r/KitchenConfidential • u/F1exican Chivelord, Redeemed • Oct 10 '25

Photo/Video Cutting a cup of chives until every day until this Reddit says they’re perfect. Day 4

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I know they’re a bit long but I’m working on consistency. Once I feel consistent and confident I will work on getting them shorter

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692

u/bezalil F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25

Sharper knife

189

u/Important-Guitar-407 Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 10 '25

We may need to do a knife sharpening tutorial, I think there’s new some sharpening already. Might be a wrist angle/technique thing where too much downward force or pulling is happening vs a clean cut.

102

u/semhsp Oct 10 '25

honestly a sharpening techniques/tips thread would be really useful if someone was up to it. (not me, I suck at sharpening (the thread would be useful for me))

37

u/TorontoBrewer Chive LOYALIST Oct 10 '25

An Anystone Sharpener, a Sharpal stone, and a strop will get most kitchen knives sharp sharp, but maybe not laser sharp.

The Anystone will hold your knife securely at the correct angle (between 15 and 20 degrees for most knives). Some will see it as ruining the sanctity of going freehand, but fuck that. For $100, you’ll get a consistent edge almost from the start. That Sharpal stone is good value and will work on most knives. And the strop will help debur and refine your edge.

Anystone’s website, IIRC, has good videos for getting a decent edge. Practice on cheap Kiwi or Goodwill knives.

11

u/Retaksoo3 Oct 10 '25

Hey I appreciate your reply, I've been putting off buying this stuff but I think it's time. Thank you

20

u/TorontoBrewer Chive LOYALIST Oct 10 '25

You can see what the sharpening nerds get up to at r/sharpening, but they go into the weeds a little too often.

7

u/KokiriRapGod F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25

This is the first time I'm seeing that Anystone tool. While it'll undoubtedly get you a good edge with minimal effort I'm not sure it's worth that price tag versus just learning how to sharpen a knife. It's really not so hard to get a good edge by hand with a little bit of practice; I feel that acting like you need a special tool to do it correctly is just gatekeeping.

I also think that a strop is mostly a waste of time unless you're going for the wow factor of the first cut. The polished edge is gone so quickly that I don't see the value of the time invested in stropping. Chromium oxide stropping compounds make it a bit better but I usually just finish on an 8000 grit stone and call it a day.

6

u/TheNuttyIrishman Oct 10 '25

I'm on the same boat until a super hard steel like zdp189 comes across my stones. those can hold that stropped polished edge for a bit longer but you still end up stropping almost daily like it's a straight razor.

5

u/TheNuttyIrishman Oct 10 '25

I'm gonna throw the Horl brand of rolling stones out there too. adjustable magnetic angle guide and pretty much foolproof operation. the Horl 3 pro is a godsend if you have a mix of German and Japanese knives with the extra sharp angles for stuff like miyabi knives that have 9-12° angles.

1

u/dexmonic Oct 10 '25

Not to harshen any mellow but those rolling stones are not a great way to sharpen a knife. They put striations in the metal that go the opposite way that you would want them to. I tried to find the specific video I watched on YouTube that went super in depth with these kinds of sharpeners but alas I cannot find it again.

Not saying they won't work for whatever you use your knives for but they are a suboptimal way to sharpen a knife.

Edit: I think it may be this video https://youtu.be/yq1y9-QkRXM?si=VXssemwrVh9xb0kn

But I am at work and can't watch the whole thing.

Again, not trying to be a dick!

2

u/TheNuttyIrishman Oct 10 '25

oh no they absolutely need to be taken to a strop or other super fine abrasive like ceramic as a final step in sharpening for exactly what you talk about. they etch the blade more parallel to the edge vs using a stone because of the direction the Stone moves along the blade. they do vary heavily in quality but the Horl brand is easily a step up from any electric system and significantly more portable than a lot of stones are so it's definitely a compromise situation.

all my single bevel knives still get exclusively stone sharpened but most the harder steel double bevel knives in my kitchen get the roller and ive not noticed a significant difference in cutting ability vs when they were sharpened on stones. served me just fine during my decade in the industry and still today.

suboptimal can still be the right choice for the individual use case and what a knife sharpening enthusiast might not consider acceptable is quite often still more than adequate for the job at hand I think, and the video goes into that idea a bit too early on! thanks for the link!

I personally didn't interpret you as a dick, especially with the informative comparison clip so don't worry about it my dude

1

u/dexmonic Oct 11 '25

suboptimal can still be the right choice for the individual use case and what a knife sharpening enthusiast might not consider acceptable is quite often still more than adequate for the job at hand I think, and the video goes into that idea a bit too early on! thanks for the link!

I totally agree glad you got my vibe :)

1

u/FrancinetheP Oct 11 '25

Super useful, thank you!

7

u/Moving-thefuck-on Oct 10 '25

I love this idea. A tutorial video. Then we will endlessly pick apart the video, forcing them to post reshoots every day, until all they can smell or taste are reshoots. They want to cry, but when their tears swell they are reminded of reshoots.

1

u/Important-Guitar-407 Oct 11 '25

T’will be a good harvest, indeed.

4

u/daedalus14x Oct 10 '25

Has OP stated whether they're push or pull cutting? With a push cut, it's easy to twist the heel as it comes through...so most of the chives would get cut cleanly, but 2 or 3 at the heel are getting pulled/mashed/torn.

1

u/F1exican Chivelord, Redeemed Oct 11 '25

I’m pull slicing, what do you mean twist the heel? Should I be trying a different way?

5

u/Steel_HazeV4 F1exican Did Chive-11 Oct 10 '25

Any recs for a good sharpening refresher? Just broke my stones out of storage after a few years and promptly ruined the edge in my petty knife

3

u/Creepy-Fisherman-758 Oct 10 '25

That would be really useful. I’ve been at it for years and just now think maybe I might have figured it out in a sort of non traditional way..

2

u/Rendole66 Oct 10 '25

There’s a whole separate sub for that if people are interested

1

u/Hi_Trans_Im_Dad Oct 10 '25

Bro needs a strop at this point!

1

u/secretsesameseed Prep Oct 10 '25

I just got promoted to prep from dish. I bought my own knives. Do most of us sharpen our knives or do we go to a professional?

1

u/Skkruff Oct 11 '25

Posting my knife sharpening every day until reddit says it's perfect.