Biggest knife sins?

[Tucson Tom]

Being a ex butcher I always end up having to sharpen knives when we stay at friends. The amount of chopping boards I have thrown out the door. ( being a big loud guy helps not getting kicked out afterwards ) Most listen and have a nice wooden one on return.

I like this a lot.

[z4vdBt]

to need one and not have it.

[Tims]

No real sins for me. Your knife, do what you want with it.

I’ve seen some cringy things people do with their knives though. Sharpening serrations out by treating it like a plain edge comes to mind.

[Cambertree]

Being a ex butcher I always end up having to sharpen knives when we stay at friends. The amount of chopping boards I have thrown out the door. ( being a big loud guy helps not getting kicked out afterwards ) Most listen and have a nice wooden one on return.

The amount of times I have changed the thinking on knives to Two knives for $100 is better than a $600 block set in non knife people is alarming. I usually set them up with two knives that will do most jobs, get a steel that they can use $50 so usually $150 all in and nearly everyone talks about how they are enjoying the sharpest knives they have had in their life.

BBQs at my house I always have someone ohh ahh,ing whilst I am cutting stuff up in the kitchen and looking at knives.

Put a Burt Foster laminated - Talon EDC on the cheese platter last dinner party and blew everyone away with how sharp a knife could be. Still giggle when the misses comes home and says her friends are still talking about how sharp the cheese knife was.
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Good one Standy. :)

Yeah, I’m much the same in that when people ask for advice on ‘good brands of knife blocks’ I say forget the block and just tell me how much you wanted to spend. Then I recommend a good chef knife for about 80% of that amount and a serrated bread knife and a decent little parer with the rest, and they’re set.

I need to work on teaching people to sharpen and steel knives though. Some people want to learn, but most give the smart alec reply ‘why would I need to learn how to sharpen when you’ll sharpen my tools for me!’ *sigh*

Those Foster knives look amazing. Yeah, it’s a kick watching peoples eyes widen when they use a truly sharp knife for the first time.

[Evil D]

Pull through sharpeners, bench grinders, using them as screwdrivers/scrapers/prybars.

With the exception of the TORMEK unit ( wet, water cooled grinder) nothing powered by electricity should ever be used on a knife.>> even a low quality knife deserves much better than that.

Also using a knife for anything other than it's intended uses is usually always bad and comes back to haunt you.

Personally I won't even use a water cooled powered sharpener, I just don't like how fast they are. That seems to be exactly the appeal for most people but to me it just means I can screw a knife up faster and remove too much steel faster. I would be ok using one for cheap kitchen knives or a lawnmower blade but not my pocket knives. It's more an issue with not trusting myself enough to not screw it up than not trusting the equipment.

I sometimes think back to my childhood years when I used the electric can opener's "sharpener" on my knives and I cringe.

[Zachreed1]

Pull through sharpeners, bench grinders, using them as screwdrivers/scrapers/prybars.

With the exception of the TORMEK unit ( wet, water cooled grinder) nothing powered by electricity should ever be used on a knife.>> even a low quality knife deserves much better than that.

Also using a knife for anything other than it's intended uses is usually always bad and comes back to haunt you.

Personally I won't even use a water cooled powered sharpener, I just don't like how fast they are. That seems to be exactly the appeal for most people but to me it just means I can screw a knife up faster and remove too much steel faster. I would be ok using one for cheap kitchen knives or a lawnmower blade but not my pocket knives. It's more an issue with not trusting myself enough to not screw it up than not trusting the equipment.

I sometimes think back to my childhood years when I used the electric can opener's "sharpener" on my knives and I cringe.

I inherited a tormek from my grandfather, otherwise I likely wouldn’t spend that kind of money on a sharpener. There are two configurations on the tormek allowing you to sharpen towards or away from the spine of the knife. Even sharpening towards the spine doesn’t remove material very quickly, but if you sharpen away from the spine it is a very slow and safe process. I’ve ruined knives faster on coarse bench stones than on my tormek. Once you get past the slight learning curve the tormek is a fool proof method.

[marty_bill_]

Well using my $1600 cqc 6 to turn a rusty screw and putting a huge chip in the blade. That was pretty sinful if you ask me! Down right dumb!

:eek: you win. Makes me cringe, and yet also makes me strangely jealous? :D

Well yeah, I used the **** outta that 6 and loved every minute. It at the spa now hopefully getting fixed up. That's 1 that took a beaten.
No Safe Queens!

[James Y]

Probably the worst knife sin I’ve ever read about is someone posted on a thread on Bladeforums that he buys Victorinox paring knives for the kitchen...this isn’t the sin; the sin is he said they’re “so cheap” that when the knife starts losing its sharpness he throws it away and buys another. One of the laziest, most ridiculous and wasteful things I’ve ever heard.

I use Victorinox kitchen knives, and it only takes SECONDS to restore the edges on the fine rods of my Sharpmaker.

Jim