Just realized I've been sharpening my boning knife wrong for years

I was at a little meat shop in rural Tennessee last month, watching this old butcher break down a whole hog. He offered to sharpen my knife while I watched, and I thought "sure, whatever." He pulled out a simple stone, not even a fancy electric sharpener, and showed me how he keeps a consistent angle by drawing a line on the blade with a marker. I had been rocking the blade back and forth like a fool, never getting a true edge. That one trick changed how I think about sharpening completely. Has anyone else had an old-timer teach them something simple that made a big difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

garcia.cameron9d agoMost Upvoted

The "ruining years of your knife" part is a bit off. Learning a better way to sharpen doesn't wreck the knife, it just means you weren't getting the best edge before. The steel is still fine, you just gotta take a little more off to get the right angle now.

ben_fisher10d agoMost Upvoted

Did he charge you extra for that "marker trick" or was it the free dessert after ruining years of your knife?

anthony_jackson319d ago

Bet that marker trick works great till you wash the ink off and forget the angle.