Sharpen a knife with a cup

[HeyBub]

30-second video

[Norminn]

That's a very old trick - used to use the unglazed rim of old stoneware mixing bowls.

[willshak]

HeyBub wrote the following:

That's good to know. I'll have to remember that if I lose my knife sharpening steel that came with the kitchen knife set. At least til then, I won't have to dump the coffee from the cup to sharpen the blade. :-)

BTW, when I lived in the Bronx, NY in the 1940s, a guy used to come around regularly on a horse drawn cart with a foot operated grinding wheel and hawked his knife sharpening business. People would come out of their apartments with handfuls of knives for sharpening. There was another guy with a horse drawn cart that came around yelling out "I Cash Clothes" who would pay cash for used clothing. I wonder if they ever came around at the same time where you could sell old clothing to the one guy and take the money and get your knives sharpened by the other guy.

[jw]

Too bad they dont do stuff like that anymore......

I've sharpened knives and other things, like a sickle blade on a brick or concrete block when I did not have a sharpening stone on hand. Works quite well. Anything abrasive will work. Emery cloth works well too, if it's tacked to a block of 2x4. These days, I find a belt sander works great to get a real sharp blade. If it's really dull, use a grinder first, then followup with the sander (fine to medium grit sand paper).

[Han]

willshak wrote in news:dPednXn3HfBm_ezTnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

They were different guys in Wageningen, Netherlands as well. Don'tremember whether they used horsedrawn carts, or special bicycles of this kind Bakfiets:

[A. Baum]

Knives dull because the edge curls microscopically. By dragging it across a hard surface (I used a steel rod designed for this) straightens the edge. You should also periodically use a large fine whetstone covered in cooking oil before you strop the edge. My kitchen butcher knife and large chop knife are sharp enough to shave the hair off your arm. That's the way I test them.

[beecrofter]

Cooking oil goes gummy, no good.

[Bewett Miller]

Sorry, an old post I know, but my Steel does sharpen my knives. My steel is not just a piece of steel like a large nail, it is like a file with the ridges parallel to the handle. And a dull knife does get sharp. Normally steels just straighten the edge. Thanks

[Harry K]

Your description of your steel is exactly what a steel is. As for using one to sharpen a knife? Faster to use a stone and do it right then 'steel' it.

Harry K

[Pavel314]

Our local fine wine shoppe started advertising recently that a sharpener wo uld be at the store every Thursday evening to sharpen whatever you needed s harpened; knives, chisels, etc.

When I was a kid in the early 1950's there was a guy who came through my gr andmother's neighborhood buying scrap material for resale, crying "Paper! R ags!" He was known as the pepper-X man from his accented call. My grandfath er used to save newspapers and tinfoil from his cigarette packs to sell to him.

Paul

[KenK]

Pavel314 wrote in news: [e-mail]:

When I was a kid in Chicago in the late 30s & 40s IIRC we had a guy with a cart come around through the alley yelling his wares and he would sharpen stuff.

I think we had one of those too. And an iceman who came down the street filling ice boxes. We had a little sign in the window that, depending on which side was up, told him how much. I think his name was Tony. And some other venders I can't remember details of.

A far different world from today!

[notbob]

Not a trick, jes a sharp knife.

nb

[Vic Smith]

While in the Navy I had patches of my arms and legs shaved bare, testing my Case Trapper. Honed it on my leather boot. Only real use I had for that knife. Honing and shaving hair to test it.

[notbob]

I can do that with my disposable BIC shaver. No boot necessary. ;)

nb

[Art Todesco]

And, as he pedaled this cart, there was a distinctive ding (hi) ding (lower) bells ringing. Everyone knew that the sharpener guy was around. I lived in Cicero!

[Not]

A sharp knife has a microscopically thin edge, and that edge gets bent, or curled, with use.

The steel straightens that bend, but with enough use, the edge will break off. Once it is broken, the steel will do nothing but make noise, and the knife has to be sharpened.

So someone who needs a very sharp knife, like a chef, a butcher, or a cook, will have a set of knives that are kept in a protective sheathe or case, and the first thing they do when they start work is to steel the knife. But, depending on the metal used in making the knife, periodic sharpening needs to be done not infrequently.

We shop at a market that has many stalls for butchers. A truck comes around, I believe weekly, and sharpens their knives. But the butcher himself has only a steel, no sharpening equipment.