Chef Knife and Whetstone/Sharpener recommendations

found another video i saw years back while researching these pull through knife sharpeners. They just make the edge worse and worse over time. Saw some video on why Paper cutting test is not a proper test since even bad edges cut paper. Cant find it now.


edit: look what i found

6pack said:

found another video i saw years back while researching these pull through knife sharpeners. They just make the edge worse and worse over time. Saw some video on why Paper cutting test is not a proper test since even bad edges cut paper. Cant find it now.

edit: look what i found

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I think there is a difference between the sharpeners with the V shape blades vs the stone roller model used in IKEA one. The V shape ones ends up with a bad uneven edge that you can almost instantly feel. The IKEA ones are akin to whetsone, where the stone rollers are mounted on a small water tank and need to be sufficiently wet before starting the job.

But again it depends on the quality of the knife as well. Expensive knives need equally expensive sharpening tools and vice versa.

sriharsha_m said:

I think there is a difference between the sharpeners with the V shape blades vs the stone roller model used in IKEA one. The V shape ones ends up with a bad uneven edge that you can almost instantly feel. The IKEA ones are akin to whetsone, where the stone rollers are mounted on a small water tank and need to be sufficiently wet before starting the job.

But again it depends on the quality of the knife as well. Expensive knives need equally expensive sharpening tools and vice versa.

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I don't think there is any difference. I doubt IKEA produces these things. They just mass import from China and slap some local names on the product before selling it. Those even look very much like the Chinese ones on Amazon.

Expensive or cheap - any knife could be made extremely sharp with just whetstones. There's some Japanese guy on YT who buys cheap 100 yen knifes on Amazon JP or Don Ki Hote and uses different grades of whetstones upto 10,000 grit and costing 200,000+ yen to sharpen them. I thought it funny that he used such costly stones to sharpen cheap knifes but he was just showing off his skills. I forgot his YT channel name now but he was trending years back. Probably a pro knife sharpener or something.

altair21 said:

hey, btw have you got any good wok recommendations? I have been looking for one but in local market its only kadais available and the one wok I did find was way to small. I mainly need it for tossing and stiry frying food. Normal Kadais are way too heavy to use

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Pick up a carbon steel wok from a restaurant supply store near you. It will cost you around 1.8-2k for a 2-2.5 ltr capacity one. It works the best; you just have to season it correctly.

Futura also has an anodized wok that is decent for home use: Amazon

If you want a premium experience wok without the hassle of seasoning, I recommend Meyer's SS Non-stick model (the single handle one, comes in a set of 3? 4?). Don't know where to find it tho.

Pro-tip for y'all: If you want to find a restaurant supplier near you, search specifically for 'HoReCa stores' in your vicinity on any search engine. The online presence of our hospitality industry is atrocious as is and its a pain most of days to find businesses online in India.

sriharsha_m said:

I had the same issue of finding the right angle to sharpen on the whetstone, which I need to master someday.
Meanwhile I use the following knife sharpeners from Ikea, which go a good job of sharpening the knifes, compared to several others I had tried before.

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Knife sharpeners harm the metal of knives more than they sharpen it. High risk of micro-chipping and metal getting into your food if you sharpen your knives on a sharpener. The metal can also get brittle and cause an injury if the knife breaks during operation. I know using the stones is a learning curve but its the most efficient and beneficial way to go about this. Just invest the time to learn it or outsource your sharpening to a professional. Stay safe!

Me seeing someone sharpen an expensive knife on a sharpener:

altair21 said:

I cant find any offline, the futura one is too flat for me? i'm looking for something more similar to a Chinese wok for stir-frying and preferably cast-iron (I like to do my own seasoning), but selection is quite scarce online and non-existent locally :/

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You might as well try this one from The Indus Valley then: 4.2L Sheet Iron

It's sadly not cast iron but one made form sheeted iron, but it might be the best one for you if you don't have access to a good one locally. Do let us know with a review how it is if you decide to buy it. I have heard some good things here and there for the brand but I don't have any experience personally with their products.

carbon steel wok

same size and cheaper - https://www.amazon.in/Femora-Cooking-Toxin-Free-Naturally-Non-Stick/dp/B0CBQ6YRRW/

altair21 said:

hey, just saw this, have you used any of them?

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no i haven't used any of them because i have only induction cooktop at home. cannot heat or season these round bottom vessels on induction properly. not enough surface area for contact.
those guys use whatever their super high budget allows them to use. these cheap ones do the job equally well. no reason to not use them.

Chinese type cheap one (not used irl)

altair21 said:

P.S. does anyone here know what wok YFL (Your Food Lab) uses? that one looked good to me as well

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I think its this one