What Does Knife Sharpening Cost? Part 2
What does it cost to have a knife sharpened?
Well, it depends on HOW it is sharpened.
In the previous post we looked at what it typically costs to sharpen knives, scissors and tools. This cost can vary. Next we will discuss how the razor-sharp edge is created in Randy’s workshop.
First, you need to understand that sharp cutting edge on a knife can be produced by many methods. Sharpening is the process of removing metal from the blunt edge until a sharp edge is produced. At the lowest level, it is possible to rub a steel blade on concrete until the edge will cut. Plenty of inmates have been stabbed with a metal spoon handle that was ground into a blade.
At the other end of the spectrum is the Samurai sword. After the blade is forged, it is then sent to be polished. The hand polishing process takes between one and three weeks. The polisher uses finer and finer grains of polishing stones until the blade is razor sharp with a mirror finish. Still today, Japanese water stones are available for hand sharpening and honing knives. These water stones are available beyond 10,000 grit and cost over $100.00 each. Sharpening a knife with a progression of water stones requires an investment of several hours. Like the blade, these stones also require continual maintenance to retain a perfectly flat surface.
Between these two extremes are a few options:
1. The most basic method of knife sharpening is with an abrasive stone, often called a wet or oil stone. You can literally buy a stone at the Dollar Store for $1.00. The coarse stone is actually harder than steel and will grind away nicks on a knife or axe edge. A fine stone will refine the rough edge and produce a cutting edge.
To sharpen a knife on a wet stone you hold the edge against the stone while raising the back of the blade to achieve the desired blade angle. The knife is sharpened with repeated strokes along the stone – ALL at the same angle. You repeat this process on both sides of the knife blade. Depending on the condition of the blade, this process may involve hundreds, even thousands of strokes and a progression of stones from coarse to very fine. With patience, the correct stones, and skill you can sharpen an axe that will shave your face!
2. Many varieties of manual sharpeners have a fixed piece of carbide or ceramic rod. These “sharpeners” can’t create an edge on a new knife. These "sharpeners" can only hone a dull blade. Often a dull knife still has a sharp edge, it has just rolled over from contact with bone or a hard stoneware plate. Drawing the blade across the carbide or ceramic straightens the edge of the blade. These relatively smooth hones are capable of removing metal to create a new blade profile eliminate a deep nick or dent.
3. Electric sharpeners for home use usually have one or more rotating abrasive wheels that grind the edge as the knife is drawn across. Some models have slots with both coarse and fine grinding wheels. However, none are adjustable for multiple blade angles. The result is a simple flat grind that doesn’t stay sharp for long. To resharpen the blade you need to regrind the knife, and every repeated process grinds the blade down a little more. All these sharpeners tend to leave a rough surface of corrugations along the blade and have the potential to heat up the cutting edge of the knife through friction. These sharpeners are incomplete without a process to create the cutting, secondary bevel and a means of honing the sharp edge.
4. There are also a huge variety of sharpening gadgets on the market. Some systems use a series of ceramic or natural stones attached to guide rods. The guide rods are designed to provide a consistent angle and take out the variations that result when hand sharpening on a flat stone. Today, some of the natural stones have been replaced with man-made diamond hones. Other systems use abrasive papers or disks that can start coarse and then graduate to over 10,000 grit. But like flat stones, the sharpening process still requires a tedious progression of grits. These systems can be inexpensive, or can cost over $300.00.
Some knife collectors “enjoy” spending several hours sharpening, honing, polishing, and stropping one knife to produce a mirror-edge worthy of a display case. Spending hundreds of dollars on a manual sharpening system, then many hours to sharpen an expensive knife that will never cut anything is an expensive hobby. To each his own! But this is like collecting guns that will never be fired. My knives and guns are tools that are well used, then maintained.
5. Finally, there are commercial knife sharpening methods. The challenge is to produce a super-sharp cutting edge in less than three hours! Yes, I KNOW how to sharpen your knife on a series of Japanese water stones. (It is a Zen-experience!) But I charge $50.00 per hour and NO ONE has ever been willing to pay me $150.00 to sharpen their knife!
Randy’s Super Sharpening Service produces sharp knives, axes, scissors and tools. I charge $7.00 to $9.00 to clean and sharpen a knife, including reconditioning the handle. This is only possible because I have invested in specialized equipment, some that I have designed and built myself. When combined with years of experience, I will return a knife that is like new – often better than new!
Specifically, my service uses two main techniques. First, knives that are very dull are sharpened on a water wheel. This fine abrasive wheel turns in a water bath to flush away the metal filings while keeping the blade “stone cold”.
Next, knives that do not need to be reground are sharpened on a series of abrasive belts. These belts range from 600 grit, 1,000 grit and beyond. The sharpening process is VERY different than a high-speed bench grinder. I hold the knife blade with my bare fingertips. The blade never gets too hot to hold and there is no danger of affecting the temper of the steel.
Remember that the goal of the sharpening process is a super sharp edge. The professional sharpening equipment that I use accomplishes this goal while removing the minimum amount of steel from the blade.
When a sharp edge has been produced, the sharpening process concludes with honing. Ceramic hones, compressed paper wheels with buffing compound, and leather strops refine the sharpened edge until the knife effortlessly slices through paper, meat, fruit or tomatoes.
Does Randy continue the sharpening process to 10,000 grit Japanese water stones? NO, not normally - even though I DO have polishing compounds and buffing wheels. I certainly will keep polishing the edge as long as you want – as long as you pay me by the hour!
Commercial butchers and chefs rarely sharpen their tools beyond 600 grit belts or wheels. After a few strokes on a fine honing rod, they get back to work. They may hone their knives several times PER DAY! The re-sharpening process takes a few minutes – NOT hours. Time is money!
Randy’s Super Sharpening Service prides itself on knives (and scissors, blades, and tools) that work! I am VERY HAPPY to provide EXTENDED sharpening services BEYOND our standard super-sharp edges, if you choose. MANUAL sharpening to 10,000 grit, honing, stropping, and polishing with jeweler’s rouge is available on request at the rate of $50.00 per hour.
What does $50.00 buy over the standard $7.00 super-sharp knife edge? NOTHING that you will notice when slicing a tomato or a tenderloin. Under a microscope, you will SEE a smoother cutting edge. The knife blade will be brighter (not what you want on black knives…) For an additional $100.00 I can approach Samurai perfection. I will hand lap the blade with a 10,000 grit ceramic stone and then polish the blade until it gleams. But the performance of the cutting edge will be less than 2% better than the $7.00 sharpening service. There will be NO improvement in the durability of the cutting edge, in fact, the edge will be more fragile.
All in all, I hope you agree that a professionally-sharpened knife for $7.00 is an incredible value. Always remember that your satisfaction is guaranteed. You don’t even pay until you are satisfied!
