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I was sharpening my boning knife wrong for a decade until a guy in Omaha showed me his trick | Butchers - Vivisector

I was sharpening my boning knife wrong for a decade until a guy in Omaha showed me his trick

I always sharpened my main boning knife on a 1000-grit stone, thinking a fine edge was best for clean cuts. For years, I'd get frustrated when it would drag and stick in silverskin, especially on beef rounds. Last month, I was helping out a buddy at his shop in Omaha, and he watched me for a minute. He said, 'You're polishing it too much for that job,' and handed me his knife. He uses a 400-grit edge, which feels almost rough, and it just glides through connective tissue. I tried it on a pork shoulder the next day and the difference was huge. So, is a toothier, lower-grit edge actually better for boning, or is a polished edge still the right call for some tasks? What's your sharpening setup for different knives in the shop?

5 comments

5 Comments

alice9284mo ago

Oh man, that Omaha guy unlocked something for you! I had a similar moment but with kitchen shears of all things. I was trying to debone a whole chicken with my nice scissors and they kept slipping off the joints. An old line cook at a diner I worked at told me to stop cleaning the oil off the blades so much. He said a little bit of grease helps the scissors grab the cartilage instead of sliding right off. I felt like an idiot but it worked way better. Sometimes the "wrong" messy way is actually the right way for the job.

patriciarivera6mo ago

Sounds like you spent ten years polishing a butter knife. A coarse edge bites where a smooth one just slips.

xena8316mo ago

That "coarse edge bites" line from @patriciarivera is spot on. It reminds me of sharpening old wood chisels in my dad's garage. I'd get them mirror-smooth on a fine stone, but they'd just skate over the wood. Then he'd show me how a few quick passes on the rough side of the stone gave it real teeth that dug in and worked. The smooth finish looked nicer, but the rough one actually did the job.

felixm296mo ago

Totally get that with the chisels. It's like a saw blade, right? A super fine one just polishes the wood, but you need those rough teeth to actually cut. Your dad knew his stuff.

evan_davis4mo ago

My granddad was a carpenter for 45 years and he said the same thing about his planes. He'd watch me spend an hour getting a blade to a mirror finish and just shake his head. Said a tool that's too smooth is just a piece of metal that looks pretty. That lesson stuck with me through a lot of stuff where I was focused on making things perfect instead of making them work.