YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → I Ranked Every Knife Sharpening Method (According to Science)

I Ranked Every Knife Sharpening Method (According to Science) — Transcript

by TriggTube · 5,288 words · 774 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00A sharp knife is one of the single most
0:02important tools in your kitchen. So,
0:04it's crucial to find a sharpening method
0:07that works for you. And that's why in
0:09this video, I'm ranking 13 popular
0:11methods for sharpening kitchen knives
0:13based on the actual science of
0:15sharpness. We'll go from S tier, which
0:18just [music] stands for sharp, all the
0:19way down to F tier, which stands for
0:22forget about it. But, because I know
0:24every cook has different priorities, as
0:26we go along, I'll give my top three
0:29methods [music] for three different
0:30types of cooks: the perfectionist
0:33enthusiast, the busy home cook, and the
0:36bargain hunter. And at the end of this
0:37video, I'll select one S++ tier for what
0:40I think is the best overall sharpening
0:43method. Now, before we rank anything,
0:45it's essential that we actually break
0:47down the science of sharpness. Because
0:49if you don't understand this, you will
0:51never be happy with your knives, no
0:53matter which sharpening method you use.
0:55So, let's take a couple minutes to hone
0:57in on the science of sharpness.
1:01We all know what sharpness feels like. A
1:03knife coasting calmly through a carrot,
1:05or slicing smoothly through a stack of
1:08scallions. Well, the science behind that
1:10feeling comes down to three factors:
1:13shape, hardness, and direction. Let's
1:16start with shape, or what the knife pros
1:18call edge geometry. There are lots of
1:22possible edge geometries, and it may
1:24seem obvious from a quick glance that
1:26the smaller the angle of the apex, the
1:28sharper the knife is going to be. But,
1:31the angle of the apex isn't actually the
1:32most important part of a knife's shape.
1:35Take a look at these two cheese knives,
1:37which are sharpened to the exact same
1:39angle. You'll see that one apex leads to
1:41a thin blade behind the edge, and the
1:43other expands out to form a thicker
1:45blade. If you compare these two cheese
1:47knives side by side, it would be like
1:49comparing this thin handmade Japanese
1:51gyuto to this thick drop shipped Serbian
1:53[music] cleaver. If you test for
1:55sharpness on one of those wire cutting
1:57sharpness testers, then both of these
1:59knives would be equally as sharp because
2:01they have the same [music] angle of the
2:02apex. But, if you actually use them to
2:05cut food, then the thinner knife will
2:07feel much sharper. Specifically because
2:09it doesn't have to wedge the food apart
2:11as much as the thick knife does in order
2:13to pass through and finish the slice.
2:15This is one of the main reasons why the
2:16results from those wire-cutting tests
2:18may mislead you. It's also why when I
2:20rank sharpening methods in this video,
2:22I'm going to use good old-fashioned
2:24vegetables. Because there are a lot of
2:26factors besides just apex angle that
2:28[music] determine if a knife feels
2:30sharp. So, to rank sharpness in this
2:32video, a knife is either dull if it
2:35can't pull cut a tomato, sharp if it can
2:38pull cut a tomato, or razor sharp if it
2:40can shave off a thin tomato sheet
2:42one-handed without any backwards
2:44pressure. Now, I know what you're
2:46thinking. For maximum sharpness, you
2:48should just go by the thinnest knife
2:50possible and sharpen it to the thinnest
2:52angle possible. But, knife shape or edge
2:55geometry is just one factor in the
2:57sharpness equation. With knives and
2:59knife sharpening methods, there's always
3:02a trade-off.
3:03And that's where our next factor comes
3:05into play.
3:06Hardness, or as knife pros like to call
3:09it,
3:10HRC, the hardness Rockwell C scale. The
3:14hardness of chef knives can be anywhere
3:16from the low 50s HRC to well above 60
3:20HRC. Soft steel, which is still hard by
3:23the way, is going to be anywhere from 55
3:26to around 58 HRC. Soft steel or knives
3:29that are used for heavy chopping needs
3:31to be sharpened to a wide angle or the
3:34steel will just fold over and dull
3:35instantly, like trying to cut a banana
3:38with a cheese knife made of soft cheddar
3:40cheese.
3:42If you're working with harder steel from
3:43between 58 to around 60 HRC, then you
3:47can sharpen the knife to a more
3:48aggressive angle, like [music] 15
3:50degrees, and use this knife for finer
3:53slicing, dicing, and mincing. And I
3:55would only sharpen a knife to around 10°
3:58if it was made of super hard steel above
4:0160 HRC. And even then, I would still
4:04only use it for very delicate work
4:08because a super hard thin blade like
4:10this Parmesan cheese knife is going
4:12[music] to easily slice through soft
4:14foods, but when it encounters something
4:16that's too hard to cut, instead of
4:17bending, it's going to chip and break.
4:20So, ideally, a great sharpening system
4:22should give you the ability to choose
4:24between a wider durable angle for soft
4:26steel and a steeper delicate angle for
4:29harder steel.
4:31And with both shape and hardness in
4:33mind, we can move on to our final factor
4:35for the science of sharpness, direction,
4:38or as the knife pros like to call it,
4:41the scratch pattern.
4:43The sharpening process leaves
4:45microscopic ridges or grooves in your
4:48knife's edge depending on the direction
4:50that you sharpen it. Kind of like how
4:52this cheese grater leaves grooves in the
4:54cheese wedge. Mhm.
4:56That is a sharp cheddar.
4:58>> [music]
4:58>> When the grooves of a scratch pattern
5:00are vertical or diagonal in relationship
5:02to the knife's edge, the knife will be
5:04sharper and more durable than it will be
5:07if the grooves run horizontally or
5:09parallel with the knife's [music] edge.
5:11With a parallel scratch pattern, the
5:13grooves interrupt the apex and create
5:16weak points for the edge to break or
5:18fold over itself. While a diagonal or
5:20vertical scratch pattern leaves the apex
5:22supported while also creating tiny
5:24microscopic teeth along the apex that
5:27will grip and pull open your food just
5:29like a serrated knife. This is why you
5:31always want to sharpen perpendicularly
5:33or diagonally to the edge and [music]
5:35never parallel. So, when it comes to
5:37your kitchen knives, the science of
5:40sharpness says that when sharpening our
5:42knives, we are trying to create a
5:44perfectly symmetrical and smooth V shape
5:47at the correct angle for the hardness of
5:49our steel and the use of our knife with
5:51either a vertical or
5:53>> [music]
5:53>> diagonal scratch pattern along the edge.
5:57And now that we know the standard of
5:58sharpness that we're trying to achieve,
6:00we can correctly rank the knife
6:01sharpening methods to see which ones
6:04make the cut. Starting with wet stones,
6:07specifically soak stones. These soak
6:10stones are made from a soft aluminum
6:12oxide material that requires soaking in
6:14water for 10 to 20 minutes before each
6:17use. Ironically, a lot of beginners buy
6:20these because they're super cheap, but
6:22they're actually the hardest stones to
6:24use properly because they aren't very
6:26forgiving of errors. You see, when you
6:28use a stone to sharpen, it is critical
6:30that you hold a constant angle the
6:32entire time. Otherwise, you can round
6:34out your edge or create an asymmetrical
6:37edge that will bend over more easily as
6:39you're trying to cut. These soft stones
6:41are literally designed to wear away as
6:44you use them, changing the angle of the
6:46surface of the stone and making it
6:47extremely difficult for a beginner or
6:49even intermediate sharpener to use
6:51properly. I tried for years to make
6:53these work, [music] bought a bunch of
6:55different accessories to help hold the
6:56knife angle or flatten the stone, and I
6:58still can't get a sharp edge
6:59consistently with these things. Plus,
7:01with all the accessories and additional
7:03grits, these cheap stones ended up being
7:06pretty expensive, messy, and altogether
7:09poor ball option. I give soak stones a
7:12low D. Next, dry wet stones. Yes, some
7:16wet stones are dry. Whet is an old
7:20English term meaning [music] to
7:21stimulate or sharpen, like whet your
7:24appetite.
7:26These dry wet stones are typically made
7:28of a diamond or ceramic material, which
7:31is harder than steel and can grind your
7:32edge down without needing any water or
7:34oil. This diamond plate has a rough 325
7:37grit side, which does a good job of
7:38shaping your apex, and then a medium
7:401200 grit side to refine your edge and
7:43scratch pattern. With just these two
7:45sides, I can get my knife sharp enough
7:47to pull cut a tomato with no problem,
7:49but I can't get the level of refinement
7:51I need to get my knife razor sharp. And
7:53after dicing just one onion, the edge I
7:55created was noticeably duller. Which
7:57just means that I need more practice to
7:59create a more consistent [music] and
8:01durable edge. I wanted to give these a B
8:03because personally, I do get a little
8:05frustrated by these. But as one of the
8:07only options on this list for under $50
8:09that actually works, I'm going to put
8:11dry diamond grit stones in the A tier.
8:14And the final wet stone style I tested
8:16was the splash and go style, which is
8:18kind of the hybrid between wet wet
8:19stones and dry wet stones. [music]
8:21You just splash some water on and go.
8:24Hence, splash and go. If you start off
8:26with the diamond stone and want to
8:27refine your edge to get it razor sharp,
8:30then these are the typical next step.
8:32The process of wet stones and sharpening
8:34in general is establishing your edge
8:36geometry with a coarse grit that grinds
8:38the edge down quickly, and then using a
8:40medium grit stone to refine the scratch
8:42pattern on the face of your edge, and
8:44then finishing off the process with an
8:46ultra-fine grit stone that almost
8:48polishes the edge so that it's super
8:50smooth and practically glides through
8:52your food. This is what I need for what
8:54I consider a razor sharp knife. Splash
8:57and go stones are a great option to
8:59really refine and polish your edge in
9:01this way. But and
9:03>> [music]
9:03>> this is a big butt, and unlike Sir
9:05Mix-A-Lot, I do not like big butts. But
9:08the finer grit splash and go stones get
9:11really expensive really quickly.
9:13Especially because you can't just skip
9:15from a 1,200 grit stone all the way to a
9:17Murasaki 30,000 mirror finish stone. You
9:20need to progressively go from one grit
9:22to the other, which means buying a
9:23couple more stones along the way, and
9:25will end up costing $200 to $400 total
9:29for an entire top-tier splash and go
9:31system. Does the average home cook need
9:33knives sharpened with a 30,000 grit
9:35stone? No. I'd say a good baseline stone
9:38system would be $50 [music]
9:39to $70 for a diamond stone and $70 to
9:42$100 for a basic splash and go stone in
9:44the 2,000 to 5,000 grit range. And with
9:47that in mind, splash and go stones on
9:49their own are just a B-tier option. But
9:52when paired with a coarse diamond grit
9:53stone, I think they have a home in an
9:55A-tier sharpening system. Now, with each
9:58of these methods, you can finish the
9:59sharpening process with [music] a
10:01leather strop. These are super
10:02inexpensive and what they do is remove
10:05any remaining burr that's left after the
10:07sharpening process. A burr is a tiny
10:10thin piece of metal that will extend off
10:12the top of your knife as you sharpen.
10:14This burr is super sharp but also really
10:16thin. [music] So, if left on, it will
10:18bend over as you start cutting and dull
10:22your knife. The leather strop will grab
10:24this burr and remove it [music] so that
10:26your edge is way more durable. You can
10:29also add an abrasive material like
10:31chromium oxide or even diamond particles
10:34to the top of your strop and that will
10:35give it a little bit of gritiness so
10:36that it functions like an ultra-fine
10:38grit stone that both removes [music] the
10:40burr and polishes the edge of your
10:42knife. In my experience, the strop makes
10:44a huge difference at the end of a
10:46sharpening session to remove the burr.
10:48But adding the compound doesn't really
10:50do a ton. So, you can skip the compound
10:52but I would highly recommend ending your
10:54sharpening session with a strop no
10:55matter which method you choose. As for
10:57ranking the strop, you never really use
10:59it on your own but if you combine it
11:01with the dry diamond [music] grit stone
11:03and the splash and go stone as a whole
11:05stone-based sharpening system, then that
11:06would be the first S-tier combination
11:08altogether and my recommendation for the
11:11perfectionist enthusiast.
11:14If you're willing to spend the money for
11:15the right collection of stones and take
11:17the time to learn how to use them
11:19properly, then an enthusiast can use
11:21these stones to sharpen any blade of any
11:24shape to the exact specifications that
11:26they'd like. But you do need to put in
11:28the hours to learn how to do this
11:29properly or sharpening with any stone is
11:32going to feel like more of a B or C tier
11:35option. Maybe I'm an idiot. I'm sure the
11:37comment section will [music] let me
11:38know. But, if using whetstones was that
11:41easy, then there wouldn't be so many
11:42videos online debating how to use them.
11:45>> [music]
11:45>> Idiot or not, I'm trying to approach
11:47these methods from the mindset of an
11:49average home cook. [music] So, I'm just
11:51keeping that in mind. For some people,
11:53sharpening with stones can be a calming
11:55and meditative hobby that you actually
11:57look forward to. So, if that's you, go
12:00for it. But, if it's not, let's move on
12:02to test out fixed-angle sharpeners
12:04[music] and rolling knife sharpeners.
12:07Both of these systems have the same
12:08basic design, which is effectively the
12:10opposite of whetstones. Instead of
12:13securing the base and moving the knife,
12:15you secure the knife in place and move
12:16the grinding surface at a fixed angle in
12:19relation to the knife to sharpen it
12:21consistently. The idea being that you
12:22can get the same results as a stone, but
12:25without any of the practice. If that
12:27sounds too good to be true,
12:28let's find out. First, let's look at
12:30fixed-angle systems. When it comes to
12:32sharpening with one of these things,
12:34maybe there is no learning curve. But,
12:36to set one of these things up, you do
12:38have to spend some time reading through
12:40the directions and kind of IKEA-ing the
12:42whole rig together, making any
12:44adjustments to your personal kitchen as
12:45needed. There are a lot of different
12:47styles and prices of fixed-angle
12:49systems. So, I bought the cheaper option
12:52to test the style first and then figured
12:54I could upgrade to better stones if I
12:56actually liked how it worked. [music]
12:58But, I absolutely hated this thing. It
13:01didn't sharpen very well, no surprise.
13:03Like I said, it has really cheap stones.
13:06But, the main issue was this thing just
13:07felt super dangerous and sketchy, not
13:10just because it's on a cutting board. I
13:12don't have a lip on the edge of my
13:14counter, so I had to put the whole rig
13:16on the edge of a cutting board and hang
13:17it over a little bit to make it work.
13:19The whole thing has a lot of moving
13:20parts, and if each one shifts by just 1°
13:23or has a little bit of give, then the
13:25whole idea of a fixed angle is
13:27completely gone. And the process of
13:29holding an exposed edge directly towards
13:31your stomach and then [music] pulling it
13:32towards you just felt super dangerous
13:34every time I did it. And if you're
13:36swapping stones and flipping the knife
13:37each time like you should, there are
13:39just a lot of moving parts and a lot of
13:41chances for things to go really, really
13:43wrong. Even with an upgrade to a more
13:45expensive version of this with better
13:47stones, easier setups, and better
13:48stability, [music]
13:49I still think the only real use case for
13:52this system is knives that have a curve
13:54in the belly that's hard to reach with
13:56other methods. But kitchen knives don't
13:58ever really have that curved belly
14:00profile, so for home cooks, fixed angle
14:03systems go in the D tier. The other no
14:06learning curve option is rolling [music]
14:08knife sharpeners. Rolling sharpeners use
14:10a magnetic base to hold the knife at a
14:12specific angle, typically 20°
14:15or 15°, then vertical discs will grind
14:17down the edge of the knife at a
14:18consistent angle. Just like with
14:20whetstones, you alternate sides as you
14:22reduce pressure, and the result is a
14:24perfectly symmetrical [music] edge with
14:26the proper angle. At first, I thought
14:28that rolling knife sharpeners sharpened
14:30the knives with the wrong direction or
14:32scratch pattern, but when I looked
14:33closely, [music] I saw that the rotating
14:35discs actually grind diagonally, which
14:38ended up producing a similar scratch
14:39pattern to [music] whetstones. But
14:41unlike whetstones, rolling knife
14:43sharpeners are pretty dummy proof. You
14:45don't even need to read the
14:46instructions, but you should because
14:48there are some helpful tips in there
14:50like how to use it with larger knives by
14:52placing the roller onto a cutting board,
14:54which otherwise would have taken me some
14:55time to figure out on my own. The whole
14:57operation doesn't really take that much
14:59force, and the magnets are super strong.
15:02So even though the knife edge is facing
15:03up, I felt like I could monitor it
15:05really well with one hand while the
15:07other one rolled. Personally, I would
15:08feel comfortable letting my mom or my
15:10young nieces and nephews use one of
15:12these things. Shout out to my nieces and
15:15nephews. The only thing that I kind of
15:16had to figure out was how to turn the
15:18barrel when I got to the tip of some of
15:20my curved knives, but that only took
15:21like a minute to figure out, and then it
15:23was pretty easy. Most rolling sharpeners
15:25come with a diamond [music] grinding
15:27disc, which is the same diamond material
15:29as the dry whetstone, and the other side
15:31has a ceramic or metal honing disc,
15:33similar to the 1200 grit side. With just
15:35these two surfaces, I was able to get my
15:37knife sharp enough to easily pass the
15:39pull test, but it took a little finesse
15:41to pass the razor sharp test. Similar to
15:44stones, for the right price, there are
15:46lots of upgrades for a finer edge. You
15:49can swap the diamond discs for some fine
15:503000 grit or extra fine 6000 grit stone
15:54discs. You can upgrade the base for more
15:56angles from 10 to 25 degrees, and you
15:58can and should use a leather strop after
16:01you're done sharpening to remove the
16:02burr and get your edge seriously razor
16:05sharp. One small downside is you can't
16:08use rolling sharpeners with knives that
16:09have full length bolsters that go all
16:11the way down to the heel of the knife.
16:13The roller just bumps up against it,
16:15[music] and you can't reach the full
16:16length of the blade. But, and this is
16:18another big butt, the biggest downside
16:21for rolling sharpeners is the
16:23variability in price [music] and
16:25quality. You can buy a rolling sharpener
16:26for under 10 bucks and get a knockoff
16:28with fake diamond grinding discs and
16:30crappy magnets that doesn't even work as
16:32a good paperweight.
16:36But even above $100, there are still
16:38lots of knockoffs, and at this point,
16:40they're even knockoffs of the knockoffs.
16:43So you need to make sure that the brand
16:44you're buying from is legit. I made a
16:46whole separate video about this looking
16:48into the quality of knockoff rolling
16:50knife sharpeners, but because I take
16:52brand recommendations on this channel
16:54very seriously, I would only recommend a
16:57rolling knife sharpener from the brand
16:59>> [music]
16:59>> Horl. This video is not sponsored, by
17:01the way, but I have worked with Horl in
17:03the past and will continue to work with
17:05them in the future. With that in mind, I
17:06would buy other rolling knife sharpener
17:08brands at your own risk, but from Horl,
17:10I would rank a base model with a
17:12stainless steel honing disc as a B tier
17:14option, and I would put an upgraded
17:16model with a ceramic honing disk and the
17:18ability to upgrade to even [music] finer
17:20stones in the A tier because then if you
17:23do upgrade to finer stones, a base with
17:25more options for sharpening angles and
17:27finish with a leather strop, then I
17:29think you have an S tier sharpening
17:31system and my personal recommendation
17:33for the busy home cook. It's fast, easy,
17:36[music] and looks good on the
17:37windowsill. What more do you need?
17:40Oh, you need faster and cheaper options?
17:42Well, let's move on to some pull-through
17:45sharpeners. First, the V-groove
17:47sharpeners. These use a hard tungsten
17:49carbide or ceramic V to shave down the
17:52sides of your knife to sharpen it. These
17:55are really cheap and super fast, but
17:57they literally just rip metal off the
17:59edge of your knife and leave giant
18:01grooves in the edge running in the
18:02completely wrong direction. This leaves
18:05your edge full of giant scraggly strips
18:07of metal and it will dull quickly as you
18:09use it. If you take a sharp knife to one
18:11of these, it will literally make the
18:13knife duller. So, V-groove sharpeners
18:16belong firmly in the F tier. Forget
18:19about it. Next up, the Never Dull knife
18:21sharpener. This normally comes as part
18:23of a $200 knife block, but I bought it
18:25separately because it's cheaper that way
18:28and it only costs $85. Basically, you
18:31put the knife into the device and just
18:32slide this little handle up and down,
18:34which rotates ceramic disks up the edge
18:37of the blade. Then it resets and you do
18:39it again 10 times until the knife is
18:41sharp. Not surprisingly, this device was
18:43not compatible with most of the knives
18:45that I own because it's designed only
18:46for the knives that come in the knife
18:48block. But even with the knife that it
18:50came with, it didn't really even work
18:53that well or
18:55at all. The Never Dull should be called
18:57the Never Sharp. I'm ranking this in the
18:59D tier, but only to save room for the
19:01entire knife block, which belongs in the
19:03F tier. Forget about it.
19:06Next up, the electric pull-through. This
19:08sharpener has two coarse sandpaper disks
19:11that spin as you set the knife against
19:12the fixed angle guide and alternate
19:14sides. The wheels gradually slow down on
19:17their own and after a quick minute, you
19:18just pull the knife against the honing
19:20wheel to clean up the edge and the knife
19:22is sharp. There's a little wiggle room
19:24to mess up or scratch the sides of your
19:25knives on accident, but I think the way
19:27this machine is designed is pretty
19:29intuitive. You mess anything up, it's
19:31your fault and not theirs. For $60, this
19:34actually works pretty well. The knife
19:36isn't razor sharp, but it's definitely
19:38sharp enough for most home cooks to be
19:40happy and the edge stood up well to some
19:42basic use. However, I would not
19:44recommend this to anyone with harder
19:46steel knives because the floppy grinding
19:49discs couldn't provide enough force to
19:51sharpen the harder steel. Plus with only
19:53a 20° sharpening guide and no upgrades
19:55to fine grit discs, your options for
19:57high-level sharpening are severely
20:00limited. So with all that in mind, I
20:01would put the electric pull-through
20:02sharpener in the [music] C tier. It
20:05works well for what it can do, but it
20:07can't do a lot. Next, the electric belt
20:10sharpener. [music]
20:11As its name suggests, this tool uses
20:13belts to grind away the steel. It also
20:15has a guide in order to set your knife
20:17at either 25° for pocket knives or 27°
20:20for kitchen knives. This version costs
20:23$90, but there is a $170 model if you
20:26want to sharpen to a specific angle
20:28between 15 and 30°. [music]
20:30But angle variety is not the main issue
20:33I had with this [music] sharpener. I
20:34don't think it's crazy to notice, but
20:36this thing does not belong in a kitchen.
20:39First off, the belt just sprays metal
20:40shavings into the air and then all over
20:42the counter around you. Plus, it's
20:45really loud and I would have a lot of
20:48safety concerns if I were to recommend
20:50this to anyone who didn't have
20:51experience [music] with power tools. At
20:54one point, I almost accidentally grinded
20:56through the power cable while it was
20:57powered on, which may very well have
20:59been the result of poor multitasking,
21:01but it just goes to show you that any
21:03error made with a power tool is going to
21:06escalate quickly. However, at the end of
21:08the day, all of that doesn't even matter
21:09because the belt sharpener didn't even
21:12get my knives that [music] sharp because
21:14the 20-degree angle and the slack in the
21:16belts created a convex edge geometry
21:19that just doesn't [music] cut it,
21:21literally. I give this a C-tier ranking
21:24for home cooks looking to sharpen their
21:25knives in the kitchen. And if you're
21:27left-handed, then you should absolutely
21:29forget about it.
21:31The next method is a super easy
21:32technique that I adapted [music] from a
21:34method I saw on Cedric and Ada Gear and
21:36Outdoors. He tried to reason with the
21:38knife to sharpen it, but I felt like my
21:40dry and abrasive wit would be more
21:42successful. What do a dull knife and
21:44arguing with knife nerds in the comment
21:46section have in common?
21:48They're both pointless.
21:52Unsurprisingly, this did not sharpen the
21:54knife, but [music] it still ranks above
21:56the V-groove sharpeners and the knife
21:58block because it didn't damage the knife
22:00or cost hundreds of dollars. So, using
22:02your wit to wet is D-tier. And for the
22:05final three methods, let's look at some
22:07hands-free options with some great
22:09results. If you have a real knife
22:10collection or a blade that's chipped or
22:12bent, mail-in services are a pretty good
22:15option. There's zero learning curve, and
22:17your knives will be razor sharp because
22:19they're being sharpened by a
22:20professional like Chloe. When it comes
22:22to price, though, most mail-in services
22:25only start to make sense or even offer a
22:27package if you're shipping four or more
22:29knives. That way, you can get the
22:31divided cost to around 10 to $15 per
22:34knife. But obviously, because you're not
22:35doing this yourself, the costs will add
22:37up long term. And while the service is
22:39quick, the whole process of mailing,
22:41sharpening, and returning your knives
22:43can take between 1 and 2 weeks, during
22:45which you don't have your knives. So,
22:48I'd recommend this service for people
22:49with five knives so they can send four
22:51in for sharpening while still using one
22:53to cook with and to open the package
22:55with when it comes back in the mail.
22:57Solid A-tier option for home cooks who
22:59just want their knives to be sharpened
23:01with as little effort as possible. But,
23:03if you only have one knife and want it
23:04sharpened as cheaply as possible, then I
23:06would find a local knife sharpener. The
23:09pro of finding a local knife sharpener
23:12is literally the pro knife sharpener.
23:14This is Steven Chick, aka Steven
23:16Sharpens, and he's a local knife
23:18sharpener who sharpens knives all around
23:20the city of Los Angeles. Just like
23:21mail-in services, local knife sharpeners
23:23have all of the skills and tools to get
23:25your knife razor sharp. But, because
23:28they're local, they can get it done
23:30quickly. Steven, how long does it take
23:32you to sharpen a knife?
23:34>> Usually, customers drop off their
23:35knives, do their grocery shopping, and
23:37then they pick it up in like 20 minutes
23:39or so. That's if they bring like four or
23:41five knives. But, per knife, takes maybe
23:43like two to five minutes depending on
23:45the condition.
23:45>> And you can sharpen any knife, right?
23:48>> I can sharpen that, yeah. Is that a
23:49machete?
23:50>> Yes.
23:50>> Yeah. Yeah, no problem. I get those
23:51every now and then.
23:52>> What are some of the craziest knives
23:54that you have sharpened?
23:55>> The craziest, I would say it was
23:56probably this replica anime sword. This
24:00guy spent like three to maybe 5,000 on
24:03it. I needed to be very careful with
24:05that thing.
24:05>> Are there any knife sharpening methods
24:07that you think home cooks should avoid?
24:09>> I would avoid using those pull-through
24:11sharpeners. They could take off a lot of
24:13steel. You don't always get the angles
24:14right. So, people,
24:16>> [music]
24:16>> when they bring in those knives after
24:17using the pull-throughs for a few years,
24:20you could tell it's very noticeable. The
24:22knife will have gotten much shorter,
24:24much thicker, and it's just really
24:26shortened the lifespan of that knife.
24:27>> And if someone wants to sharpen knives
24:29themselves, what do you recommend?
24:31>> If you want to sharpen knives at home, I
24:32would recommend one of those rolling
24:34knife sharpeners. Those maintain the
24:35angle pretty well. You can maintain the
24:38edge with a honing rod. Otherwise, take
24:41the time and get a wetstone and and
24:43practice with that. That'll get you some
24:44good results, too.
24:45>> People ask me this all the time, but how
24:47often should you sharpen your knives?
24:49>> Yeah, great question. I get asked that
24:51all the time, too.
24:52It depends. Cooks, chefs, they'll come
24:54every two, or weeks. The average home
24:57cook,
24:58I would say probably once or twice a
25:00year would be pretty good. Maybe every
25:02like six months or so, I would say is a
25:04good rule of thumb.
25:05>> And last question, how much do you
25:07charge per knife?
25:08>> For a chef knife, just a flat $12 per
25:10knife.
25:11>> Which is a pretty good deal for somebody
25:12who only has one knife that they need
25:14sharpened once or maybe twice a year.
25:17The only real con here is that services
25:18like this will often operate on their
25:20own schedule, setting up in different
25:22areas on different days, which may not
25:24be the most convenient way to get your
25:26knives sharp when you need them to be.
25:28Still, as a small business owner and
25:30inventor of the Magmitt magnetic oven
25:32mitts and magnetic hot pads, I strongly
25:34recommend supporting small businesses
25:36and rank local sharpeners as an S-tier
25:39option. And my selection for the bargain
25:42hunter. Sometimes the best way to
25:43sharpen your knives is to stay humble,
25:45step aside, and let a professional do
25:47it. But, the best overall S++ tier
25:51ranking method isn't [music] any of
25:53these. Because everyone has different
25:55obstacles. If the obstacle is money, go
25:57to a local sharpener and get your knives
25:59sharp for just $12. And if your
26:01obstacle's time, you can use a rolling
26:03sharpener like I do. And if your
26:05obstacle is effort, there is nothing
26:07wrong with just [music] mailing in your
26:08knives to a professional. Just ignore
26:11the whetstone purists who are judging
26:12you and get back to enjoying what you
26:15like doing. Which, for me, is cooking.
26:18Because the best overall sharpening
26:19method is the one you'll actually use.
26:23If you found this video helpful, please
26:24click the like button on your way out
26:26and check out the description if you
26:27need a link to any of the products that
26:29I featured in this video. And if you
26:31want to learn about the actual process
26:33of sharpening your knives at home, then
26:35click on this video. And if there's no
26:37video there yet, I'm still working on
26:39it. So, subscribe and I'll see you in
26:41the next one.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of I Ranked Every Knife Sharpening Method (According to Science) by TriggTube, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 5,288 words across 774 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.