Can A Veritas MKII Sharpen Kitchen Knives?

[Derek Arita]

Did a search, but I couldn't find the answer. Can the MKII sharpen kitchen knives and if so, how?

[David DeCristoforo]

That's certainly not what it's designed for. You might be able to figure out some way to hold a knife blade in one but the curve of the typical kitchen knife blade would not be easy to accommodate.

[Jamie Buxton]

I don't see any reason why it can't be used on kitchen knives. Heck, Leonard Lee, Da Man at Veritas, says he sharpens knives on a 1" belt sander. On the Mk II, you'd just free-hand it, holding the knife at what seems like the correct angle, and sliding it along the disc to hit the whole length of the curved knife edge.

[Jason Beam]

A small bit of confusion. When you say Veritas MKII, I don't think of this:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48435&cat=1,43072

Instead, i think of this..

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078&ap=1

I think most of the woodworkers I know are more familliar with the latter, which would put me in line with David - I can't fathom seeing it being helpful at all for knives.

Since you probably meant the former, I can't really speak to that. With freehand techniques all you need, really, is something to sling abrasives around - be that a belt sander, flat disk, grinding wheel, trained mice with stones strapped to them, what have you. It's freehand, so just about any edge is probably possible. The pros usually use a belt sander, a 1" or 2" wide belt with or without a platen (some like it without, some like it with). That's what i've seen the most of.

[David DeCristoforo]

Thanx for the clarification Jason... The honing guide will be virtually useless for knives. The machine will sharpen anything you can get into position.

[Gary Curtis]

The powered machine MK II will not sharpen knives easily. If you were to hold the blade at a 17-degree angle, you could crudely accomplish your goal. I've done it, but it wasn't a good of a result as I would have wished.

The people at Lee Valley answered my question by suggesting to get a cheap belt sander for the knives.

Gary Curtis

[David DeCristoforo]

FWIW I sharpen my kitchen knives with a small hand held diamond "stick" and a chunk of a broken 8000G waterstone. It takes a few minutes at most to get an edge good enough to cut paper thin tomato slices.

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Lee Valley makes a simple jig for knives to be used on stones. It's cheap and it works.

[John Sanford]

For knife sharpening, go to a serious outdoorsman's retailer, such as Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas.

[Nelson Bradley]

The spyderco sharpmaker is probably the easiest system I've found. Not sure what they run now, but I got mine for about $50 a few years ago. It doesn't have guides or clamps. It has 4 ceramic stones that don't require water or oil. It just uses a natural slicing motion and maintains a 30 or 40 degree angle.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

The spyderco sharpmaker is probably the easiest system I've found.
I have to second that recommendation.
I got a Sharpmaker nearly 10 years ago and haven't looked back since.
None of my kitchen knives have even seen a stone in the last ~ 10 years.

The Sharpmaker doesn't remove any metal, it just reforms the wire edge back to straight - ala a butcher's steel. 4 or 5 swipes per side and the knife is back to sharp.

[Bob Marino]

Ok, really dumb question - how about hose knife sharpeners sold in department stores (I am forgeting the name)? Do they do more damage than good?

Bob

[Daren K Nelson]

They make paper wheel sharpening systems ($30) that you use on any bench grinder. One wheel is coated fine abrasive powder the other jewelers rouge. Here is a video of me using mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_KceD0e_WY&feature=channel_page

[Maurice Ungaro]

Ok, really dumb question - how about those knife sharpeners sold in department stores (I am forgeting the name)? Do they do more damage than good?

Bob

Bob, most of those department store sharpeners will "sharpen" but in a crude and aggressive way. The problem is that they take off too much metal and the edge they leave tends to be too "toothy".

Lee Valley rightly suggests using a 1000 grit stone to sharpen kitchen knives, as it leaves the proper amount of tooth on the edge. I mostly use my Makita sharpener (with the 1000 grit wheel) for my kitchen knives, and it does a fast job of them.

For my pocket and sheath knives, I go further and break out my water stones and go up to 8000 grit for a razor sharp slicing edge. For any knife where chopping action is used, I don't go much higher than 1000 grit, because the edge can be damaged. Think about it - do you chop veggies with a razor? No, but you can slice paper thin veggies with one. The same holds true for Sushi knives. These are razor sharp (read: THIN EDGE) in order to do delicate thin slicing, but you can ruin one by chopping with it.

I also have a Lansky system that worked great for years, until I was introduced to water stones. My only limitation with the Lansky (at least the version I have) is that it is limiting with large blades. Incidentally, I still have the Browning combo oilstone (medium/fine) that my brother gave me 34 years ago, with the original box and plastic sheath. I now keep it in my truck for jobsite needs.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Did a search, but I couldn't find the answer. Can the MKII sharpen kitchen knives and if so, how?

Derek,
If you are talking about the Veritas power sharpener, the answer is yes. This is best accomplished freehand, by holding the knife at the desired angle to the surface, and moving the blade along the wheel to dress the entire edge. When done with that side, flip the blade over and repeat. it takes some practice, but it is a skill that you can quickly acquire. As in my post above, I do the same procedure using my Makita sharpener, which is also a horizontal system.

[Derek Arita]

Thanks so much for all of your input. I'll take a look at all suggestions.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I have used a Lansky system for years now for sharpening knives for camping and the kitchen, and for smooth blades, it works great. You can dial in the angle (4 different angles are provided) and it will give you a very clean and repeatable bevel.

Doc

[Ronald Kellison]

I don't see any reason why it can't be used on kitchen knives. Heck, Leonard Lee, Da Man at Veritas, says he sharpens knives on a 1" belt sander. On the Mk II, you'd just free-hand it, holding the knife at what seems like the correct angle, and sliding it along the disc to hit the whole length of the curved knife edge.

I've used that same 1" x 42" belt sander for years. Picked it up off a sale table at my local LV store and put a 1/8 HP furnace motor on it. With the 15-micron belts it takes about 15 seconds to put a great "tomato" edge on any knife with decent steel in it.

I also have the Mk. II honing guide and the Mk. II Power Sharpener. Both are excellent tools but I prefer to sharpen knives with the belt sander.

Regards,


Ron

[Steve Clardy]

I just freehand sharpen my knives on my MKII machine.

[Dave Potter]

I have used a Lansky system for years now for sharpening knives for camping and the kitchen, and for smooth blades, it works great. You can dial in the angle (4 different angles are provided) and it will give you a very clean and repeatable bevel.

DocI'm with Doc. I've used the Lansky system for a few years now. My daughter is a professional chef and up until her current gig (part of her benefit package is professional sharpening of her knives) she had me sharpen her knives for her every month or so. For knives, I don't think you can go wrong with this system.

Dave P.