TIL I'd been sharpening my chef's knife wrong for 8 years

Was at a stage in Portland last month and the sous chef watched me for 5 seconds, then said 'you're grinding the edge off with that angle'. He showed me how to do 15 degrees instead of my usual 20 and my knife glides through tomatoes now. Anyone else have a basic skill they realized they were messing up for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

ruby_grant11d ago

Yeah the 15 degree thing is solid but try 11 degrees on a Victorinox, total game changer.

ivan21110d ago

I actually tried that a few years back after watching a woodcarver guy on YouTube swear by it. He was doing spoon carving with like a 9 degree bevel on a Mora, wild stuff. For me 11 degrees on the Vic felt too thin for pocket carry, started getting micro chips after cutting some cardboard. I bumped it back up to 13 and that's been my sweet spot for everyday use. But hey whatever works for your steel and what you're cutting. The fun part is just dialing it in til it feels right in your hand.