Rant: Choosing between a $40 whetstone kit and a pro grinder for my shop

I finally had to pick between hand sharpening my knives with a basic whetstone set or dropping $800 on a commercial grinder for the counter. I went with the whetstone first because money was tight after rent hit $1,400 in Portland. Took me 45 minutes to get through just 3 steaks before the edge dulled again, and my wrist was screaming. Has anyone else tried doing production work with stones and just given up? I'm about to cave and buy the grinder this weekend.

2 comments

2 Comments

zara_sanchez2d ago

45 minutes for 3 steaks though... maybe the issue isn't the stone. I've seen folks sharpen with a $10 stone faster than that once they get the angle down. Sounds more like a technique problem than a tool problem, honestly. And $800 because you had one bad night? Feels like giving up right when it starts to click. Maybe watch a quick video on pressure and angle first, because a grinder has its own learning curve too. You'll burn the edge off those blades in seconds if you're not careful, and then you're really stuck.

jake_patel14h ago

Honestly I used to be the exact opposite, I thought buying the nice Japanese stones was the only way to get a good edge. But watching the timing thing you mentioned @zara_sanchez kinda made it click, 45 minutes is just too long to be doing something wrong. I'd rather spend that time on a quick video and get the hang of angle first, it's way less painful than dropping $800 and still having to deal with a grinder burn on a $200 knife.