Got schooled by a line cook about my knife sharpening technique

Last week at a prep session, this kid who's been on the line for maybe 6 months grabbed my Wusthof and showed me how I was holding the angle too steep. He said 'you're grinding it flat, not sharpening it' and then fixed it in 2 minutes. Anyone else had a young cook teach them something basic they thought they already knew?

2 comments

2 Comments

hernandez.morgan29d ago

I used to think I knew what I was doing with stones but yeah that angle thing really changed how I sharpen.

the_sam29d ago

It's funny you mention that angle thing because I keep seeing people online saying you need to hold the blade at exactly 15 or 20 degrees or whatever. But honestly that's not always the right move depending on what kind of steel you're working with. Some softer steels actually stay sharper longer with a slightly wider angle closer to 22 or 25 degrees, especially if you're doing heavy chopping or boning. And if you're using a really hard steel like VG-10 or something, going too steep can make the edge chip instead of just dulling. So yeah the angle matters a lot but there's no single magic number that works for every blade.