The Wife:
My wife does most, well, nearly all of the cooking in our home, but yet has very little enthusiasm or interest in kitchen cutlery. I’m always saddened when she just grabs a dullish steak knife to perform some task when a drawer full of very sharp knives is available for her enjoyment. But alas, despite my best efforts she remains about as interested in knives as is a hungry cat when offered a bowl of straw.
I was feeling the need to sharpen an edge, and going through the in-drawer knife block I was delighted to find a blade that didn’t hang on my thumbnail.
The Knife:
The ever so slightly dulled knife was a 6” Victorinox Fibrox chef’s knife which probably gets the most use in our kitchen.
For the price it is an amazingly good blade. With a blade only a little over 1 mm thick, it is light weight and easy to handle. When sharpened to 15°, which is factory spec, it cuts extremely well and even with the acute bevel the edge retention is surprisingly excellent.
It was reviewed by the PBS TV show America’s Test Kitchen and chosen as the winner when compared to others. The 8” version is seen frequently in use in the TV program. They wondered why it performed and held an edge so well so they sent it to a lab for analysis. They found that it is made of fine grain steel. I must say that even with a coarse grind the thing takes a great, very sharp edge and keeps it very well too.
The Belt:
I sharpened it with a single belt. A brand new 150 grit Cubitron belt. The Cubitron and Cubitron II belts have become my favorite. They are extremely sharp, and at least for light duty stuff like cutlery sharpening, last longer without almost any apparent loss of sharpness than any other belt I’ve tried. Being so sharp, they cut quickly with little pressure and therefore generates very little detectible heat. If that were not enough, they are a pretty red color which complements my shop décor. I’m thinking maybe some matching tissue holders to complete the look. Thanks Mr. Mark for introducing me to them!
Sharpening:
As I mentioned, the belt was brand new and super sharp so I just tickled the blade with belt. That’s all it took. A couple of extremely light strokes on each side formed a tiny burr that was easily removed by just kissing the blade edge to the leather belt on the Kally.
Sharpness at the center of the blade was 135, and near the tip was 140.
The Wife:
I walked into the kitchen to find my wife chopping carrots with a dull steak knife! To get through the carrot required a lot of pressure to begin the cut, and with each cut I heard a whacking sound on the cutting board. Whack! Whack! I gave her the newly sharpened blade and the whacking sound stopped, replaced by the most gently little tap as the Victorinox just melted through. I watched as she moved on to radishes! Beautifully controlled thin slices that appeared completely effortless.
Here are pics of the edge, the first near the tip, the second in the middle of the blade. As I mentioned, 140 at the tip and 135 in the middle of the blade. Nice and sharp and toothy! Tomatoes, broccoli and onion skins don’t stand a chance. Gotta love those Cubitron belts. Looking at those edges it’s easy to imagine how something that sharp and toothy easily breaks through even stuff with a smooth, tough skin.
Tip:
Middle:
That's all!
My wife does most, well, nearly all of the cooking in our home, but yet has very little enthusiasm or interest in kitchen cutlery. I’m always saddened when she just grabs a dullish steak knife to perform some task when a drawer full of very sharp knives is available for her enjoyment. But alas, despite my best efforts she remains about as interested in knives as is a hungry cat when offered a bowl of straw.
I was feeling the need to sharpen an edge, and going through the in-drawer knife block I was delighted to find a blade that didn’t hang on my thumbnail.
The Knife:
The ever so slightly dulled knife was a 6” Victorinox Fibrox chef’s knife which probably gets the most use in our kitchen.
For the price it is an amazingly good blade. With a blade only a little over 1 mm thick, it is light weight and easy to handle. When sharpened to 15°, which is factory spec, it cuts extremely well and even with the acute bevel the edge retention is surprisingly excellent.
It was reviewed by the PBS TV show America’s Test Kitchen and chosen as the winner when compared to others. The 8” version is seen frequently in use in the TV program. They wondered why it performed and held an edge so well so they sent it to a lab for analysis. They found that it is made of fine grain steel. I must say that even with a coarse grind the thing takes a great, very sharp edge and keeps it very well too.
The Belt:
I sharpened it with a single belt. A brand new 150 grit Cubitron belt. The Cubitron and Cubitron II belts have become my favorite. They are extremely sharp, and at least for light duty stuff like cutlery sharpening, last longer without almost any apparent loss of sharpness than any other belt I’ve tried. Being so sharp, they cut quickly with little pressure and therefore generates very little detectible heat. If that were not enough, they are a pretty red color which complements my shop décor. I’m thinking maybe some matching tissue holders to complete the look. Thanks Mr. Mark for introducing me to them!
Sharpening:
As I mentioned, the belt was brand new and super sharp so I just tickled the blade with belt. That’s all it took. A couple of extremely light strokes on each side formed a tiny burr that was easily removed by just kissing the blade edge to the leather belt on the Kally.
Sharpness at the center of the blade was 135, and near the tip was 140.
The Wife:
I walked into the kitchen to find my wife chopping carrots with a dull steak knife! To get through the carrot required a lot of pressure to begin the cut, and with each cut I heard a whacking sound on the cutting board. Whack! Whack! I gave her the newly sharpened blade and the whacking sound stopped, replaced by the most gently little tap as the Victorinox just melted through. I watched as she moved on to radishes! Beautifully controlled thin slices that appeared completely effortless.
Here are pics of the edge, the first near the tip, the second in the middle of the blade. As I mentioned, 140 at the tip and 135 in the middle of the blade. Nice and sharp and toothy! Tomatoes, broccoli and onion skins don’t stand a chance. Gotta love those Cubitron belts. Looking at those edges it’s easy to imagine how something that sharp and toothy easily breaks through even stuff with a smooth, tough skin.
Tip:
Middle:
That's all!
