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Thread: Stainless knife

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Stainless knife

    I have an old stainless kitchen knife that will not hold it's sharpness.
    Can stainless be hardened like steel????
    Heat it until a magnet won't stick, and dip in oil.

  2. #2
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    Just get another knife. We have a couple of Farberware from Wallyworld that work great and hold a good edge.
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

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    Quote Originally Posted by abunaitoo View Post
    I have an old stainless kitchen knife that will not hold it's sharpness.
    Can stainless be hardened like steel????
    Heat it until a magnet won't stick, and dip in oil.
    Generally no. Most stainless steels need to be held at temperature for at least 30 minutes and are just air cooled. Stainless is it’s own special animal.
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  4. #4
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    your probably rolling the edge over at the 20* angle, try a 25 or 30* edge.
    stainless steel is steel but with the addition of one more element [chromium or vanadium I forget now]

  5. #5
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    Years ago I went to an industrial supply outlet, primarily set up to cater to the needs of the fishing industry. I bought a small assortment of different sizes/shapes knives. These knives have a non-slip, formed handle and were designed to be used all day, every day. They are "Frost" brand and I believe are similar/same to "Mora" knives made in Sweden. These knives will take and hold a good edge. All that aside, the favorite two knives I have in the kitchen are carbon steel, twenty-five cent yard sale specials.
    R.D.M.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by runfiverun View Post
    your probably rolling the edge over at the 20* angle, try a 25 or 30* edge.
    stainless steel is steel but with the addition of one more element [chromium or vanadium I forget now]
    Any steel with 14% chromium is considered to be stainless. But there are some stainless steels that don’t make very good knives.

    I’m sort of a knife junkie...I easily have over 100 good pocket and hunting knives. In spite of that, the knives we use in the kitchen are either Victorinox or Mora (which aren’t supposed to be kitchen knives.)

    I typically bone my deer every year with a Victorinox (Swiss Army) red-handled paring knife I paid $3 for ar a gun show. It holds an edge very well and slices like a razor because of the thin edge geometry.
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  7. #7
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    Some stainless will only take an nice edge using a diamond sharpener and finished on ceramic. But as others have said all my kitchen /butchering knives are old high carbon blades,most picked up at yard sales for under a buck, the local butcher shop sells used Victonex knives for 3 bucks a piece ,they ain't pretty but have lots of life left in them and sure get sharp on a steel and strop

  9. #9
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    I can sharpen a knife.I have some stainless blades that just will not take or hold an edge at all. Put them aside and move on. Lifes to short

  10. #10
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    If your stainless steel used to hold an edge, and now does not. It is probably a flat grind that has been sharpen too many times and you went from a thin cutting edge to a more thicker edge as you removed steel from the "V" shape flat grind. It will have to be re-profiled to a thinner cutting edge. If it is a low priced knife, would be best to toss it and get a new one. If you plan to get another knife for the kitchen, get 440C steel as it has 17% chrome and is highly rust resistance and will hold a better edge. Stay away from knives marked 440, 440A, 440B as they are inferior steel. Knife makers will always mark 440C AS 440C as it is a better steel then the other 440 series. You can go custom for a better stainless steel, but you may not want to pay the price for the stainless steels that are superior to 440C. I make custom knives and my top line steel is S30V stainless steel. For the average hunting knife my cost for the steel used in one knife is 30-35 dollars just for the steel billet to make that knife. You can buy a 440C completed knife for less then that if you shop around.
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    Last edited by knifemaker; 11-24-2017 at 09:54 PM.

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    To check you edge bevel mark it with a sharpie then use a stone at the angle it should be to test. If the sharpie marker all comes off your angle is correct. If the bottom only comes off your angle is to shallow, if the top only your angle is to steep.

    I use the sharpie trick when I want to re-profile a blade to a better angle. When it is all gone I know the new angle is good on that side. Flip and repeat.

  12. #12
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    Rehardening can be done but its can be tricky. Heating a finished blade to temps to harden will ruin the finish. The knife needs to be disassembled or handles may burn. Last a hardened and quenched blade is to hard usually. The blade needs to be soaked at a certain temp to Draw it back and remove brittleness. Materials need certain hardening quenches oil, water, and even air. Looking at the knife its hard to tell what it takes.
    I do my final sharpen on a leather strop impregnated with flitz or yellow diamond compound. On some harder blades a copper block 1" X 3" X 6" with a light coat of the diamond really gives a good edge.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by MaryB View Post
    To check you edge bevel mark it with a sharpie then use a stone at the angle it should be to test. If the sharpie marker all comes off your angle is correct. If the bottom only comes off your angle is to shallow, if the top only your angle is to steep.

    I use the sharpie trick when I want to re-profile a blade to a better angle. When it is all gone I know the new angle is good on that side. Flip and repeat.
    Mary;that is the best;most concise,easiest way. Your post is saved to my favorites for future use.thank you!

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Cheap stainless could be from a steel that is not meant for a real working knife. Some of them just won't hold a good edge like having a knife made from cast iron.

  15. #15
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    A wise knife enthusiast once told me “Steels don’t cut, edge geometry cuts” and he was right. Good steel means your knife holds an edge, but the shape of the edge determines how sharp it is.

    MaryB’s Sharpie trick is a real aid to maintaining a good edge shape.
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  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master
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    All great information.
    I know nothing about knives.
    I do have a bunch of sharpening stones, and a three sided diamond sharpener.
    I do sharpen my pocket and hobby knives.
    Always do a shallow angle.
    I'll try to doing the 30' angle on the diamond sharpener, with the black pen mark.
    The knife is and old one we've had for as long as I remember.
    No markings on it.

  17. #17
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    I cheat, I have an EdgePro sharpening system that holds the knife blade at the selected angle and you draw the stone over the blade. For kitchen use I only go to 1,000 grit, any finer and it doesn't cut as well during repeated use(I only use poly cutting boards so less dulling) or seem to hold an edge as long. But that is kitchen use on my chefs knife that gets used every day of the week it seems. On my truck knife where I may need to cut a seat belt or rope I polish to 2,000 grit. Only need that edge to hold for one or two uses. Every use has different needs...

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    Ive found that a diamond stone works "different" on stainless. Not better persay. I've gotten stainless knives very sharp with arkansas stones, but diamond stones leaves the edge with sort of a micro serration. it causes the knife to bite into, say a fresh garden mater. Where a knife that is equally sharp but sharpened with an arkansas stone will glide over the mater skin.

  19. #19
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    Borrow a trick from wood workers that want to get a very sharp edge on chisels. Jewelers Rouge and a piece of glass is the way to get a very fine edge.

    I use a simple ceramic sharpener with both a rough and a fine built into it to sharpen my VG-1 pocket knife and it works great. A few strokes on each and it will get the edge it needs for any job I need.
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  20. #20
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    I tried the diamond. Didn't work as well as I liked.
    I have a bunch of stones of different grit(?).
    I did the black marker and started with a course stone.
    Repeated it with smoother stones and finally got it to where I like it.
    We'll see how long it holds it's edge.

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