Shoutout to the old school guys who taught me to sharpen by hand, not with a machine

Patricia Chen · 2026-03-11T11:40:06.981827+00:00

I used a powered sharpener for a year at my shop in Springfield. My edges were fine, but they just didn't last. About six months ago, I switched back to a basic 1000/6000 grit whetstone and a steel. The difference is huge. My boning knife now stays sharp for a full eight-hour shift, not just two. I think the machine was taking off too much metal too fast, creating a weaker edge. The hand method gives me more control. Anyone else find that slower sharpening actually saves time in the long run?

sethp265mo ago

Fast and automated makes a weaker version" is so true, I used to think the opposite.

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wendy_murphy166mo ago

Yeah, it's like that with a lot of stuff now. Fast and automated just makes a weaker version of the thing. You see it with bread from a machine versus hand kneaded, even.

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jake2876mo ago

My shop in Dayton runs three Tormek machines and our edges last longer than any hand sharpened blade. Maybe @wendy_murphy16 just had a bad machine?

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