What is carbon steel?

Because I use carbon and tool steel, they do require a bit of maintenance

 Carbon steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, the carbon ensures that the steel is hardenable.

The higher the carbon percentage, the harder you can harden the knife.

It generally has a finer structure, which means it can be sharpened more finely, which also makes the knife sharper than a stainless steel knife (stainless steel = steel with more than 11% chromium)

Once you have used your knife, it is best to rinse it with lukewarm water, soap and a soft sponge and dry thoroughly with a soft cloth. DO NOT PUT IN THE DISHWASHER

Then apply a thin layer of oil (the most commonly used oil is camellia oil) to the knife.

A food-safe oil for kitchen knives can be used in emergencies, for example olive oil, but not for long-term storage.

For knives that do not process food, you can use WD40.

If you have rust on your knife, this can usually be easily removed with rust remover, but keep in mind that this can discolour your knife.

You can also use a rust eraser to sand away the rust, which will leave small visible scratches on the steel.

A scouring pad with WD40 can also work.

Or you can deliver your knife to me to give a spa treatment.

Do not use pull-through sharpeners: These are harmful to your knife. They remove too much material and do not provide a smooth cutting surface.

Sharpening methods:

• Oil stones: Oil stones are cheaper but last less long and in most cases only up to 1000 grit.
• Before you start sharpening, always apply oil to the stone. This prevents the stone from becoming clogged with metal flakes. Regularly flatten your stone with a flat stone.

• Waterstones can be finer (up to 10,000+ grit).
• You must first place this in water and keep it well wet while sharpening.These are also often stored in water. You should also flatten them regularly

• Diamond plates: These can be used with oil or dry and do not need to be flattened.
• Guide stones: Provide a constant sharpening angle, but are less suitable for larger knives.
• Belt grinders: These are for professional knife sharpeners. Beginners can easily make mistakes, such as overheating the blade.

• Maintain a sharp blade: Use a sharpening steel or strop to straighten out the burr and keep your blade razor sharp.

Belt grinding machine

Because this can quickly lead to mistakes.

For example, your knife can overheat and lose its hardness, meaning it will no longer remain sharp for long.

You can also remove too much steel, which will cause your knife to use up more quickly.

That being said, with some practice it is a very quick way to have a razor sharp knife.

You can sharpen everything from flat and serrated knives, scissors, chisels and axes

Nowadays I use this method for sharpening knives...

This is therefore the fastest way to sharpen a knife.

Can't find the right angle? place your knife flat on the sharpening stone and then lift the spine of the knife. With the cutting edge still on the stone so you can feel the angle. now push your knife over the stone until you have a bur over the intire edge and repete on the other side and true the grits. after this you have a sharp knife now lets make it razor sharrp by stropping  

TIP! COLOR YOUR CUT AREA WITH A PERMANENT MARKER SO YOU CAN BETTER SEE WHERE YOUR SAMPLE IS GOING.

what is a strop and how to use it 

the leather belt that you see barbers useing to sharpening there razors is one type of strop. In this case a piece of leather gleud to a piece of wood treathed whit polishing compound. 

This removes the burr after sharpening or using your knife

And ensures that your sharp knife becomes razor sharp again

Types of compounds

The most common

The polishing compound (is what I use)

The universal usually a light blue color

Chromium usually has a green color

You also have different pastes that you can use for this

How to use your strop?

Place your knife flat on the strop and lift the spine to find the angle of the sharpening surface.

Go over this slightly so that it is really at the apex of the edge and move your knife away from the cutting surface so that you do not cut into the strop

Do this alternately over the entire length of the cutting surface

Until the burr is gone and done

now you have a knive you can shave whit