Sharpening knives

[Irie Jan]

yup can see it now, 3 fingers less and a lawnmower blade sticking out of my head

have had my lawnmower 4 years, i'm not sure they really appreciate chopping up the hedge trimmings without being sharpened

Sounds like me there! the lawn mower thing! I had some big weed things in my garden last year; they were tall things with a bamboo like stalk about an inch across, also some dandilyons and stinging nettles in the grass. I just trimed the tall weeds down a bit then picked up the lawn mower and mowed them all over! lol

[lynda66]

i always mow over the hedge trimmings, they compost really quickly compared to just shoving em in ..... and anything else chunky and compostable too

[Rossa]

I gave up on using a steel cos I kept blunting my knives. Wimped out and got one from Lakeland Plastics which you draw the blade through once and it's nice and sharp. My dad has used a steel for 50 years but I bought him the same sharpener for Xmas and he loves it. Says it gives a much better edge and it will do any kind of knife including serrated. Was about £25 so not cheap but should last forever and you can't go wrong with it. Haven't tried it on my shears yet! Not sure I'm that brave.

[Rocketron]

Thanks for all your replies.

[kirsty b]

I was taught to do knives on a steel in my old job (butchery dept at meat factory) but as they wouldn't let me keep my fab 18" steel, I got one of those plastic thingys and its brilliant.

[Rocketron]

I have stumbled upon the solution. Sharpen the knife backwards !
Instead of the blade facing the way you are moving the knife, have the edge to be sharpened facing away from the downstroke, I got the idea watching a chef use a whetstone. 8)

[Polly Fouracre]

My Ma always sharpened her knives on the back-door-step.I think it was made of granite. I always use a carborunum stone, lacking a door-step.

[Old Tom]

A mate of mine who's a rather good chef (no name dropping) told me that when using a steel, first thing to do is work out if you are a 'puller' or a 'pusher'. That is, do you draw the knife towards you or away from you when cutting? If you 'pull' then run the steel from tip to handle (or handle to tip if you 'push'). He also said don't press the steel to the blade too hard - lots of light strokes is better than few heavy ones. Never run 'up and down'
Works for me.

[Hilary B]

I use a gadget called 'Acusharp' sold by "Expert Verdict", it is as near foolproof as they come. No skill needed (which suits me just fine!)