Common Questions we receive from Kitchen professionals

Question: How long have you been sharpening? How were you trained?

1. Both our owner/operator technicians have 10 years of experience sharpening knives for professional kitchens. Both were trained under a master technician who has been sharpening knives since 1985

Question: Describe the process of sharpening an 8-inch blade chef’s knife with your system. What machinery/equipment do you use?

1. We first perform a review of the state the knife. Closely examine if there are any chips or if the knife is broken. If the knife is chipped or broken, which is normal in a professional kitchen. We then grind the knife back to shape. Then we put a new edge at the correct angle. Understanding this angle is where experience counts. After the correct angle is set then we hone the edge to perfect sharpness.

Question: I have an edge that needs to be completely reprofiled. How would you accomplish that?

1. This most likely means that the edge is dull and has lost its angle. In order to get a sharp edge on a dull knife, we would carefully grind the edge with our Kasco Hook-eye grinder. This grinder is very proficient when used with and experience operator. The goal of the grind is to keep the edge consistent from the tip to the handle. Note this is an all hand grind and depending on the thickness of the knife, you judge which angle you can achieve. Additionally, because we are on site we can immediately consult with the knife owner as to exactly the results they would like to achieve with the edge of their tool.

Question: On average, how long should it take? What’s your typical turnaround?

1. The initial meeting can take up to 1 hour when considering the consultation and sharpening. Thereafter, on a regularly scheduled basis for a commercial kitchen typical turnaround is about 20-30 minutes. With additional time required for robo-coupe blades, meat slicers, and other specialized equipment.

Question: Do you sharpen all knives the exact same way? Or do you adapt to the style of the knife? Or to the condition of the knife?

1. Because we service so many commercial kitchens, we have an abundance of knowledge on how to sharpen professional knife sets as well as which type of knife requires us to adapt the edge to the purpose of the blade. We do have special requests that require different techniques. So for example, the condition of the knife may change our approach to the angle we put on the blade. This is always done with consultation with the blade owner.

Question: Do you put a straight knife edge or do a secondary angle? Convex? Anything else?

1. For commercial kitchens we put a straight knife edge on all our knives with the correct angle. Convex is usually used for beauty salon shears.

Question:Do you do Japanese-style knives? What brands are you familiar with?

1. There two types of knife styles to consider when sharpening blades. The first style is what is normally known as German and the other is Japanese. We are proficient at sharpening both styles. While we are familiar with many brands, we recommend Icel. Icel has proven to be a very successful brand for us due to the fact commercial kitchens prefer a wide blade as well as the light and balanced weight. These knives are also designed with sharpening in mind and perform longer than other blades we encounter.

Question:How do you recommend a customer maintain a blade you have sharpened? Why do you recommend it?

1. For a professional kitchen, the staff should sharpen the knife before each use. This results in using a steel sharpener 2-3 times a day. Grinding machines are NOT recommended because the revolutions are too high and the stones are too course and will result in an unbalanced edge. We often consult with our professional clients on the balance of each blade and how to better their sharpening techniques. We provide free workshops for our customers based on our findings concerning their staff’s specific sharpening techniques.

Knife showing where consistent sharpening may wear and require a re-profiling of the blade.