I realized I was sharpening my boning knife wrong after a butcher in Boston watched me for 2 minutes

I've been a butcher for about 4 years now, and I always thought I had my sharpening routine down. Last month a older guy at a shop in Boston's North End came over and said I was using way too much pressure and ruining the edge. He showed me how to let the stone do the work with light passes, and now my knives stay sharp 3 times longer. Has anyone else had a basic technique totally flipped on them by a pro?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew_grant528d ago

Oh man, that's exactly what happened to me with my chef's knife a few years back.

the_john8d ago

Yeah, wasn't that just the worst? I had a really nice chefs knife that I saved up for, and after one bad night of rushing through prep it got a nasty chip right near the tip. Totally ruined the whole feel of the blade for me. I tried to sharpen it out a few times but the chip just kept catching on things, drove me crazy. Ended up having to take it to a pro to get it reground, which cost almost as much as the knife itself. Now I'm super careful about what I cut on and never rush no matter how busy I get.