pc@hplabsb.UUCP (06/14/83)
We purchased a good knife at a cutlery store where they seemed to love knives so much they wanted to be sure the one we got was going to a good home. There recommendation was: For every 20 minutes of cutting time, use a good carbon blade sharpener (looks like a very rough metal pole with a handle). Hold the knife blade at a 20-degree angle to the sharpener and use a slicing motion, moving the blade from base to tip along the sharpener. Repeat on alternate sides of the knife blade 6 - 8 times. This keeps an essential "rough" finish on the blade, which is what enables the blade to cut. Periodically (every few hours of use), the blade MAY need to be sharpened with a stone. If the edge of the blade is very fine, it is possible for that edge to become slightly bent or curled. It should not get dull if you are using the carbon sharpening tool correctly. The stone basically makes a new edge on the blade. In so doing, it takes off the rough finish that you need for cutting, so you must always follow stone sharpening with the carbon-steel sharpener. I use a crockery stone sharpener which consists of two crockery rods, each 20-degrees off the vertical axis. These rods fit in a wooden base. One just uses the same slicing motion on alternate rods to put a new edge on the blade.
grunwald@uiucdcs.UUCP (06/17/83)
#R:hplabsb:-168100:uiucdcs:8600030:000:221 uiucdcs!grunwald Jun 17 03:06:00 1983 Gezz, and to think that I have always sharpened by knives using the foot of a fine-grain ceramic cup. Works wonders, but I imagine that it's not as good as using all these sharpening stones and whatnot. d. grunwald