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Beautiful professional Knife sharpening with Nubatama ume 4000 and 6000

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Knife sharpening with Nubatama ume 4000 and 6000

Knife sharpening with Nubatama ume 4k and 6k

Nubatama ume 4k and 6k

Testing Knife sharpening with the Nubatama ume 4k and 6k, are so different compared with the other stones in the series. First off they are both medium-fine stones, so I will mostly comment on how they feel and what kind of finish they leave. The 4k is medium hard and muddy, a lot like an Aoto. The 6k is hard, so hardly any dishing, no mud is just black swarf from the steel, a great pre-finisher. They both cut fast for their grit range, if any complaints the 4k leaves that green/yellow stain on everything. They both leave a very fine shiny if not mirrorish finish depending on the steel.

Knife sharpening progression

In the pictures below I will show the progression from unsharpened to strop, to demonstrate the whole knife sharpening progression, and where the Nubatamas fit in, in the progress.

Knife before sharpening

Knife before sharpening 

Knife after sharpening on 1000 grit stone

Knife after sharpening on 1000 grit stone

Knife after sharpening on 2000 grit stone

Knife after sharpening on 2000 grit stone 

Knife after sharpening on Nubatama ume 4000 grit stone

Knife after sharpening on Nubatama ume 4000 grit stone

As you see the use of Nubatama ume 4000 in the sharpening progression, does a fine job of refining the edge. It feels super smooth, cuts well and it doesn’t mud too much, and it is not rock hard so it still has great feedback. The finish it leaves looks surprisingly more polished than I would have thought; it feels and behaves like a Chosera 3000 stone. This would be a perfect final stone when sharpening soft steel knives.

Knife after sharpening on Nubatama ume 6000 grit stone

Knife after sharpening on Nubatama ume 6000 grit stone

Knife sharpening with the 6000 is very different from the 4000, it’s harder, cuts slower, and in close-up it refines the edge with a slightly finer scratch pattern. The most surprising though is that to the naked eye, the polish from the 4000 looks better. At first, I thought I did something wrong, so I retested several times side by side with different knives and every time the 4000 left a better finish to the naked eye, but in close up the 6000 had a slightly better finish. Speculation could be that they have different abrasive densities or different kinds of binding material. If I continue to finer stones, the result of the 6k is better.

Knife after sharpening on 8000 grit stone

Knife after sharpening on 8000 grit stone

They both clean up well on finer grit stones, but the 6k is a better pre-finisher.

Knife sharpening, final edge after stropping

Knife sharpening, final edge after stropping

Edge after a fast tour on the leather strop.

Conclusion:

I see no need to buy both of these stones for knives because they are not that different. I love the 4000; it is a really nice, fast-cutting stone that leaves an awesome finish. The only thing I don’t like is that green/yellow color that stains everything. The 6000 is also a really good stone that leaves a finer scratch pattern. Its hardness and low mud make it perfect for straight razors.

Magnus Pettersson hand sharpening in Santa Monica.  1-310-486-6068

The master sharpeners, of two professional knife sharpening stones.

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Quality evaluation of Nubatama ume #320 vs Bester #500

I just got 4 Nubatama Ume stones #320, #1k, #4k and #6k. I was hesitant to buy them because the only reviews I could find were from the people selling them. I will start with the Nubatama Ume #320, and compare it to my favorite coarse stone Bester #500. It will replace the bester in my setup if it is up to the task. I love the Bester, it cuts fast and gives decent feedback. The downside is that I use a lot of pressure with the coarse stones, they dish fast and are tough to flatten.

I use up 10-15 bester #500 a year, and it dries out way too quickly, so it’s not problem-free for me. I know I could use DMT, but I don’t like the feedback. The list of coarse stones I have tested in this grit range is extended. The one that got closest to Bester was Chosera #400 it did dish but not as much and left a nicer finish. It was not as fast, and time is money.

Knife sharpening Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500 water stones

Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500 water stones

Drying time test and dish compare of the whetstones

First I will compare, cutting speed, dishing, general feel, and the finish they leave. The Nubatama came really flat, I still gave it a fast flattening to get rid of that glossy new stone feel.

Drying time compair between Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

Drying time compared between Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

One thing that bothers me with Bester is how fast it dries out, so that was the first thing I tested. The Nubatama is a bit better, 48sec for Nubatama and 34sec for Bester. It’s almost a 50% improvement that will make a small improvement.

2 brand new Kiwi knives to use to compare Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

2 brand new Kiwi knives to use to compare Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

The cutting speed

To make the cutting speed test fair, I have used 2 brand new cheapo Kiwi knives. I know it’s cheap somewhat soft stainless, but at least it will give me an idea of how fast they cut. I have sharpened Henckel twin cermax RC 66 on Bester, but it takes a lot of time, so I know Bester’s limit.

Within time I will test the Nubatama on some tough steel too, and report how it went. I expected Nubatama to be slower cutting than Bester, after seeing how glossy. Well it wasn’t, it just took 6 strokes to get a good burr with Nubatama and 10 strokes to get a burr on Bester. So Nubatama Ume #320 cut faster and it behaves as expected for a #320 grit stone.

Edge finish difference between Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

Edge finish difference between Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

The finish

The Bester isn’t known to leave a nice finish, but Nubatamas finish at least on the burr is even rougher as it should be for a low grit stone. What I think is fascinating though, is that the surface is slightly greyer from the Nubatama which is usually a sign of a finer stone. Time will tell but I think that Bester leaves a better finish.

The difference in dishing between Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

The difference in dishing between Nubatama ume 320 and Bester 500

Dishing test

Here comes the most positive surprise Nubatama dishes less, but not by much. The picture is taken after 50 strokes on the corner of each stone, and as you see it is obvious, that Bester dishes a little bit more. So taking in effect that Nubatama is faster cutting and dishes slightly less, it should mean much less stone flattening.

Feedback and feel

There was very little difference in sound between them, and the feel was somewhat the same too. The Nubatama doesn’t have the annoying sticky feel under pressure as the Bester has. It feels a bit sandier, and rougher. They both have a similar amount of feedback feeling. I think I prefer the feel of the Nubatama. (it might just be that the Nub is the newest one and that I just have an hour on it)

I did a fast test cleaning up the scratches on a higher grit stone. In this case, I used a Bester #2000 grit. They both cleaned up equally fast, it makes me think that the finish from the Nubatama just looked rougher and they were pretty much the same.

Flattening: They are both pretty hard stones to flatten, but I think it went slightly faster to flatten the Bester.

Conclusion:

Nubatama positive: Twice the size, cuts faster, dishes slightly less, and doesn’t dry out as quickly as Bester.
Nubatama neg: Leave a slightly rougher finish and a bit harder to flatten.
Bester pos: Leave a slightly better finish, easier to flatten
Bester neg: Cuts slower, dishes more, dries out faster

After using the Nubatama a little bit more, I prefer the feel and performance of it over the Bester and it is the coarse stone I will be using from now on. I will keep the Bester, in case the Nub doesn’t perform well on a high-performance steel.

Update: After some heavy use the last week, I still love the stone. I have sharpened some hard steel +rc61 knives on it, and the nub dish as much as Bester if not a little more wish was a bit disappointing. I have realized that it is much easier to flatten than my first impression, so it evens out. One other thing it is a rather muddy stone, and it helps the cutting speed a lot, the mud is the grainy sandy kind so it is a bit messy and not the most pleasant one.

Santa Monica knife Sharpening, call/txt 310-486-6068 or email.

For more of my tests check my Instagram @santamonicashrp

Amazing professionally knife sharpening on whetstones, in Santa Monica.

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Why and where you could get your knives hand sharpened, on the west side.

Best knife sharpening in Santa Monica hand sharpening a slicer

Me doing the final sharpening of a slicing knife

Here is why you should have your knives hand sharpened on whetstones.

  1. It doesn’t soften the steel and ruin the knives, as machine sharpening does, therefor they will stay sharper much longer.
  2. A second benefit is that it doesn’t grid away excessive material, this gives your knife a much longer life.
  3. Also, the extreme edge finish that could be achieved, means that it will stay sharper much longer.
  4. It’s more environmentally friendly, your knives will last much longer, no electricity will be used, and no weird chemical compounds from sharpening abrasives and steels will be released. Have you ever wondered why your knife sharpener is, using a mask while sharpening?

Or check out my post “Why you should spend a little more and have your good knife hand sharpened”

Where you could get your knives hand sharpened

I offer free pickup and delivery in Santa Monica, except during the busy season. That is November and December, you would have to drop them off and pick them up. Always call or text before coming by, to confirm that I have time, and working. If I get them early in the day, I will try to have them sharpened within a couple of hours. The address is 1423 Euclid Street, Santa Monica 90404, call or text when you get there, and I will come out and get them, no need to park,

Magnus Pettersson hand sharpener in Santa Monica call/txt 310-486-6068 or email.

Feel free to connect on Instagram @santamonicasharp

Knife repair, giving new life to a broken knife

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Santa Monica Knife Sharpening
old broken knife with chipped edge

Unsharp broken knife before regrinding

This knife was given to me by a good friend, at first look it doesn’t look to bad except for the big chip right there the heel starts. After a closer look I realized that the primary bevel was concave and parts of the edge was folded over, I also realized that the secondary bevel was way wider in the back and at the tip. Look at that tip I could have folded it by hand, it was thin as aluminum foil. At the moment I just saw two different ways to fix it, one was to leave the primary bevel concave and try to give it a new edge on the side of a sharpening stone, or regrind a new flat primary bevel and give some sort of compound edge. I decide to give it a new primary bevel to get rid of all edge damages and big scratches on shinogi.

illustration of edge before and after regrinding

Illustration of edge before and after regrinding

Above is a little illustration what it look like before and after, and what I would like to achieve. First I went to work with a large blacksmith file, because of the amount of material that I needed to take off, just to realized that it didn’t give me much precision, tried a bunch of different coarse stones, the one that eventually seams to do the best job was Beston #500. With this stone I worked until I got an even flat primary bevel all the way to the edge, I also used it to set the secondary bevel. After that I changed to King #1000 to smooth both bevels out and did some initial sharpening. After that just a fast brush with Bester #2000, before starting with my favorite stone it’s a man made blue Aoto rated to #2000 but feels much finer. This blue Aoto gives that perfect mist to the soft steel on the primary bevel, its super soft and have great feedback; the only thing is that if you don’t want your hand to look dirty for days after, use glows. For final sharpening and finishing on the secondary bevel I use Kitayama #8000 also a great stone, after this just some light stropping, before setting the micro bevel with Shun #6000 wish gives a nice bite to the edge.

I also did some clean up and light polishing just to make it easier to clean, I’m using it daily now, and its one of my favorite knives. I realized that I’m not good at always cleaning and drying the knife after use, so it started to get some stains/rust on the pretty mist on the primary bevel, so I gave it a light polish with #2000 sandpaper and all is good now. Yes of course its sharp, not hair popping sharp, but sharp enough to shave with or to slice cigarette paper into small strips. Pictures of the knife after regrinding below.

Knife after repair, regrinding and polishing

Knife after repair, regrinding and polishing

Magnus Pettersson hand sharpener, now serving the whole Westside with free pickup and delivery: Santa Monica, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Venice, Marina Del Rey, Culver City and West LA.

For free pickup and delivery on the Westside, call/txt 310-486-6068 or email.




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Fixing reverse bow edge and sharpening a Global knife

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Reverse bow edge on Global knife

Reverse bow edge

As you see in the image of the knife, the edge just make contact at heal and tip, with a big gap between the surface and the edge in the middle. This is a common damage for knives that has been sharpened on small electrical counter machines. The easiest way to fix this is to grind the edge down till it makes contact all the way on the side of a coarse sharpening stone.

The bow edge is know fixed and in contact with the whole edge

The bow edge is know fixed and in contact with the whole edge

This is after the edge grinding, as you see the edge makes contact with the surface all the way. Time to start to recreate the bevel, for this I used a coarse DTM (steel plate with diamond particles embedded. After that I started the sharpening on Beston #500 until I got a good burr, to follow up with a no name #1000 stone, #2000 Bester, #5000 Naniwa and finally Kitayama #8000 stone.

The edge is straight, shiny and sharp on the Global knife

The Global knife once again has its edge straight, sharp and smooth

The edge is straight, smooth and shiny, and you could see that it make contact all the way after the sharpening job.

The edge in x15 magnification after the sharpening job

The edge in x15 magnification after the sharpening job

Well the edge doesn’t look to shiny magnified x15 in real life it looks mirror polished.

Magnus Pettersson hand sharpener, now serving the whole Westside with free pickup and delivery: Santa Monica, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Venice, Marina Del Rey, Culver City and West LA.

For free pickup and delivery on the Westside, call/txt 310-486-6068 or email.



Why you should make your knives happy with professional whetstone sharpening

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natural Japanese stones,

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.

Please follow me on Instagram @santamonicasharp