Been seeing a lot of new chefs skip the basics of knife sharpening

I was at a pop-up kitchen in Chicago last week helping a buddy prep for a tasting event. Out of 6 line cooks there, only 2 had knives that could actually hold an edge. The rest were just hacking away with dull blades. I asked one kid when he last hit the stones and he said he just uses the honing rod every shift. That rod won't fix a dull edge, it just straightens a bent one. Am I the only one noticing this trend of people skipping actual sharpening?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_martinez3d ago

My first knife sharpening lesson ended with me taking a chunk out of my thumb and the stone flying across the garage, so I get why people avoid it. But that kid using just a honing rod is basically putting lipstick on a pig. I had a cook once insist his knife was "good enough" until we tried to slice a tomato and it just kinda smooshed it into a flat paste. It's like people think sharpening is some mystical skill instead of just learning to hold an angle and being patient for five minutes.

hunt.nora3d ago

@uma_martinez the stone flew across the garage?? lmao that's insane I've never heard of that happening to anyone

shanem373d agoMost Upvoted

Started using a cheap angle guide from Amazon for like 8 bucks to keep my hand steady, and it stops me from wrecking the edge or my fingers. Takes the guesswork out of holding that angle, then you just focus on moving the blade slowly across the stone. After a few tries the muscle memory kicks in and you don't even need the guide anymore, makes a HUGE difference.