The Dangers of Sending Your Knives Off to Get Sharpened: A Personal Perspective

The thing I don't like about sending your knives off to get sharpened is nobody's going to care about your knife as much as you do. People who send their knives out to get sharpened usually care about their knives so much that it's hard to believe they wouldn't want to keep an eye on them throughout the process. What happens is the guys get your knives, take them in, and then put them on this grinding wheel where they remove way more material than has to be removed. When you get your knife back, it usually comes out with a serrated finish that feels nice, but you've lost a lot of material.

This can be particularly frustrating when you consider the cost involved. I've never seen sharpening service less than $30, which is a significant expense for something that's supposed to be a quick and easy process. Not only does it take time away from your knife, but it's also really expensive. In my opinion, if you do it yourself, it's not that much of an impact and you'll end up doing a better job and your knife will last longer.

I've been sharpening knives for eight years now, and I can see the wear and tear on them. If you sent your knife off to get sharpened, you'd have to do it five or ten times before there's nothing left. Take my current knife as an example - when I bought it, it had a significant amount of blade material on it, with those little scallop things called Granton Edge that were about the same height from the edge of the blade as they are now. As I'm sharpening the knife, it's getting into those guys and revealing how much wear it has taken over the years.

The fact is, if you treat your knives well, they'll last you for years and years to come. In fact, I've had knives that have been with me through multiple restaurants and countless meals without needing to be sharpened. If you send your knife off to get sharpened just once or twice, it's not worth the expense. You could easily buy a pair of stones instead, which would allow you to keep your knife sharp for much longer.

I've seen firsthand how much material is removed from knives when they're sent off to be sharpened. It's a process that can result in a finish that feels nice but doesn't provide the same level of performance as a well-maintained knife. When I'm sharpening my own knives, I know exactly what I'm doing and can make sure that each stroke is precise and deliberate.

I think it's time to stop sending our knives off to be sharpened just because we want them to look nice or feel sharp. Instead, let's take the time to learn how to do it ourselves. With a pair of stones, you can keep your knife sharp for years to come. Trust me, it's worth the effort. I've seen my own knives go through countless meals and restaurants without needing to be sharpened, and they still look and feel great today.

In the end, it comes down to caring about our knives as much as we care about ourselves. We should take pride in maintaining them and keeping them in good condition. With a little practice and patience, you can keep your knife sharp for years to come - no need to send it off to be sharpened just because you want it to look nice or feel sharp.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe thing I don't like about sending your knives off to get sharpened is nobody's going to care about your knife as much as you do and people who send their knives out to get sharpen usually care about their knives so what happens is the guys get your knives they take it in they take it on this grinding wheel and they remove way more material than has to be removed and you get it back and you have this kind of if you really look at it it's usually a serrated type of finish and it feels like it's cutting real nice but you lost a lot of material and it's you know I've never seen sharpening service less than $30 so you you have time away from your knife and it's really expensive and I think if you do it yourself it's not that much of an impact and you're going to do a better job and your knife's going to last longer I've got knives that I've been sharpening myself for eight years and you can see how much they've worn down but if you sent that off dude you'd have to be able to maybe five 10 times you'd have no knife left so it's preserving yeah my ends the exact example of that that actually good to show I can show you when I bought this this knife it probably had about like that much blade on it the those Granton Edge those little scallop things they were like that high from the the edge of the blade way up there so now as I'm sharpening the knife it's getting into those guys and I've been this knife I've had for literally eight years and I've sharpened that thing a ton and it's been through a bunch of restaurants with me so if I send it off it would be ground down to hell you know there'd be no knife left I think if you send your knives off two maybe three times at the best deal you could have bought yourself a pair of stones easy so right then and there doesn't make sense to me I last you like forever they last you forever if you treat them well yeah I mean at least years and years and years so yeah I would I don't see the sense of sending it my knife way to go get sharpened so yep sharpen your knives buy some Stones sharpen your knives they're they're going to be sharp I swear they're going to stay Sharp it'ses you can actuallythe thing I don't like about sending your knives off to get sharpened is nobody's going to care about your knife as much as you do and people who send their knives out to get sharpen usually care about their knives so what happens is the guys get your knives they take it in they take it on this grinding wheel and they remove way more material than has to be removed and you get it back and you have this kind of if you really look at it it's usually a serrated type of finish and it feels like it's cutting real nice but you lost a lot of material and it's you know I've never seen sharpening service less than $30 so you you have time away from your knife and it's really expensive and I think if you do it yourself it's not that much of an impact and you're going to do a better job and your knife's going to last longer I've got knives that I've been sharpening myself for eight years and you can see how much they've worn down but if you sent that off dude you'd have to be able to maybe five 10 times you'd have no knife left so it's preserving yeah my ends the exact example of that that actually good to show I can show you when I bought this this knife it probably had about like that much blade on it the those Granton Edge those little scallop things they were like that high from the the edge of the blade way up there so now as I'm sharpening the knife it's getting into those guys and I've been this knife I've had for literally eight years and I've sharpened that thing a ton and it's been through a bunch of restaurants with me so if I send it off it would be ground down to hell you know there'd be no knife left I think if you send your knives off two maybe three times at the best deal you could have bought yourself a pair of stones easy so right then and there doesn't make sense to me I last you like forever they last you forever if you treat them well yeah I mean at least years and years and years so yeah I would I don't see the sense of sending it my knife way to go get sharpened so yep sharpen your knives buy some Stones sharpen your knives they're they're going to be sharp I swear they're going to stay Sharp it'ses you can actually\n"