Santa Monica knife sharpening is all about hand sharpening quality knives on whetstones, to perfection.
Why you should spend a little more and have your good knives hand-sharpened
Never take your expensive knife anywhere, that doesn’t use whetstones to sharpen them by hand, or at least use a water-cooled system. Most often they will sharpen your knife on a machine that looks like a belt sander or on a grinder, and sparks will fly. These machines are very abrasive and will remove too much metal, and apply excessive heat to your knife. This could ruin the heat treatment, softening the steel and the knife will go dull faster.
Avoid the ones using sharpening gadgets
Kitchen supply stores, and mall shops, use machines like Truehone, and Chefs Choice to sharpen their knives. These machines also overheat the edge, and they seldom have the correct edge angles. Please don’t use these machines at home either, because you are ruining your knives. Anyone who has ever tried to put a decent edge on a kitchen knife with an electric grinder can attest to this.
Most likely your knives are not permanently damaged
I have been fixing knives for customers who have taken their really expensive quality knives to these places. The only way for me to fix them is to grind the knives down past the “de tempered” and damaged steel until I get back to the hard steel.
Machines have a few advantages like; Perfect angles, uniformity, and speed. The downside is that; it could overheat the edge, and it grids down way more material than needed. Of course, this shortens the life of your knife. If the blade doesn’t need it, grinding off excessive material is just throwing money away.
Why hand sharpen knives on whetstones are superior
I hand-sharpen all knives on Japanese water stones because I think a good hand-sharpened edge beats a machine-sharpened edge. The blade bevels come out polished without rough grinding marks, and the hand sharpening also allows for a minimum of steel removed to provide a superior edge. Blades with sweeping curves, such as kitchen or restaurant knives, really shine with a good hand-sharpening job. The edge is certainly less mechanically precise, but the sharper edge and polished bevels more than compensate, requiring less effort to get through the same material.
Why you need a sharp knife:
1. A sharp knife is important in order to
preserve the true flavors and beauty of fresh ingredients. Cutting with a dull
knife will damage food on a cellular level and alter its taste and appearance.
2. A sharp knife is also important for
safety. A dull knife is more prone to slip on food and may result in bodily
injury.
3. Sharp knives are also important for
kitchen efficiency. It will take more time and effort to cut with a dull knife
than a sharp knife.
4. Using a sharp knife is also undoubtedly
much more enjoyable to work with.
Santa Monica knife sharpening is recommended
If you like your knives sharp, I recommend you buy a few water stones and learn how to sharpen your knives yourself. If you are not able to or not having the time to sharpen your knives yourself let a professional hand sharpener sharpen your knives for you.
Magnus Pettersson hand knife sharpener
To request sharpening call or text 310-486-6068 or email.
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