RELPC 122 Week 1: Comment response for sharpening
My response to an aspiring comment on my blade sharpening was as follows:
Since you want to save money sharpening yourself, I answered your comment with sufficient detail for some common sense to fill in the blanks, but you can ask me any time for more information on technique, materials or advice. Unfortunately, there are ways to save money that are practically dirt-cheap, but they don't work very well and if you are intent on the task, you will ultimately be frustrated into buying something to get a blade sharp. It is better to find a tool that you can really count on from the beginning and reap the cost savings over time than to get one sharpener after another or risk health with sharpeners that leave dangerous metal to be ingested.
For many scissors, as you mentioned, if you have a disc grinder, preferably in an even-number inch size, you may be able to order a diamond dot disc (not a normal sanding disc) for it at 800 grit. If you are serious about keeping up on a number of scissors, this is a good way to cleanly and quickly sharpen them all and be impressed with the professional looking results. There is more technique to learn, but this is at least the professional large-volume tool you could start with. For general cutlery and average scissors, I recommend the Chef's Choice electric sharpener and Flitz polish to finish off the blade.
The simple truth about many knife owners who endeavor to sharpen their own cutlery is that they seldom finish or clean the blade enough to be used safely on food. Metal dust and microscopic shards usually remain, even if you wash the blade (which you should always do). To get this off, I recommend Flitz polish because it won't undo your sharpening, it is non-toxic, and when it drys it is super-easy to wash off.
Hand sharpeners are inexpensive, but very slow and only really preferable for traditional hobbyists. Tungsten or high-carbon steel carbide sharpeners are very crude and can gradually reshape your blade in an undesirable way. For simple home sharpening I have not found anything more beneficial, effective, and likely to be used than the Chef's Choice internal diamond disc sharpeners along with the using the Flitz polish just after sharpening.
To use Flitz, just put a small amount on a soft durable cloth or a tightly rung out sponge and stroke the length of the blade in the direction that would NOT cut or slice something. Do the same to both sides of the blade, preferably alternating to smoothly remove any burrs and beautify the finish. The finish of the blade should be dull from the polish. If not, add a little more polish, but only use just enough or it will dry out and be waste. Afterward, wash with soap and water the way you normally would.
I sincerely hope this helps but is not too much Thanks.
Since you want to save money sharpening yourself, I answered your comment with sufficient detail for some common sense to fill in the blanks, but you can ask me any time for more information on technique, materials or advice. Unfortunately, there are ways to save money that are practically dirt-cheap, but they don't work very well and if you are intent on the task, you will ultimately be frustrated into buying something to get a blade sharp. It is better to find a tool that you can really count on from the beginning and reap the cost savings over time than to get one sharpener after another or risk health with sharpeners that leave dangerous metal to be ingested.
For many scissors, as you mentioned, if you have a disc grinder, preferably in an even-number inch size, you may be able to order a diamond dot disc (not a normal sanding disc) for it at 800 grit. If you are serious about keeping up on a number of scissors, this is a good way to cleanly and quickly sharpen them all and be impressed with the professional looking results. There is more technique to learn, but this is at least the professional large-volume tool you could start with. For general cutlery and average scissors, I recommend the Chef's Choice electric sharpener and Flitz polish to finish off the blade.
The simple truth about many knife owners who endeavor to sharpen their own cutlery is that they seldom finish or clean the blade enough to be used safely on food. Metal dust and microscopic shards usually remain, even if you wash the blade (which you should always do). To get this off, I recommend Flitz polish because it won't undo your sharpening, it is non-toxic, and when it drys it is super-easy to wash off.
Hand sharpeners are inexpensive, but very slow and only really preferable for traditional hobbyists. Tungsten or high-carbon steel carbide sharpeners are very crude and can gradually reshape your blade in an undesirable way. For simple home sharpening I have not found anything more beneficial, effective, and likely to be used than the Chef's Choice internal diamond disc sharpeners along with the using the Flitz polish just after sharpening.
To use Flitz, just put a small amount on a soft durable cloth or a tightly rung out sponge and stroke the length of the blade in the direction that would NOT cut or slice something. Do the same to both sides of the blade, preferably alternating to smoothly remove any burrs and beautify the finish. The finish of the blade should be dull from the polish. If not, add a little more polish, but only use just enough or it will dry out and be waste. Afterward, wash with soap and water the way you normally would.
I sincerely hope this helps but is not too much Thanks.
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