light or flashlight from different directions.  A black background can help. When you get the light right, burrs, even small one become visible.  

Use a magnifying glass or a loupe under a good light.  A good light is the key with all of the visual inspection methods.  A good light and a bit of magnification is very informative.

Very, VERY gently run a fingernail down the length of the blade at a slight angle off the center of the blade.  Do this on both sides of the blade. You can feel burrs catch slightly.  Don't do this if you are not totally comfortable with it.  You definitely don't want your finger tip to touch the edge!  Yikes!

Probably a safer method is to carefully slice some thin paper from the edge of the paper. Pull the blade from heel to tip.  If it catches, there is probably a burr or a nick in the blade.
Hope that helps!

[Bobbo]

Thank you very much grepper! I will forward your suggestions on to my son. You just don't know how useful a resource like this is to people like me. Since you have helped me, I would like to take this opportunity to, perhaps, help the BESS Exchange members.

While the BESS Exchange was the first forum that I worked up enough courage to post my question to it was not the first forum that I looked to for answers. When you ask someone of my limited skill set to "look for" or "feel for" indicators of one kind or another on a knife it immediately raises my anxiety level. Case in point: I have a drawer full of $10-$20 sharpening tools that don't seem to make knives any sharper. So I spent $150.00 on an electric sharpener. I read the instructions carefully and noted that I was supposed to "feel" for a burr on the knife edge. I never felt one. So, at the time, was that because the sharpener never created a burr or was it my inability to feel it? Guys like me simply lack the experience that you have in being able to answer the question. I put that knife sharpener back in it's box and that's where it stayed for almost two years until I bought a Sharp Pad and an edge tester. I watched the videos and read the sharp pad manual and armed with that new information got the electric back out of the box. I ground and ground and ground until I had a Eureka moment. The edge was rougher on one side than the other! I ran the edge through the final stages of the sharpener and then measured it. I don't remember the number but it wasn't good. I used the sharp pad then and it got much better. I used it some more and it got really good. For the first time in my life I felt as if I had actually sharpened a knife.

I have figured out since then that if you start off with really dull edges its going to take a very long time to make a burr on a knife edge when using even an expensive electric sharpener. Quite frankly, my sense of it is that I am overworking the sharpener. So now I periodically use my electric sharpener on a kind of maintenance basis. I simply never let them get too dull before I sharpen them again. The take away from this is  that in my opinion people like me need edge testers more so than you do because we lack the experience that you have. I couldn't even suggest what you are supposed to do about this but I just wanted to make you aware that the problem exists out here with rank amateurs like me.

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Oh yes one other problem out here that you probably never experience. Only recently has my wife stopped freaking out every time I pick up a knife to sharpen it. She's was certain that I was going to ruin it. Its hard to get better at something when someone is screaming in your ear. I doubt that you can do anything about that either. Just me venting.

[Ken S]

Bobbo,

I have a suggestion for your second problem:

I recently purchased two inexpensive knives at my local grocery store. Each cost about $12. They are surprisingly well made, but inexpensive knives. I bought the Kitchenaid brand santuko knife for sharpening practice. 

Get yourself a couple inexpensive, but not cheap knives for sharpening. Let your wife know that you will not be working on her knives. Then have at it with your knives. I do not believe you will ruin them, however, if you do, you are not messing with your domestic tranquility. 

Do not be afraid to grow through practice.

Keep us posted.

Ken